Tuesday, January 13, 2026

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• Staff can stand for election to Board of Governors

• Register for the Safeguarding Science webinars
• Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards: a new way to fund PhD students and postdocs
• Events gather velocity and other notes

Staff can stand for election to Board of Governors

A message from the Secretariat.

Staff elections for the Board of Governors vacancy will be held in March 2026, and all eligible staff are encouraged to consider nomination.  

The Board of Governors is responsible for the governance of the University including control of is property and revenues, the conduct of its business and affairs, except such matters assigned by the University of Waterloo Act, 1972 to the Senate. 

 The Act prescribes that there are 36 voting Board members. Governors include community leaders, staff, faculty, students, and alumni. The Board conducts its business through committees that bring recommendations to the full Board at four regularly scheduled meetings throughout the year. The composition of the Board of Governors consists of "two members of the full-time staff" of the University. For 2026, one full-time staff member position is available for election.  

Nominations

To appear on the ballot, nominees must provide a brief statement (100 words maximum) along with a completed nomination form. Those interested in becoming a Governor can find more information on the Staff Election Guidelines website.

The nomination period will open February 9 at 9:00 a.m. and remain open until February 20 at 4:30 p.m. The campaign period is to commence at the close of nominations on February 20 and run until March 3.  

Voting will begin as follows:

• Online Voting (Regular Full-Time staff members): Wednesday, March 4 at 9:00 a.m. and will close March 10 at 4:30 p.m.
• Paper Ballots (for Union staff members): Wednesday, March 4 at 9:00 a.m. and will close March 17 at 4:30 p.m. 

If you have any questions, please get in touch with the Secretariat. 

Register for the Safeguarding Science webinars

A message from the Office of Research.

Public Safety Canada's Research Security Centre will host a series of safeguarding science webinars between January and March 2026 to enhance the research community's understanding of research security by introducing key concepts such as dual-use technologies, vulnerabilities, exploitation practices, threat vectors, relevant laws and regulations, and other associated risks.

The training modules are intended for all, regardless of academic domain. This includes researchers, research staff (including technicians, postdoctoral fellows, and students), research security professionals, research administrators, information technology and information management staff, security personnel, biosafety and radiological safety officers, human resources personnel, supply chain personnel, and senior management.

Learn more about the Safeguarding Science Webinars.

Training modules

• Module 1 – Safeguarding Science: Raising awareness of security risks and mitigation tools in the research ecosystem (English) – January 21, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Module 2 - Dual-Use Technologies: Know Your Research – Know your Partners – Assess the Risk (English) – March 24, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Module 3 – Demystifying the International Student Immigration Process (English) – March 19, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Module 4 – Know before you Export: Canada's Export and Brokering Controls (English) – January 19, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Module 5 – Sanctions 101 (English) – February 5, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Module 6 – Travelling Safely: Protecting Your Research While Travelling Abroad (English) – March 11, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Module 7 – Conducting Open-Source Due-Diligence (English) – February 19, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Module 8 – Beyond the Lab: The Strategic Relevance of Social Sciences and Humanities in Research Security – Date TBD

Register with your University of Waterloo email address directly through Safeguarding Science (publicsafety.gc.ca). Please direct all questions to Public Safety Canada at researchsecurity-securiteenrecherche@ps-sp.gc.ca.

Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards: a new way to fund PhD students and postdocs

A message from Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.

The Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA) offer an exceptional opportunity to attract and recruit top PhD students and postdoctoral scholars who are studying or working outside of Canada to your research team at the University of Waterloo. This tri-agency initiative provides generous funding for up to 600 doctoral and 400 postdoctoral scholars across Canada, with a limited quota for those at Waterloo whose research focuses on any of eight priority research areas critical to Canada’s innovation future:

• Advanced digital technologies (AI, quantum, cybersecurity);
• Health, including biotechnology;
• Clean technology and resource value chains;
• Environment, climate resilience, and the Arctic;
• Food and water security;
• Democratic and community resilience;
• Manufacturing and advanced materials; and
• Defence and dual-use technologies.

Award details

• PhD students: $40,000/year for up to 3 years*
  • *Nominators must commit to supporting PhD students beyond the CIRTA funding period (e.g., for the 4^th year of their doctoral program)
• Postdocs: $70,000/year for up to 2 years

Key deadlines

• February 17, 2026: Deadline to submit nominations to GSPA
• April 1, 2026: Results announced
  • Earliest PhD start: Spring 2026; latest intake: Winter 2027
  • Postdocs must begin by March 31, 2027

For additional information, including full eligibility criteria, see the official websites:

• PhD students: Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA) website on the future graduate students website.
• Postdoctoral scholars: Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA) Program website on the postdoctoral scholars website.

Events gather velocity and other notes

The Velocity Innovation Open House mixer takes place today at Federation Hall. Attendees will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with like-minded student entrepreneurs and speak with representatives from Velocity and other campus groups like Math Innovation, Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, GreenHouse, Grebel Peace Incubator, Future Cities Institute, the Libraries, LBIH Black Innovation Hub and Socratica, to name a few. The event runs from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. today.

Hot on the heels of the open house is the Velocity Cornerstone Idea Session, which will take place on Wednesday, January 14, providing student entrepreneurs with information about the upcoming Cornerstone 10-day challenge. "Cornerstone is Velocity's two-week sprint for students and researchers from any faculty who want to explore an idea they have or even just an area of interest with a supportive community," says a note from Velocity. "It is focused on introducing you to potential customers and stakeholders who live and work outside the University." The idea session event takes place on Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Pearl Sullivan Engineering (formerly E7) Room 2409 - the 2nd floor Ideas Clinic. There's still time to sign up.

While we're on the subject of all things speedy, the Libraries is offering GIS Speed Run Sessions: What is GIS? workshop today from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., online. The workshop will explain what Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is all about, give examples of its use within the architecture industry, and provide instructions on how to access GIS software, all in a 30-minute time frame!