Wednesday, July 3, 2024

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• Waterloo wins awards of excellence for advancing higher education
• KDE Hub receives $2.25M in funding to support youth substance use prevention
• P3 Showcase issues call for proposals
• Wednesday's notes

Waterloo wins awards of excellence for advancing higher education

Children participate in the Faculty of Engineering's Travelling STEM project.

A message from the Office of Advancement. This announcement was originally published on the Office of Advancement website.  

The University of Waterloo has been recognized with awards of excellence from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).  

CASE and CCAE serve educational institutions and professionals working in advancement services, alumni relations, development, marketing and communications, external relations and related areas. The associations’ annual awards recognize creative ideas that successfully engage communities to advance higher education.   

   This year, Waterloo received these accolades:   

• CASE Gold Circle of Excellence Award for Targeted Constituency Engagement – Travelling STEM: Go Where the Students Are (Faculty of Engineering) 

• CASE Gold Circle of Excellence Award for Advertising (Online) – Promoting Legacy Programs for Increased Registration and Revenue Growth (WatSPEED) 

• CASE Bronze Circle of Excellence Award for Special Events – Online (One-time) – ChatGPT: What Executives Really Need to Know (WatSPEED) 

• CCAE Bronze Prix d/Excellence for Best Community Outreach Initiative – Employer Impact Conference (Co-operative and Experiential Education) 

 These awards demonstrate our collective leadership as strategic partners and community builders, and they’re wonderful reminders of the talent across our University. Congratulations to everyone who was recognized for their work! 

KDE Hub receives $2.25M in funding to support youth substance use prevention

The Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, the Honourable Ya'ara Saks, has announced funding for community-based youth substance use prevention in communities across Canada.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has awarded $2.25 million to the Knowledge Development and Exchange Hub for Youth Substance Use Prevention (KDE Hub). The KDE Hub will support the implementation of the IPM in Canada, lead a pan-Canadian youth substance use prevention community of practice, and facilitate sharing of information, knowledge, and best practices.

The Youth Substance Use Prevention Program (YSUPP) is a national initiative funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada that seeks to prevent substance use and promote wellness among Canadian youth. YSUPP is based on the Icelandic Prevention Model (IPM), an internationally recognized community-based approach aimed at identifying risks and mobilizing protective factors to prevent substance use and related harms.

"As Scientific Co-Directors, we are proud of the extensive mental health promotion work undertaken by the Hub team in amplifying new knowledge that will benefit communities across Canada," said Dr. Alice Schmidt Hanbidge and Dr. Colleen McMillan, Scientific Co-Directors of the KDE Hub. "The YSUPP funding allows our team to extend this work supporting projects to implement the Icelandic Prevention Model and support wellness for youth and their families in the context of substance use prevention."

The KDE Hub will capture the Canadian experience and adaptation of the IPM by consolidating evaluation results across funded projects at the pan-Canadian level. Initiated in 2019 by the Public Health Agency of Canada and hosted by Renison University College, the KDE Hub is a national entity, engaging many disciplines, sectors, and experiences. The KDE Hub supports a wide range of projects funded through federal programs and those with shared interests in promoting wellness in Canada.

"I am delighted that the KDE Hub, located at Renison University College, has been selected by the Public Health Agency of Canada, to support the implementation of the Icelandic Prevention Model in Canada," said Dr. Wendy Fletcher. "Established in 2019, the Hub team has supported over 60 mental health projects spanning coast to coast to coast. This new funding initiative will extend the capacity of communities to support their youth in meaningful and healthy ways."

P3 Showcase issues call for proposals

A message from the P3 Community of Practice.

Do you have a project you are proud of? Do you have a project that your team learned from? Did you make a contribution toward your department's productivity? Is there a change on your team or in your unit that went well or that you learned from and you’d like to share with campus to enable further improvements? We would like to hear from you!

The P3 Community of Practice is excited to announce that we will be hosting our 5^th annual Showcase on Wednesday, September 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in DC 1302 (the ‘fishbowl’) and we are seeking proposals.

The Showcase is a free, drop-in over a half-day event that brings campus colleagues together to connect, share best practices, and hear about successes and lessons learned. With your contribution, the event will feature poster exhibits and poster flash talks supported by those involved in the project —all centered around ideas and practices that contribute to continuous improvement, change management, and project management. The Showcase is open to all employees and students.  

We invite you to submit a proposal for a poster exhibit and/or flash talk by July 26. Proposals will cover topics related to Continuous Improvement, Change Management, and/or Project Management. Past posters can be viewed on the Showcase event page. 

Procedure for submitting proposals

Successful proposals will meet some or all the following criteria. The poster / flash talk will: 

1. Address projects or initiatives and the application of best practices in one or more of Continuous Improvement, Change Management, and/or Project Management. 
2. be geared to employees as the primary audience. 
3. Promote tools, methodologies, or practices others can use, apply, and are supported by the campus. 
4. Identify clear learning outcomes and key takeaways. 
5. Focus on innovations or emerging trends, practices, or knowledge. 
6. Offer a mix of information-sharing and engagement. 

Submissions will be reviewed and evaluated on the above criteria. You will be notified by July 29 to confirm the status of your proposal. Support, including printing of posters, will be provided for all approved submissions. Anyone with questions is invited to contact Breanna Michael.

Wednesday's notes

Among the latest inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA) Hall of Fame is Commander Chris Hadfield, who was appointed a professor in Waterloo's geography and aviation program in 2013 and today is an honorary advisor for the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA). 

Colonel Hadfield is a renowned Canadian astronaut who commanded the International Space Station. "Hadfield’s distinguished career spans over three decades with the military, NASA, and the Canadian Space Agency, during which he flew three space missions, built two space stations, and performed two spacewalks," says his CSFFA award citation. "His contributions have earned him numerous awards including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the Order of Canada."

"He is a best-selling author of five books and a global speaker, with his TED talk garnering over 20 million views. He co-hosts the BBC series “Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes?” and National Geographic’s “One Strange Rock” documentary series. His album, “Space Sessions: Songs from a Tin Can,” was the first to be recorded in space."

Hadfield was nominated alongside authors Nalo Hopkinson and Jo Walton.

Food Truck Wednesdays continue today in the Arts Quad with vendors from Conestoga College.

Employers hosting Employer Information Sessions next week include Rippling. Make sure to register through WaterlooWorksand check the calendar for any updates.