The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
Contact us at bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Submission guidelines
The talk of the town hall
More than 1,600 people attended yesterday's Return to Campus Virtual Town Hall as University leaders provided an update on Waterloo's plans for a safe, staged return to campus for more employees to help support students in the fall term and beyond.
President Feridun Hamdullahpur outlined the University’s plans to expand in-person experiences for students in the fall and described how departments and academic support units are preparing to invite more employees back to campus to support Waterloo’s academic mission. "We have shown our resilience, determination and commitment to the University’s mission and its students," he said in his opening remarks. "At the same time were are all aware of the questions that need to be answered."
James Rush, vice-president, academic & provost, Dennis Huber, vice-president, administration and finance, Kate Windsor, director of safety, Chris Read, associate provost, students and David DeVidi, associate vice-president, academic helped to provide important context for the University's planning.
Associate Provost, Human Resources Marilyn Thompson hosted the event and moderated the Q&A. Question topics included vaccinations, campus safety and infrastructure improvements, employee accommodations, supporting international students, and flexibility in work-from-home arrangements.
More than 200 questions were submitted in advance and during the Q&A section of the town hall event. For a rundown of frequently asked questions, visit the coronavirus website.
If you missed the town hall event, you can watch a recording of it below:
A Catalyst for change: PART launches e-newsletter
The President's Anti-Racism Taskforce (PART) has launched a new e-newsletter to keep the campus community informed of its work. The first issue of The Catalyst was emailed out to subscribers on Tuesday.
The newsletter will provide regular updates on the activities and plans of the task force and is also an opportunity to showcase the many staff, faculty and students who are engaged in anti-racism work each day on campus.
The first issue contains:
- Information about faculty-based anti-racism initiatives across campus;
- A staff feature on Gillian Wells, Counselling Services' new Counsellor for Black Student Support;
- PART Working Group updates;
- Listings of past and upcoming events; and
- Community stories.
Welcome Week is just around the corner
A message from the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Assocation (WUSA).
We would like to welcome all students to the Spring 2021 term. This year’s Welcome Week will take place from May 17 to 21 with lots of fun events to kick off the Spring term. While it may not be in person this term, WUSA has made sure that there are still lots of fun events for students to sign up for with friends and connect with other undergrads throughout the week. There will be returning favorites from previous Welcome Weeks as well as brand new events.
Some of the new events this term includes How to Make Ice Cream with Four All where students will be able to learn how to make easy and delicious ice cream from the comfort of their own home by following a tutorial by Four All Ice Cream owner and Waterloo alumnus Ajoa Mintah. We have another exciting event called Ten Questions with Zubin Thakkar where students can join a lunch Q&A session with Shawn Mendes’ Musical Director and Lead Guitarist as well as a Waterloo alumnus Zubin Thakkar.
If you have the opportunity, remind our undergraduate students of the amazing events they can participate in throughout Welcome Week. We hope that Welcome Week will help students start off their term in a fun and positive way.
You can visit the Welcome Week webpage for more information.
Landing your dream co-op job
By Avery Sudsbury and Uswa Zafar. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.
You probably didn’t picture Zoom calls or working six feet apart when envisioning your first co-op work term. Instead, you may have practiced the perfect handshake or purchased actual “work pants” for your first day – both of which no longer apply.
While learning and working has looked very different lately, the value of a co-op term at Waterloo remains unchanged. Whether working remotely or together, there are constants to practice before and during your first co-op term. To make sense of it all, five co-op students have broken down their top five co-op tips for landing your first work term.
The more, the merrier
Justin Blake
Honours Arts 4A
Digital Communications Coordinator
When applying to jobs on Waterloo Works, quantity has a quality all its own. It is much better to apply to many jobs and turn down potential offers than to apply to only a few and risk not getting any. Don’t be afraid to apply to jobs with requirements that you might not necessarily meet either. While some requirements may be mandatory, some employers may be willing to help you expand your skills on the job. For example, if a role asks for an intermediate level of experience in Microsoft Suite but you are just a beginner, there’s little to lose from sending an application anyway. You may have plenty of other skills the employer is looking for that will help you land the role.
