Tuesday, April 2, 2024


Waterloo publishes latest Academic Calendars with a new look

A screenshot of the shared academic calendar landing page website.

A message from the Registrar's Office and Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.

The Office of the Registrar and Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs have published the newest academic calendars today:

Aside from the new URL, campus users will notice that the academic calendars look a bit different than in past years. The new look and feel is a result of a multi-year software project to enhance and streamline the management of curriculum and the publication of the academic calendars. Once curriculum is approved through the governance process, it will automatically be populated in the corresponding academic calendar.

Some of the new features available:

  • A robust search engine that will display results from all sections of the applicable academic calendar.
  • Links between course records (e.g., cross-listed courses, course requisites).
  • An Addenda section that automatically maintains a list of changes made after publication.

What else is new in these publications?

  • New content structure, focusing on the content/topic instead of content owner.
  • New centralized/harmonized content to reduce content duplication.
  • Removal of content that is not seen as contractual and academic units need to have flexibility in using/updating (e.g., course scheduling-related information; basic advising information).
  • Presentation of requisites (prerequisites, corequisites, antirequisites) and some program/plan requirements in a series of rules, built on logic.

In addition, archived academic calendars are still available, directly from the new website.

For undergraduate studies inquiries, email the Office of the Registrar. For graduate studies inquiries, contact Trevor Clews, Academic Officer, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA).

What changes when robots are everywhere? Find out at the Global Engagement showcase

The "Me and My Robot" logo featuring a lit light bulb above a cartoon robot head.

The Global Engagement Seminar welcomes all members of the University of Waterloo community as well as friends and colleagues beyond campus to join us on the evening of Wednesday, April 3 for the 2024 Desmarais Family Summit. 

The Summit is an annual interactive exhibition where students from the Global Engagement Seminar—an interdisciplinary course offered in the Winter term—showcase their research projects exploring this year’s theme: Me and my Robot: What Changes When Robots are Everywhere. 

About the 2024 Global Engagement Seminar

Students in Engineering, Arts, Heath, and Mathematics collaborated in interdisciplinary groups to look at not only the opportunities robots create, but also the challenges they pose, and considered how humanity can thrive with robots in our daily lives. In this collaborative environment, students were encouraged to embrace innovative problem-solving and take creative risks. Led by co-instructors Dr. Shana MacDonald (Communication Arts) and Dr. Brandon DeHart (Manager of the RoboHub, Faculty of Engineering) the class also benefited from the insights, experience, and guidance of six leading experts and practitioners in the field, the seminar’s Jarislowsky Fellows

A collage of six Jarislowsky Fellows.

The Fellows worked collaboratively with the coordinator and teaching faculty/researchers to facilitate the students in considering the interfaces between humans and robots — and what their presence in our everyday environments will mean for ourselves as individuals and for society more broadly. Each Jarislowsky Fellow shared their expertise and community-based experiences as advocates, activists, and practitioners in a series of lectures over the term, which were open to the public to attend and engage with the learning.  

Our Summit will begin at United College’s Ceremonial Firegrounds at 6:30 p.m. for a Fire Ceremony where all are welcome to attend. We will then gather in Alumni Hall (United College) for a panel discussion at 7:00 p.m. with Jarislowsky Fellows Ryan Garipy, Heather Woods, AJung Moon, Evan Ackerman, and Kristen Thomasen, followed by six interactive student projects from 8:00 p.m. until 9 p.m.

Please register to join the Global Engagement Desmarais Family Summit on Wednesday April 3, 2023. If you have any questions about this event, please contact Brooke Barnes. We hope to see you there!

Future Cities launch; Lake Shift applications, and other notes

Coloured beams of light streak across the cityscape and then shoot skyward.

"Tomorrow (Wednesday, April 3), the University of Waterloo will celebrate the official launch of the Future Cities Institute founded by CAIVAN," says a note from University Relations and Advancement. "You are invited to join UWaterloo President and Vice-chancellor Vivek Goel as he sits down with Frank Cairo, co-founder and CEO of CAIVAN, for an armchair chat to open critical dialogue on the future of cities in Canada and around the world."

The event takes place Wednesday, April 3 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Federation Hall. Please note this is an in-person event only and will not be live-streamed. A recording will be available after the event. If you have any questions, please email advancementevents@uwaterloo.ca.

Lake Shift graphic showing a peaceful, serene lake scene with trees."The Lake Shift is back!" trumpets Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs. "Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs is thrilled to announce that we will be sending two doctoral students to experience the fun and writing development opportunities offered through Lake Shift. Running from July 7 to 12, the Lake Shift is a thesis writing retreat for doctoral students from Ontario universities, hosted by the School of Graduate Studies at Queen's University." GSPA has a full story about the Lake Shift available on its website if you're interested in learning more about the opportunity.

