Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Hold on to your toner, folks: new multi-function copier fleet coming your way

A message from Print + Retail Solutions.

We're reaching out to share some exciting news about an upcoming transition in your department. We have partnered with Ricoh to provide new multifunctional printer/copier/scanners to the campus! This brings us the latest and greatest in technology, reliability, and environmental sustainability.

To ensure a seamless transition and minimize potential disruptions, we encourage you to review the available models and confirm your selections by visiting the Print + Retail Solutions website before March 18. Timely decision-making is crucial to expediting the process. Once your choices are made, Ricoh will deliver these cutting-edge units directly to your campus location within 2-4 weeks.

If you have any inquiries or require further information about the new devices or the transition, please do not hesitate to contact John Jaray at jjaray@uwaterloo.ca.

Growing connections with community organizations

By Angelica Marie Sanchez. This is an excerpt of an article that originally appeared on Waterloo News.

On March 5, eight local charities pitched their organization’s story and impact at the Perfect Pitch 2024 event, presented by the philanthropic organization, Social Venture Partners Waterloo Region (SVPWR). The Perfect Pitch workshop series provided each charity with a team of dedicated coaches, including University of Waterloo alumni, who offered personal coaching, practice opportunities and feedback, all leading up to their final pitch at Federation Hall.  

More than 350 members of the Waterloo region came together to hear and support the eight participating charities, who received an equal portion of the $46,000 in sponsorship revenue and the ticket revenue split based on the audience vote. At the end of the event, the audience got to vote for their preferred pitch and Oak Bridge Academy received the audience choice award. 

At Waterloo, our deep connection and commitment to our local region and community traces back to our founding. Waterloo grads mobilize knowledge and solutions out into the world into their workplaces, to the businesses and ventures they create, and to the communities they live in. Many of our alumni are building connections through volunteer and philanthropy, supporting charities and organizations that are solving problems within our local communities. 

Waterloo alumni attend the Perfect Pitch 2024 event, from left to right: Daniel Hussey (BES '10), Amanda Verhoeve Stevens (BSc '08), Jessica Bondy (BA ’08 and MA ’11), Dave Kroetsch (BASc ’02 and MASc ’07), Mike Pereira (MEDI '23), and Matt Stevens (BASc '04 and PhD '08). With Bondy's student, Dylan, from Oak Bridge Academy in the front.

“One of the things that we do at Social Venture Partners is we believe in a model where we donate time, talent and treasury,” said Daniel Hussey (BES ’10), a board member at SVPWR and a managing partner at Hussey Philanthropic Consulting. 

In 2019, Hussey was looking for a way to get reconnected within the Waterloo community after moving back from Toronto. He discovered the Perfect Pitch event and since then, Hussey has been co-facilitating all the coaching sessions for charities at SVPWR and is a proud sponsor of this year’s event. 

“You can give back through your talent, so that could be your skill set — the thing that you do professionally or as a hobby.  Most charities need help within the areas of HR, finances or events, and would need volunteers. Lastly, you can make a financial contribution. Everybody has different financial circumstances and truly it's about giving what you deem as meaningful.” 

Read the rest of the story on Waterloo News

Participants needed for upper limb challenge study

The Social and Intelligent Robotics Research Lab (SIRRL) is seeking participants for a study involving children with upper-limb challenges and their siblings.

Eligible participants include Any child/youth aged 6-17 with upper limb challenges and one of their siblings aged 6-17.

SIRRL researchers are “are interested in getting you and your children’s opinion about our collaborative game with their siblings through a commercially available social robot, Misty, using two joysticks and explore the play dynamics between your children. This will help us design better games that would facilitate play between children with all types of physical abilities.”

The study involves children playing with the Misty robot for approximately 20 minutes and filling pre- and post-questionnaire about their perception. Parents are also asked to fill out a pre- and post-questionnaire.

The study will be conducted in the SIRRL lab in the E7 building and takes approximately 45 minutes.

In compensation, children will receive a small gift (a small 3-D printed robot toy) from the University of Waterloo. Participating families will be offered a lab tour in E7 either after the session or at a later agreed upon date/time, being introduced to different types of social robots in addition to a $20 Amazon/ Walmart gift card.

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Human Research Ethics Board (ORE# 45339).

Velocity semi-finals, 50th anniversary of speech contest, and other notes

"On March 13 and 14 be in the audience as innovative student teams pitch their startup ideas to a panel of judges," says a note from Velocity. "The Velocity Pitch Competition semi-finals take place on March 13 and 14 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in QNC0101. The top 8 teams from across night one and night two will move on to the Velocity Pitch Competition Finals on April 4 to compete for a chance at one of four $5,000 prizes in grant funding to help turn their concept into a reality." You can register via Airtable.

The annual C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest at Conrad Grebel University College is hosting its 50^th anniversary celebration on Wednesday, March 13. The oratorical contest, established in 1974 by the directors of the C. Henry Smith Trust, offers Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) students and Grebel residents/associates "an opportunity to discuss peacebuilding and social justice issues on campus and beyond. The intercollegiate competition is administered by the Peace and Justice Ministries of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Undergraduate students from every Mennonite and Brethren in Christ college in North America, including Canada, are eligible to participate."

On Wednesday, March 13, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Grebel’s Community Education Room, the PACS Department and the Grebel Chaplaincy’s Offices are organizing a speech performance and inviting you to participate and celebrate together. Learn more and register.

Lace up your skates! Athletics and Recreation is hosting a figure skating drop-in skills session on Wednesday, March 13 at 6:00 p.m. at the Columbia Icefield rink for anyone who is looking to improve their skating skills and learn some figure skating-specific moves. If you really need to get your triple-axels on, save the date in your calendar for the Warriors Figure Skating program's End-of-Term Showcase, which will take place on Saturday, March 23 at 2:00 p.m., also at the Columbia Icefield rink.

Plant Operations is reporting that there will be a campus-wide steam shutdown tomorrow morning from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. During this time there will be a lack of hot water, humidification, and heating. All campus buildings normally fed by district energy system steam will be affected but it should be business as usual by the time most of us roll in to work.