Exploring your options
Uswa Zafar
Honours Environment and Business 2A
Communications Coordinator
As you start your co-op journey, it’s important to understand your options — do you want to go through Waterloo Works or arrange a job on your own. (I bet you didn’t know you had these options!) Being a first-time co-op student, I would recommend applying through Waterloo Works or arranging a job on your own. You can do the latter by tapping into your network of contacts, whether it’s an organization you’ve dreamed about working for and reaching out to them on LinkedIn, connecting with your pool of friends on any leads or revisiting a previous employer — the options are truly what you make of them. Just be sure to familiarize yourself with the requirements of arranging your own job before you settle on the role.
There’s a resource for that
Avery Sudsbury
Honours Environment and Business 2A
Marketing and Communications Specialist
I would recommend taking advantage of as many of Waterloo’s free resources as you can. Possibly the easiest resource to make the most of is your co-op advisor and our PD course teaching assistants. They’re regularly accessible and can answer any questions about Waterloo Works, applications and interviews. More great sources of information are the co-op and CEE sites that provide guides on every step of the co-op process, important dates and highlight workshops to attend. There’s always room for improvement when it comes to co-op preparation and identifying those opportunities may make the difference between an average and a fantastic co-op experience.
Practice, practice, practice
Shannon Harris
Honours Environment, Resources and Sustainability 2A
Public Affairs Coordinator
My advice for your first interview is to practice the interview questions you get in your professional development course and to take note of the key points you would like to get across to a potential employer. Believe it or not, many of these standard questions end up appearing during your actual interviews which makes preparing and feeling confident on your big day so much easier. You don’t need to memorize answers word-for-word, but preparing ahead of time by thinking about how you can use these questions to showcase your relevant skills and qualities will help you stand out from the rest.
Don’t give up — keep going
Alexandra Kale
Honours Arts and Business, Theatre and Performance 4A
Community Relations & Events Assistant
Don’t worry if you don’t secure a match during the first round of interviews. Though your application period may be longer, there are still tons of high-quality roles available in the continuous rounds. Some employers simply prefer the continuous timeline or have had great success with co-op students from the continuous rounds previously. For my first co-op term, I got a match during a continuous round and ended up working for the Ontario government in the heart of Downtown Toronto!
Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) now available for students and other applicable announcements
Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD), a Microsoft Azure-based system for virtualizing operating systems and applications, is now available for students to use for lab computers and software, according to a note from Information Systems & Technology.
Windows Virtual Desktop is a Microsoft cloud-based solution that gives users remote access to desktops and applications. WVD can be used as an alternative to, or augmentation of, physical computer labs.
Students that have been given access to a department’s virtual lab can access Windows Virtual Desktop by logging in to www.wvd.uwaterloo.ca.
IT support staff can enable Windows Virtual Desktop for their department or faculty by submitting a request to rt@uwaterloo.ca. Visit the Windows Virtual Desktop service page for more information.
Anyone with quesitons is invited to contact the IST Service Desk at helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or by calling extension 44357.
Call it a Lunch & Learn for Lawn & Order: Join the Sustainability Office and Reep Green Solutions for their upcoming Lunch & Learn: The Secret Lives of Lawns. If you want to learn how to support nature in your yard but don't have the time, resources, or ability to convert your grass lawn to gardens, this webinar is for you. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 19 from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. on Microsoft Teams.
In this session, you’ll learn:
- How to apply ecological principles to your lawn
- What to look for (and avoid) at the garden centre
- How these changes benefit our trees, help to manage stormwater, and improve local water quality
For more information and to register, please visit the event webpage.
A correction to note: the Indigenous-Mennonite Encounters: Conference Preview set for Thursday, May 13 is taking place at 7:00 p.m. and not 10:00 a.m. as previously reported. The Daily Bulletin regrets the error.