Thursday, November 7, 2024

Reminder: Building Inclusive Research Teams webinar coming up November 14

A message from the Office of the Vice-President, Research and International. 

The Foundation: Building Inclusive Research Teams webinar will take place on November 14. Are you planning to attend? 

The Foundation: Building Inclusive Research Teams, Thursday, November 14, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Research shows that building inclusive research teams promotes research excellence. This presentation will take researchers through the necessary steps to identify EDI barriers on their teams, make a plan to address the barriers, and to review the outcomes of the actions they have taken and plan for the future. 

Please  register to receive the Zoom link to participate. 

Recognizing Indigenous Disability Awareness Month

A message from the Office of Indigenous Relations and AccessAbility Services.

November is Indigenous Disability Awareness Month (IDAM). The Office of Indigenous Relations is hosting an event to honour this important initiative at the University of Waterloo. 

Indigenous peoples of Canada experience a disability rate significantly higher than that of the general population. Indigenous Disability Awareness Month brings awareness of the barriers and the issues that Indigenous peoples living with disabilities and their families face every day. More importantly though, in spite of these barriers, IDAM celebrates the achievements of Indigenous peoples living with disabilities and recognize the significant and valuable contributions they make to our communities socially, economically, and culturally every day.

Staff, students, and faculty are invited to a keynote presentation on Indigenous perspectives on disability from Emily Anne Brant. Emily Anne Brant is a Kanyen’kehà:ka woman from the Turtle Clan of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Emily will share insights from her personal experiences as a person with disabilities. Drawing on her work at the University of Waterloo in inclusive communications and lived experience with indigeneity and disability, Emily will highlight the connection between decolonization, un-shaming disability and unlearning ableism. 

Event details:

Date: Wednesday, November 20

Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Location: Fed Hall and livestream (Zoom)

To register for this event, visit Unlearning Ableism: decolonizing and un-shaming disability.

If you have any questions about the event please contact indigenousrelations@uwaterloo.ca.

Inaugural open call for Teaching Innovation Incubator projects

A message from the Teaching Innovation Incubator.

After a comprehensive design and consultation phase with the UWaterloo community, the Teaching Innovation Incubator has been supporting bold teaching and learning ideas since its launch in 2022. With cross-functional, cross-faculty teams pursuing innovative ideas, its six current "beta" projects—designed to shape the Incubator’s long-term future—are now reaching their final stages.

This fall, the Incubator is excited to announce its inaugural open call for project submissions. We are seeking diverse project teams with teaching and learning ideas that are complex, necessitate change, require interdisciplinary and cross-functional partnerships, and have the potential to be a transformative part of the future of education at the University of Waterloo. Selected projects will gain access to funding, project coordination, and a suite of resources.

Review the 2025 Incubator Open Call website for information about eligibility, project selection criteria, and the application submission projects. The deadline to submit a project application is December 13.

Open call project focus

While the Incubator will consider any project with the potential for substantial impact on teaching and learning at Waterloo, particular attention will be paid to these themes:

• Generative-AI and the future of Teaching and Learning
• Projects involving two or more of Waterloo's Global Futures

These themes can be broadly conceptualized as preparing for the future of higher education at UWaterloo.

Incubator projects will be encouraged to address these by proposing:

• New academic programs
• New approaches to teaching
• New assessment practices
• Innovative use of educational technologies
• Societal advances to improve our learning environment

Applicants are encouraged to consult with the Teaching Innovation Incubator (tii@uwaterloo.ca) in advance of submitting a proposal. An adjudication committee (comprised of faculty, staff, and students) will review all submissions. Decisions will be announced in January 2025.

Waterloo community encouraged to take the Travel Survey

A message from the Sustainability Office.

Students and employees are encouraged to participate in the 2024 Travel Survey, to help Waterloo better understand how people move to, from, within, and between campuses.

The Travel Survey, which runs every two years, is an important tool to measure the different ways that people travel, as well as inform the development of University planning to support efficient, sustainable, safe, and accessible travel options. Outcomes will inform the Environmental Sustainability Strategy as well as development of the Sustainable Transportation Plan.

The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete, and after completing the survey, you can choose to enter a prize draw for one of four $50 WATCard top-ups.

All survey responses are fully anonymous, and will only be disclosed in aggregate.

To learn more and to start the survey, please visit the 2024 Travel Survey webpage.

You're invited to celebrate the career of Kim Gingerich

Friends and colleagues of Kim Gingerich are invited to a retirement reception in her honour on Thursday, December 5 at Federation Hall from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  

For over 40 years, Kim has been a valued member of the University of Waterloo community, contributing her insights, skills, and collaborative approach to essential initiatives and functions of the University.  

Kim worked in the Faculty of Math for 21 years, ending her time there as assistant to the Chair of Pure Math and led a team that supported the functions of that office. Over the last 19 years, Kim has supported nine Provosts as the Executive Officer, Academic in the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Provost. Kim’s institutional knowledge, her friendly nature, and her supportive leadership style has cultivated collegial relationships across the University that have helped streamline operations within the Office of the Provost.  

Join us in wishing Kim well on her upcoming retirement. If you would like to attend the reception, please RSVP by November 18.