The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
Contact us at bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
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Women from UWaterloo named among Canada's most powerful
This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.
Seven leaders in education, business and community who have ties to the University of Waterloo were named to a list of the most powerful women in Canada.
Women’s Executive Network (WXN) recently released the 2023 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners, and Waterloo professors and alumni appear on the list celebrating women across Canada for their leadership and accomplishments.
The Top 100 Awards recognize leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. WXN's Diversity Council of Canada selects honourees in 12 categories. The awards will be presented at a gala on November 30.
Read more about these inspiring leaders
Co-operative and Experiential Education shortlisted for a QS Reimagine Education award
By Matthew King.
Partnership is fundamental to the success of Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) and now the commitment to collaboration is being recognized. The QS Reimagine Education Awards and Conference shortlisted CEE’s work for the Power of Partnership award.
The award recognizes companies or institutions that have leveraged the power of partnership to innovate, scale or improve their offering and enhance learners’ experiences or outcomes.
The award submission highlighted CEE’s ability to ensure academic integration between students’ work experiences and the classroom. It also called out our vast network of employers and the collaboration between CEE and industry to provide innovative, quality opportunities to ensure we empower learners for the future of work and lifelong learning.
“Being shortlisted for an award on the global scale is quite an achievement,” says Dr. Norah McRae, associate provost, CEE. “This honour reflects the innovative and future-ready mindset and dedication of CEE staff and our partners, as well as our dedication to offering exceptional work-integrated learning opportunities to Waterloo students.”
QS will announce the award winners at the conference, December 11-13. Stay tuned – you can help us win by voting for CEE’s submission video.
Federal government requesting feedback on copyright and AI
A message from Government Relations and the Copyright Advisory Committee.
On October 12, 2023, the government announced a consultation process to gather feedback on “generative AI tools and the implications for copyright holders.
Government Relations and the Copyright Advisory Committee are thus inviting you to a consultation on copyright and artificial intelligence. The feedback provided in this consultation will help us prepare an institutional response to the federal government.
The government is looking for guidance as it considers updating the Copyright Act to be responsive to the "the changing technological landscape, including the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies." The survey asks for comments on three areas:
- use of copyright protected works in the training of AI systems;
- authorship and ownership rights related to AI-generated content; and
- liability, especially when AI-generated content could infringe existing copyright-protected works.
You can read more about these areas in the government's consultation paper.
Join us via Teams on Friday, November 17 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Register now.
Regardless of whether you can attend, we'd encourage you to respond to the survey as an individual. The government is looking for feedback from a broad range of groups, including content creators and academic experts.
Palestine and Israel: Conversations about culture and history
A message from the Faculty of Arts.
Since its launch in 2021, the Foundation for Palestinian Studies Fund at the University of Waterloo has provided our students, faculty, staff, and broader community with the opportunity to learn about the rich and complex body of scholarly, artistic, literary, creative, and popular works generated by Palestinians spanning the globe.
In this ongoing lecture series, we learn about and engage with each other to understand new perspectives and to work for peace in this often volatile region of the world.
Right now, when Palestinians and Israelis alike are suffering, and the humanitarian situation is deteriorating, we will come together again to talk and to listen.
On November 20, we present Palestine and the Culture of Denial: A lecture by Saree Makdisi. Dr. Makdisi is Professor and Chair of English at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has written extensively on the afterlives of colonialism in the contemporary Arab world and, in addition to his scholarly articles, has also contributed pieces on current events to several newspapers and magazines, including the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, and the London Review of Books. Makdisi’s most recent book is Tolerance is a Wasteland: Palestine and the Culture of Denial (University of California Press, 2022).
On November 27, we present What a Difference a Year Makes in Israel-Palestine: A lecture by Jon Allen. Jon Allen (LL.B., LL.M.) is a Senior Fellow, at Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Among his many international posts with the Government of Canada, Allen was Canada’s Ambassador to Israel from 2006 to 2010. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow of the Canada International Council, the Chair of Project Rozana Canada, a not-for-profit whose objective is to build bridges between Palestinians and Israelis via the health sector, and a Member of the Board of AmbCanada.
Both events will be in-person at Fed Hall and livestreamed. Audiences will have the opportunity to engage with the speakers after their talks in a moderated Q and A. Registration is required. More information and registration.
Balsillie School receives $5 million for responsible technology
This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.
The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) received a $5 million dollar donation from the Balsillie Family Fund to establish the Technology Governance Initiative (TGI) at the School.
As part of the Technology Governance Initiative, the Balsillie Scholars Program will invite leading international technology governance scholars and practitioners to the School for periods ranging from three months to one year, fostering mentorship, research, and collaboration.
“We are excited to be part of the Balsillie School’s Technology Governance Initiative, which promises to extend the school’s research leadership across a wide range of domains helping shape better futures for humanity,” said Vivek Goel. "This initiative aligns with our Global Futures which aim to inspire collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to the world’s biggest problems."
For example, while the frictionless exchange and analysis of health data across jurisdictions, practitioners and laboratories has the potential to deliver optimal health outcomes, that data is deeply personal. “If we’re going to trust AI to process big data sets, the kinds of governance thinking developed as part of the Technology Governance Initiative will be vital in designing systems that maintain public trust,” Goel said.
Students complete one of three possible degrees none of them conferred by the Balsillie School. The graduate programs are as follows MA in Global Governance (UWaterloo), PhD in Global Governance (UWaterloo), Masters in International Public Policy (Laurier) or PhD in Global Governance (Laurier). The Waterloo graduate programs are led and governed entirely by faculty members in the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo.
In a press release on the funding announcement philanthropist and BSIA founder, Jim Balsillie, discussed why this donation makes sense at this time, and governance, cannot be ignored in the rush to create new technology.
“Rapid technology innovations continue to impact all areas of international affairs. Good governance and effective policy supporting these innovations are critical for national resilience, and the strength of the international system. I believe that the research expertise in Waterloo Region, led by the Balsillie School of International Affairs, will bring solutions to these challenges,” he said.