Applications are due May 13.

Two Canada Geese nesting outside the front of the Dana Porter Library.

The bird is the word: "The Library can be a dangerous place when a pair of geese decide to nest right nearby," writes Professor James Skidmore of Germanic and Slavic Studies who snapped this pic of Dana Porter's new neighbours. Watch your step out there, folks.

Link of the day

International Children's Book Day

When and Where

The Student Health Pharmacy (located in the lower level of the Student Life Centre) is offering flu shots with no appointments needed daily from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Call 519-746-4500 or extension 33784 for more info. COVID shots will be available on appointment basis only. You can register online at studenthealthpharmacy.ca.

Waterloo Warriors Youth Camps. Winter, March Break and PD Day camps available for boys and girls ages 5-18. Baseball, Basketball, Football and Multi-Sport and Games camps available. Register today!

Warriors Youth Summer Camps. Basketball, Baseball, Football, Hockey, Multi-Sport and Volleyball. Register today!

Chemistry Seminar featuring Dr. Erin Johnson, Professor, Herzberg-Becke Chair in Theoretical Chemistry, Dalhousie University, “London dispersion in density-functional theory and application to molecular crystal structure prediction,” Tuesday, April 2, 2:30 p.m., C2-361 Reading Room. 

Future Cities Institute launch, Wednesday, April 3, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Federation Hall.

Trans Campus Community Corner, Wednesday, April 3, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., East Campus 5 4th floor – EDI-RO office. Register today.

RAISE x Definity Networking Event, Wednesday, April 3, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., EV3.

Global Engagement Seminar 2024 Desmarais Family Summit, Wednesday, April 3, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., United College Alumni Hall (UTD 201).

CrySP Speaker Series on Privacy featuring Kathrin Hövelmanns, Eindhoven University of Technology, “Fujisaki-Okamoto — a recipe for post-quantum public key encryption,” Wednesday, April 3, 2:00 p.m., MC 5501 and Zoom.

Research Impact Canada’s Dr. RIC, featuring presentations and perspectives from two of the funders in the RIC network: The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans, and the Weston Family Foundation, Wednesday, April 3, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Please contact Nadine Quehl to register.

Home Routes folk concert: Crys Matthews, Wednesday, April 3, 7:00 p.m., Brubacher House, North Campus. 

Waterloo RoboHub Spring Symposium, Thursday, April 4, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Engineering 7.

Waterloo RoboHub Spring Career Fair, Friday, April 5, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Engineering 7.

Pivot-RP virtual training workshop for faculty members, postdocs and graduate students, Friday, April 5, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., MS Teams. Please register to participate in the workshop.

Dean’s Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture featuring Sanjeev Khanna, Henry Salvatori Professor of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, “The Sublinear Lens and the Matching Problem,” Friday, April 5, 1:00 p.m., DC 1302 and Zoom.

Chamber Choir Concert: In the Night We Shall Go In, Friday, April 5, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, Kitchener. Tickets are $5 students/$10 general admission.

NEW - Ad Astra: University Choir Concert, Saturday, April 6, 7:30 p.m., Trillium Lutheran Church, 22 Willow St., Waterloo.  5 students/$10 general.

NEW - The Jazz Journey:  UWaterloo Jazz Ensemble, Sunday, April 7, 2:00 p.m., Conrad Grebel University College Great Hall. Free admission.

NEW - Instrumental Chamber Ensembles concert, Sunday, April 7, 7:30 p.m., Conrad Grebel University College Chapel. Free admission.

Equitable Recruitment and Selection, Monday, April 8, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., online.

University Senate meeting, Monday, April 8, 3:30 p.m., NH 3407 and online.

NEW - University of Waterloo Staff Conference, Wednesday, April 10 and Thursday, April 11.

Planning your research trajectory: Strategies for Success for researchers in the first three years of a tenure-track appointment, Wednesday, April 10, 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon, J.R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall – RCH 301. Please register to attend.

Map the System Campus Finals, Wednesday, April 10, 12 noon to 2:00 p.m., GreenHouse space, United College. Register now.

Board of Governors meeting, Tuesday, April 16, 1:30 p.m., NH 3407 and Zoom.

IQC Public Lecture featuring Dr. Rajibul Islam, “Open Quantum Computing, One Atom at a Time,” Wednesday, April 17, 7:00 p.m., QNC 0101.

The Foundation: Building Inclusive Research Teams, Thursday, April 18, 10:00 a.m. to 11: 00 a.m. Register here.

Games Institute (GI) research symposium, “Disrupting Disciplinary Divides for Digital Futures”, Friday April 19, East Campus 1.

Earth Day Campus Clean-up, Monday, April 22, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., supplies available at DC Green.