Thursday, November 4, 2021

Research Talks presents The Workplace Revolution

A message from the Office of Research.

Learn about the future of employment during the Fall 2021 Research Talks event, The Workplace Revolution: Envisioning the Future of Employment on Monday, November 22 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

Please register to receive a link to take part in this online panel presentation and Q&A featuring:

Joel Blit (Artificial intelligence and robotics): Joel Blit is a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. His research focuses on the economics of innovation and innovation policy. His most recent work, examining how COVID-19 is transforming the economy through automation and reallocation, featured in numerous media outlets. Professor Blit will discuss artificial intelligence and robotics.

Stephen Harrington (Workforce strategy): Stephen Harrington is a Partner in Human Capital Consulting and Deloitte’s national leader for Future of Work Advisory. Stephen has been a writer and speaker on the future of work since 2011 and has been consulting for 20 years, leading transformations in workforce strategy. Stephen will put into the broader context new ways of working, discuss the skills crisis, and how we may need to think about corporate learning fundamentally differently.

Ellen MacEachen (The brave new world: A consideration of the risks and rights of delivery and ride-hail digital platform workers): Ellen MacEachen is a professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. Her research examines the changing nature of work with a focus on health, precarious employment and vulnerable workers. Her latest studies examine how digital platform and low wage workers are managing their health while navigating the COVID-19 environment. In her presentation, Ellen will share findings of her team's study of the day-to-day work and risks faced by digital platform workers and thoughts on how social security systems need to adapt.

Rohinton P. Medhora (Leading the future of work): Rohinton Medhora is president of CIGI, joining in 2012. He served on CIGI’s former International Board of Governors from 2009 to 2014. Rohinton is also Chair of the Ontario Workplace Recovery Advisory Committee. Previously, he was vice president of programs at Canada’s International Development Research Centre. His fields of expertise are monetary and trade policy, international economic relations and development economics. Rohinton will discuss leading the future of work.

New Environment program will tackle climate change from all angles

A message from the Faculty of Environment.

The Faculty of Environment is proud to announce the launch of the BSc in Climate and Environmental Change, a program specifically designed to train professionals to meet a growing demand for leaders who can integrate climate solutions across traditional boundaries. 

“Nearly every course in the Faculty of Environment deals with climate change in some way, but this is the first undergraduate program specifically aimed at teaching the foundations of climate change to undergraduates,” said Jean Andrey, Dean of the Faculty of Environment. “By taking a transdisciplinary approach to climate change we’re meeting the demand for workers and citizens who can identify and find climate solutions where our natural and human environments meet.”

A core component of the program is how weather and climate influence geomorphology, hydrology, and biogeochemistry. With classes beginning in fall 2022, the program will train students in solutions- oriented approaches to environmental challenges such as:

• Flooding
• Permafrost thawing
• Drought and forest fires
• Peatland degradation
• Changes to the water cycle regime in different regions
• Sea level rise and coastal change
• Changing economic opportunities in climate sensitive sectors, and
• Development of climate services

The BSc in Climate and Environmental Change will be housed in the Faculty of Environment’s well-known Department of Geography and Environmental Management — ranked among top five in Canada.

“Climate change solutions require a fundamental understanding of the natural sciences coupled with technological and other innovations,” said Andrey. “Our department of geography is well positioned to tackle these problems since it is rooted in environmental science and has a strong applied component that draws on new and established technologies in geomatics. Students will learn how to combine knowledge across scientific disciplinary fields such as, biology, chemistry, physics and Earth science, with human geography for effective environmental management.”

The Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo is the largest post-secondary institution devoted entirely to issues of sustainability. In 2012 it made history by establishing Canada’s first course focusing specifically on the multiple ways climate change affects society and the environment.

To learn more about this exciting new program, visit Climate and Environmental Change.

Helping KidsAbility clients transition into adulthood

By Etta Di Leo. This article was originally featured in the Global Impact Report.

Every year, KidsAbility supports more than 11,000 children and youth in Southwestern Ontario. Clients are helped through programs designed to assist with communication, social and physical goals, but face significant challenges when they move beyond the scope of their services at 21 years old.

