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Student-led fund invests in the student experience
By Jack Weatherston. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.
The Waterloo Engineering Endowment Foundation (WEEF) is making a historical donation of $750,000 to help improve student spaces across the Faculty of Engineering. This contribution is the latest in a long line of investments made by the student-led fund since its founding in 1989. As the fund has grown so has its ability to support a diverse range of causes from student projects to infrastructure improvements, all with the goal of providing world-class resources and experiences to current and future students. This legacy of institution building, driven by students for students, is reflected in the latest donation and the plans being drawn up for its use.
A Canadian first
WEEF was the vision of two engineering students, Avi Belinsky (BASc ’90, electrical engineering) and John Vellinga (BASc ’91, systems design engineering). Both were impressed by the facilities available at US institutions like Princeton and MIT, financed by large endowments. At the time Waterloo lacked the budget for cutting-edge equipment and facilities. To meet this need Belinsky and Velinga proposed the first student-funded and run endowment fund in Canada. Their classmates would be given the opportunity to pay into the fund monthly, as the principle grew so would the amount of accrued interest that could be used to fund equipment purchases.
The fund was an immediate success, drawing strong support from the student body. Three decades after it was founded WEEF reached $20 million, all sustained by $75 contributions once per term.
100 per cent student-run
The WEEF model relies on the leadership of a Board of Directors comprised of a minimum of two-thirds students. All funding decisions are made by the Funding Council which is made up of representatives from each Faculty of Engineering and School of Architecture class. Current WEEF Director and third year Management Engineering student Zach Zammit identifies this system of checks and balances as one of the strengths of the organization. “If something being proposed isn’t really what students need, it oftentimes gets caught at the Funding Council level”, says Zammit. “WEEF representatives get invested in what they're doing, and they vote for what's best for the students, which I find really great.” Council members from each class can give their unique perspective on the suitability of funding projects, drawn from a real understanding of the needs of their fellow students.
Read the rest of the article on Waterloo News
Indigenous Speaker Series will feature Chelsea Vowel
A message from the Faculty of Arts.
We are thrilled to welcome Chelsea Vowel to our next Indigenous Speakers Series on Thursday, February 8.
Chelsea Vowel is Métis from manitow-sâkahikan (Lac Ste. Anne) Alberta, residing in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton). She is an Associate Lecturer and Cree language instructor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and her work intersects language, gender, Métis self-determination, and resurgence.
Please join us for Chelsea's engaging presentation about Indigenous Futurisms. Her talk will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Dr. Katy Fulfer.
Read more about the Indigenous Speaker Series.
New version of Microsoft Teams to be enabled on February 20
A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST).
The newest version of Microsoft Teams will be enabled for University of Waterloo clients beginning Tuesday, February 20, as Microsoft is retiring the classic version of Teams on March 31, 2024. The new Teams delivers improved performance and enhanced reliability, security, and IT management resulting in a faster, simpler, smarter, and more flexible app.
Using the new Teams
It may take up to 1 to 2 days (at the most) for clients to see the change, and our testing has shown that some clients may need to manually turn on the ‘Try the new Teams’ toggle. Please see our support resources for switching to new Teams, and if needed, how to revert to classic Teams (available until March 31), or feel free to send any questions about this change to the IST Service Desk.
Learn more
- New Microsoft Teams - IST Knowledge Base - Confluence (atlassian.net)
- New Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Adoption
- Announcing general availability of the new Microsoft Teams app for Windows and Mac - Microsoft Community Hub
CEE and GSPA partner in piloting new graduate co-op opportunities
By Matthew King (he/him).
Over 65 years ago, the University of Waterloo pioneered co-operative education for undergraduate students in Canada. Today, Waterloo is home to the largest co-op program at a research university. Through an innovative partnership, the University continues to level up on work-integrated learning (WIL) with new and enhanced graduate work-integrated learning (GradWIL) opportunities, providing different paths for graduate students to engage in WIL and develop their career
Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) and Waterloo’s faculties have partnered to offer GradWIL pilots. Co-op is just one of several models of GradWIL pilots taking place around campus right now. There are currently two types of graduate co-op programs happening on campus — those administered by the academic unit and those supported by CEE. The pilot programs currently supported by CEE include:
- Engineering – Master of Management Science
- Engineering – Master of Electrical and Computing
- Mathematics – Master of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
“Co-op pilots at the graduate level extend the runway for students to prepare and enhance their work-integrated learning experience,” says Zac Mercer, faculty relations manager, graduate work-integrated learning (GradWIL). “We're adding interventions from day one and we're becoming a part of the student’s journey.”
The goal of the co-op enhancement pilot is to create and test a new graduate support model. Graduate co-op programs often only have one co-op work term compared to four or five that take place in the undergraduate offerings. The new support model for graduate students starts in the term before they begin applying for jobs, or pre-recruitment term, and includes three different forms of intervention for student support through their graduate co-op journey:
- New graduate WIL 601 pre-recruitment term course
- Asynchronous offering to students
- developed with industry partner involvement
- replaces co-op 601 offering
- first pilot is Winter 2024
- One-to-one coaching in the pre-recruitment term
- begins the term before they start applying for co-op jobs and continues throughout their co-op journey
- the same support person throughout
- emphasis on relationship-building and familiarity
- Weekly peer-to-peer support sessions
- Optional, themed, virtual synchronous sessions
- Students who attended the peer-to-peer sessions in the fall saw a 43 per cent increase, on average, in the confidence, comfort or knowledge of the topic discussed
“Early engagement in career support with these students will hopefully lead to improved employment outcomes,” says Mercer. “We want students to set and achieve their co-op goals. Perhaps more importantly than securing ‘the job,’ we want them to feel supported through their WIL experience.”
This feeling is reflected in the feedback received thus far from students. Approximately 83 per cent of students have reported that they are somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with the co-op work term quality of support available to them through their faculty relations manager.
Read more about the student experience on the co-op website
Search begins for Conrad School Director
The Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business in the Faculty of Engineering is looking for its next leader. Home to nearly 100 graduate students, 14 faculty members and 5 staff the School provides a unique and innovative environment for research and learning in entrepreneurship and business.
The successful candidate will be a person of academic stature, with demonstrated leadership, academic, educational, and administrative credentials. The Director will lead Conrad in implementing its strategic plan for education and research and will play a crucial role in shaping the direction of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering. All qualified internal and external candidates are encouraged to apply.
Friday's notes
If you need some music in your life, try a Noon Hour concert! The next concert, Canadian Female Composers in Life, Love, and Misery is on Wendesday, Febraury 7 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Mezzo-soprano Caroline Schmidt will perform songs by Canadian women composers, accompanied by pianist Christine Klaver-Schmidt.
The Registrar's Office reports that the final examination schedule for winter 2024 has been posted and is now available.