Friday, June 21, 2024

Finding Indigenous community

This is an excerpt of an article originally published in the 2024 issue of Waterloo Magazine: Happiness, presented in recognition of National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Robin Jones-Stadelbauer (BA ’12, BA, ’22) found the transition to University to be challenging as she moved away from her community for the first time and she made the choice to return to the place that brought her joy and peace.  

After returning to campus to complete her degree, she now works as a leader in the Office of Indigenous Relations to create a sense of community and connection for Indigenous students across campus.  

Read more about Robin’s experience in the latest issue of the Waterloo Magazine.

New initiative aims to accelerate sustainability into the curriculum

A message from the Sustainability Office and Teaching Innovation Incubator.

The University of Waterloo is excited to launch a new support structure to help academic programs integrate sustainability across the curriculum. Supported by the Sustainability Office and the Teaching Innovation Incubator and drawing on a cross-disciplinary working group of academic leaders, this support structure aims to enhance existing efforts to equip students with the skills, knowledge, values, and competencies needed to thrive as future-ready global citizens amidst rapid sustainability changes.

Project goals and sustainability framework

Waterloo has longstanding leadership in sustainability education through specific programs and faculties, however a cohesive, institution-wide strategy and support structure has been lacking. This new initiative, led by the Sustainability Curriculum Integration Working Group, addresses this gap. The project introduces a flexible framework and toolkit, which launched in Spring 2024, that departments can utilize to integrate environmental sustainability more deeply into any discipline. The framework follows five iterative steps – understand, connect, integrate, evaluate, adapt and enhance – allowing for diverse disciplinary approaches while ensuring consistent, high-quality integration of sustainability topics across disciplines.

Report findings

The project’s initial phase concluded with a summative report of extensive research, including literature reviews, peer scans, faculty and staff interviews, and student surveys. Key findings of the report highlight the importance of a flexible framework to accommodate varying perspectives on sustainability and identified barriers to integration such as faculty burnout and time constraints. The report also discusses the opportunities for experiential learning, co-op programs, and communities of practice to further engage the Waterloo community in sustainability principles. Notably, the report reveals strong support for sustainability education among departments, industry sectors, and students. Many students expressed a keen interest in applied sustainability learning, recognizing its relevance to their future careers. The report synthesized these into 11 recommendations for Phase 2 (S2024-S2025), focusing on community building, executive support, and system-wide integration.

Support structure for departments

Phase 1 of the project also produced preliminary tools to aid program administrators, chairs, instructors, and support units in implementing the framework into their departments. These resources are synthesized on a new website to create a single spot for interested instructors and curriculum developers, including links to existing supports and programs.

Work is also underway to establish a community of practice and student engagement opportunities through a co-curricular student sustainability credential. As Phase 2 unfolds, keep an eye out for opportunities to engage with the toolkit and the project team through joining the Sustainability Curriculum Community of Practice.

To learn more about the Report and Sustainability toolkit, please visit the Sustainability in the Curriculum website for more information. If you are interested in exploring opportunities for integration in your program or department, please connect with the Sustainability Office.

Waterloo celebrates newest Vanier scholars

By Zoe Tipper. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.

As part of a recent Government of Canada announcement, seven University of Waterloo doctoral students were named recipients of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS).

The Vanier CGS program awards up to $50,000 per year for three years, for students working in social sciences and humanities, natural sciences, engineering and health.

“The University of Waterloo remains unequivocally committed to accelerate Canada’s economy and the well-being of Canadians through our core missions of education and research” says Dr. Jeff Casello, associate vice-president of graduate studies and postdoctoral affairs.

“Our entire community is thrilled to welcome these exceptional Vanier Scholars to the University. We thank the federal government for its commitment to supporting Canadian research and researchers, and we look forward to celebrating the transformative outcomes these Vanier scholars will produce.”

These scholars are part of a network of researchers at the University of Waterloo who are committed to solving the most complex challenges of our time, shaped by fundamental and applied research excellence. Waterloo is proud to present the following Vanier scholars.

Check out the full list of Vanier Scholars on Waterloo News.

Walking Through the Fire: Truth and reconciliation through musical collaboration

By Emily Brant. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.

Local and University of Waterloo community members were invited to gather at Federation Hall, for a beautiful display of diversity and unity in celebration of National Indigenous History Month. 

The Office of Indigenous Relations (OIR) hosted a community concert featuring the Sultans of String Waking Through the Fire musical performance on Monday, June 17. The Sultans of String are three-time JUNO award nominees, who combine storytelling and music. Waking Through the Fire shares the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and Final Report, which calls for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to work together to show a path forward.   

Walking Through the Fire is an album and live show that is a powerful collection of collaborations between the group and First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists - from Métis fiddling to an East Coast Kitchen Party, rumba to rock, to the drumming of the Pacific Northwest, the show featured Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk of the Métis Fiddler Quartet, Marc Meriläinen (Nadjiwan), Ojibwe/Finnish singer-songwriter, and Coast Tsm’syen singer-songwriter, Shannon Thunderbird, Special guests who joined virtually, included Elder and poet Dr. Duke Redbird, the Northern Cree pow wow group, Inuit Throat Singers Kendra Tagoona, Tracy Sarazin and more.

Read more about the concert

Student engagement pilot group still seeking participants, other notes

Instructional Technologies and Media Services (ITMS) and the Teaching Innovation Incubator (TII) report that the expression of interest link in last week's announcement about the LEARN student engagement tool pilot group was published incorrectly. Readers will recall that as part of the LEARN improvements project, ITMS in collaboration with TII is investigating new features in the LEARN platform to enhance teaching and learning at the University of Waterloo. Among the features being investigated is Creator+, a LEARN tool that is designed to amplify student engagement through the integration of interactive course content. With Creator+, instructors can weave in practice exercises, interactive bits, and video recordings directly into the LEARN system, making learning more dynamic and accessible to all students.

If you are a faculty or staff member interested in exploring Creator+, please complete the expression of interest form (the link should be working now) to be considered to join the pilot. Priority will be given to those teaching in the Fall 2024 term. Once selected to join the pilot, you can expect to receive documentation, resources, and training on the Creator+ tool.

For more information about the Creator+ pilot and roles and responsibilities for participating in the pilot please visit the Creator+ pilot participation expectation document.

Hot enough for ya? It’s been a sweltering few days on campus, but Plant Operations reports that the Central Plant’s last chiller repair is “moving along,” and it is expected that the unit will be operational today.

The new challenge that is emerging is power consumption, reports Stepanka Elias, Executive Director of Facilities in Plant Operations. Enova Power Corp is reportedly struggling to keep up with the demand from both the University and the community at large – with the current heatwave keeping the region sweating, electrical consumption is much higher than compared to June of previous years.

Members of the University community should be mindful of their electrical consumption and energy use habits both on and off-campus, at work and at home. To reiterate, Plant Operations recommends:

• Keeping curtains and windows closed;
• Avoiding charging electronic devices (cell phones, tablets, etc.) in the afternoon; and
• Turning off lights and computers when not in use.

Information Systems & Technology (IST) has published the latest in the Atlassian blog series, entitled Advanced JQL Tips and Best Practices.