“Over the many years I’ve worked in this field, the consistent complaint I’ve heard is that youth fall off a cliff when they transition from the children's services sector to the adult sector,” says Linda Kenny, the Chief Executive Officer for KidsAbility. “A young adult leaving home at 18 or 19 is already trying to navigate their way into that next stage of their life. Now add on complexity around needing services or equipment or accommodations and take away the services they relied on because they are over the age of 18 or 21. You can appreciate why people will describe it as falling off a cliff.”

As children and youth, participants can access a variety of treatments and services under one roof at KidsAbility. As they become adults, those same services become decentralized, requiring people to navigate through a number of organizations to access the same services they were getting through one organization.

Tackling real world challenges

Caleb O. Williams, Sarah Berdowski, William Nippard, Charlotte Jane Ogalesco, Lindsay Krahn.

This challenge of transition was a perfect fit for the Workplace Innovation program at GreenHouse -- the Social Impact Incubator located in St. Paul’s University College at the University of Waterloo. The Workplace Innovation program pairs interested students with host organizations and challenges them to develop solutions to real world problems. Students are assembled into teams that work with host organizations over 8 months. The teams are provided with support and resources and are trained to use an innovation framework to identify opportunities and design solutions.

The five-member team of students and alumni who worked with KidsAbility are William Nippard, Charlotte Ogalesco, Lindsay Krahn, Sarah Berdowski and Caleb Williams. At first, the team considered building a solution that would be more internally focused for staff to use, but that didn’t respond to the needs of the organization or their clients.

The value of lived experience

By working with people who have lived experience and staff from KidsAbility, they decided on a tool that can be used directly by clients and their families. Their solution is an online resource hub called Transition Space.

“Transition Space is a website that will help youth with disabilities navigate the system in Ontario when they transition to adulthood,” says Charlotte Ogalesco, a recent Health Studies graduate. “Our website provides helpful resources on topics that are important to understand when transitioning, such as independent living, financial planning, healthcare services, and recreation."

In addition to helping clients transition to adulthood, the students are learning the value of collaborating directly with those who will use the tools.

William Nippard, a Computer Science graduate, joined the Work Innovation program as a result of volunteering with KidsAbility and credits its team with bringing an added layer of expertise to the program.

“KidsAbility has played an integral role,” says Nippard. “They’re some of the absolute best subject matter experts in the domain we’re working in, and they have passed on invaluable insights to the team.”

Nippard brings his technical expertise and experience with start-ups to the Transition Space project, but his main concern is to provide a meaningful tool for KidsAbility clients.

“I’ve worked with KidsAbility for a number of years now, including volunteering in-classroom, working directly with kids and instructors,” says Nippard. “I hope one day some of the kids I used to work with will find value in what we’re building.”

Creating impact for everyone involved

Although the Transition Space project has focused on KidsAbility in Southwestern Ontario, Kenny sees potential for expanding across the province and beyond.

“We’re building a bridge from the youth system to the adult system and working to ensure young people are equipped with skills and information. Transition Space can help position them for success,” says Kenny. “We're doing work here in Waterloo region, but the implications of this online tool reach across the province.”

While partners like KidsAbility gain valuable support and skills through the Workplace Innovation program, the students and alumni also benefit from working on a challenging and meaningful project.

“This particular program is an amazing opportunity that allows you to solve real problems from different organizations and create an impact in your community,” says Ogalesco. “It encourages creativity and teamwork when designing an impactful solution. It’s a great way to share your own skills, work on something you’re passionate about, and overall, work with amazing teams and mentors.”

Thursday's notes

Today marks the biggest holiday of the year on the Hindu calendar, Diwali. Diwali is a religious festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains worldwide, a five-day festival of lights observed in October or November each year. Locally, Diwali is among the holidays that Waterloo's city council has included in its fireworks bylaw, alongside Canada Day, Victoria Day, and the Lunar New Year. Observers are permitted to set off fireworks one day before and after the holiday, with a time limit of 11:00 p.m.

President Vivek Goel marked the occasion with an official statement: "Best wishes for a happy Diwali. For many people in our community and around the world, Diwali is a joyful time to celebrate light and new beginnings. I wish you all bright, hopeful days ahead."

Human Resources has made an addition to this week's list of available positions, viewable on the UWaterloo Talent Acquisition System (iCIMS):

Secondments/Internal temporary opportunities

• Job ID# 2021-7506 - Talent Acquisition Specialist - Human Resources, USG 7-9 (1 year appointment)