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Submission guidelines
Changes to LITE Seed Grant deadlines and funding periods
A message from the Office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic.
The University of Waterloo’s Learning Innovation and Teaching Enhancement (LITE) Seed Grants fund projects that investigate innovative approaches to enhancing teaching and fostering deep student learning at Waterloo. They are funded by the Office of the Associate Vice President, Academic, and administered by the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE). Since its inception in 2012, more than 180 research projects have benefited from LITE funding. Read about these projects on the CTE website.
Beginning in 2025, there will be two rounds of LITE Seed grants per year (June, October) instead of the current three. The total funding available and the number of grants awarded remains the same, and up to nine $7500 grants will be awarded per round.
The funding period will also be extended to 18 months (from the current 12 months) to facilitate the full completion of research projects. Applicants will also need to meet with CTE’s research team for a consultation at least two weeks before the submission deadline.
Do not hesitate to reach out to Annik Bilodeau, Educational Developer, Research and Consulting (annik.bilodeau@uwaterloo.ca) or Brianna Bennett, Educational Research Associate (bfgbennett@uwaterloo.ca) if you have any questions about these changes.
The last round under the current guidelines will be in Fall 2024, with proposals due on October 1, at 11:59pm. All applicants must book a consultation with CTE’s Research Team prior to submission. Annik and Brianna are happy to meet before September 23. Proposals submitted without a prior consultation will not be reviewed.
Department-Branded Orange Tee Shirts
A message from W Store
In preparation for this year’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, W Store is pleased to provide departmental and custom branding on Orange Shirts that feature the unique design from Alanah Astehtsi Otsistohkwa (Morningstar) Jewell of Morningstar Designs, from the exclusive collection developed in partnership with the Office of Indigenous Relations.
For an additional $2 per shirt, custom-branded orange tee shirts will be available to order until September 9. Custom branding is available in one colour on one sleeve. Please email wstore@uwaterloo.ca to place your orders. A minimum order of 12 shirts is required for customization.
A significant portion of the proceeds from the sale of these Orange Shirts will be directed to support the Indigenous Student Development Fund on campus, established to provide financial assistance to those Indigenous students who are most at risk of abandoning their education due to financial hardship.
Non-customized orange tee shirts are available for purchase at W Store located in South Campus Hall, while quantities last.
Measuring biodiversity through listening
By Sarah Fullerton. This in an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.
From working for a clean energy incubator in Uganda to analyzing sales data in Munich, and monitoring biodiversity in Germany’s Black Forest, Samantha Kremer's co-op experiences have been nothing short of extraordinary.
Originally from Alberta, Kremer was drawn to the University of Waterloo for its renowned co-op program, which she saw as an ideal way to gain practical experience while earning her degree. Waterloo has the largest co-op program at a research-intensive university in the world with more than 70 per cent of students gaining up to two years of employment experience during their studies.
As a fourth-year Honours Science and Business student specializing in biology, Kremer’s program led her to complete co-op terms not just in Canada but also overseas in Uganda, and even more recently, in Germany.
Kremer’s co-op journey in Munich, Germany began in January 2024 at Hoffmann Group SE, one of Europe’s largest tool manufacturers. At Hoffmann, Kremer learned how to translate complex data into actionable insights — an essential skill she brought to her latest co-op work term in the Faculty of Biology at Albert Ludwigs Universität Freiburg.
As an eco-acoustics and land use research intern, Kremer dove into her passion for science and biology, using eco-acoustics to monitor the biodiversity in grassland ecosystems. By training a machine learning classifier to recognize grasshopper and cricket sounds, Kremer is contributing to the development of an AI model that will allow scientists to quickly disentangle sound data and use the information as a biodiversity indicator in varying land-use intensities.
"It's like a Shazam for grasshoppers," she explains.