Tuesday, September 22, 2020

School of Pharmacy launches new strategic plan

A message from the School of Pharmacy.

Embracing change and finding innovative solutions to real world problems is embedded in our culture at the School of Pharmacy.

Though it wasn’t crafted with the specific circumstances of 2020 in mind, Beyond Expectations, our new strategic plan, is nonetheless a plan for our current times. In it, we discuss bold ways that we intend to lead change for a healthier world. We will do this by leveraging our strengths – in experience-based education, in research, in fostering partnerships – and by continuing to prepare our graduates to be change-agents in health-care.  

Check out our new strategic plan and see how we plan to go ‘beyond expectations.

Cheriton School of Computer Science's next Distinguished Lecture explores "An Ethical Crisis in Computing?"

The Cheriton School of Computer science is kicking off this year's Distinguished Lecture Series, now in an all-online format. Their first speaker of the year is Moshe Vardi, a University Professor and the Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering at Rice University.

His talk, entitled “An Ethical Crisis in Computing?” explores technology’s impact on society. This free lecture will take place online via Zoom on Thursday, September 24 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

“Computer scientists think often of Ender’s Game these days,” writes Vardi in his lecture description. “In this award-winning 1985 science-fiction novel by Orson Scott Card, Ender is being trained at Battle School, an institution designed to make young children into military commanders against an unspecified enemy. Ender’s team engages in a series of computer-simulated battles, eventually destroying the enemy’s planet, only to learn then that the battles were very real and a real planet has been destroyed.”

“Many of us got involved in computing because programming was fun,” Vardi continues. “The benefits of computing seemed intuitive to us. We truly believe that computing yields tremendous societal benefits; for example, the life-saving potential of driverless cars is enormous! Like Ender, however, we realized recently that computing is not a game — it is real — and it brings with it not only societal benefits, but also significant societal costs, such as labour polarization, disinformation, and smart-phone addiction.

“The common reaction to this crisis is to label it as an ‘ethical crisis’ and the proposed response is to add courses in ethics to the academic computing curriculum. I will argue that the ethical lens is too narrow. The real issue is how to deal with technology’s impact on society. Technology is driving the future, but who is doing the steering?”

Learn more on the event page.

Remembering George Hill

George Hill, Wes Graham, and Joan Hill in June 1996.

Waterloo retiree George Hill died on Thursday, September 3 at the age of 92.

Born in 1927 in Nairn, a small seaside town in the north east of Scotland, George was the youngest of 7 children. After his education in Nairn at Millbank Public School and Nairn Academy, George followed his brothers into the British Army where he served in Germany, Malaya and the Middle East.  He was selected for the Malayan Scouts and became a member of the 22^nd Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment where he spent several years parachuting into the Malayan jungle in search of insurgents. George ended his military career in British Military Intelligence in 1954 after serving in the Middle East during the Suez crisis. 

George emigrated to Canada where he worked for 8 years at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, followed by 23 years at the University of Waterloo where he worked with Wes Graham and a team of accomplished academics to build the Computer Science department (now the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science) to international acclaim. 

George Hill with the University of Waterloo’s IBM 360 mainframe in October 1967.

George retired from the University of Waterloo in 1991, but maintained many deep friendships from his time there. George was known by friends and colleagues equally for his dependability, and his wicked sense of humour. He loved most sport with a particular passion for horses, golf, and sailing. George is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Joan (Maygers), his sons Duncan and James, and his grandchildren.

Private cremation has taken place and will be followed by a Celebration of Life once it is safe to hold public gatherings. As expressions of sympathy, donations to The Special Air Service Regimental Association would be appreciated. A link to make a donation via Paypal can be found at: https://www.marsandminerva.co.uk/

Thanks to the family of George Hill for providing the text of this tribute.

International Agreements advance Waterloo on the global stage

A message from Waterloo International.

The University of Waterloo has built a strong international profile, which is supported by over 200 international collaboration agreements with governments, universities, and other organizations located in more than 50 countries.

Waterloo International works with Faculties and academic support units as well as various partners worldwide to develop global talent through innovative teaching, learning and research, to deliver impactful research that is aligned with global challenges and promotes diversity on campus and beyond.

International Agreements, at Waterloo International, is a central resource that helps to enhance international presence by establishing formal partnership agreements with global institutions of excellence. Institutional-level international agreements are University-approved arrangements between educational institutions that facilitate student exchange, work integrated learning, joint academic programs, research collaborations, and other international opportunities.  

These agreements help Waterloo to stay abreast of academic trends and global innovations, to strengthen international experiences abroad and on Waterloo’s campuses and to enhance waterloo global impact and reputation. These formal arrangements facilitate a wide variety of activities, such as student, staff and faculty mobility, development of research connections, provision of training programs, and other international initiatives. 

Manager of International Agreements, Jennifer Morgan leads an experienced team, which assists Waterloo in developing and signing formal international agreements to support the various Faculties’ internationalization interests, as well as Waterloo’s Strategic Plan on Global Prominence and Internationalization.

“Our experienced team members utilize their international and contracts expertise to guide all stakeholders through the process of developing, implementing, and renewing agreements,” says Morgan. “We’ve recently increased capacity to facilitate the process of assessing and drafting international agreements, in turn, clearing up a back log and supporting new initiatives.”

“Waterloo International is pleased to support the University community to establish meaningful relationships with international institutions, which benefit thousands of students, faculty, and staff annually,” says Christine McWebb, Assistant Vice-President, International Operations.

The International Agreements team at Waterloo International looks forward to the continued collaboration with Faculties and academic support units to build meaningful formal relationships with international institutions, which offer a wide range of intercultural and international educational opportunities for students, staff and faculty.

To learn more about Waterloo’s international agreements please visit: https://uwaterloo.ca/international/international-agreements

A new digital publication platform and other notes

Don't just communicate your message. Let your audience experience it. Creative Services is now offering a new way to share digital publications. If you’re looking to level-up your digital marketing efforts contact creative services or learn more about digital publications and how they might fit into your current marketing efforts.

The Balsillie School of International Affairs, in partnership with the Ditchley Foundation, cordially invites you to the first in a three-part series of "Critical Conversations." The series serves as a forum which brings global thought leaders together to bridge important perspectives on intersectional issues currently challenging the global policy world. 

This inaugural event, entitled “Building Resilient Futures: Covid, Climate and the Economy,” will take place on September 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and will explore the possible measures to shape a future for global resilience that is economically sustainable and capable of meeting the twin threats of climate stress and the health burdens of COVID-19.

The event organizers are delighted to bring together the following global thought leaders who will lead the discussion: 

• Diana Fox-Carney, Climate Policy Expert
• John Hancock, Senior Policy Adviser to the Director-General, World Trade Organization
• William White, former Chairman of the OECD Economic and Development Review Committee, Head of the Monetary and Economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements, and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada
• The panel will be moderated by Jatin Nathwani, Professor and STEM for Global Resilience Lead (BSIA/UW), Executive Director, Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy

Registration is through Eventbrite. A Zoom link to the webinar will be posted on the BSIA event page in the morning of the event on the event.