Friday, February 13, 2026

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• Provincial announcement funding - what it means for Waterloo
• Update on the Role of the Chief Information Officer
• Water-modelling company Aquanty acquired by Rocscience
• What's open and closed on Reading Week and Family Day
• Notes as a long weekend looms

Provincial announcement funding - what it means for Waterloo

A message from Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor.

Yesterday, the Ontario government announced a significant multi-year investment in the post secondary sector.

This landmark announcement includes an overall investment over four years to the university and college sector of $6.4 billion. Importantly, the government has announced an end to the freeze on tuition, capping at two per cent from 2026/27. Over the next four years, the announcement includes:

• increased funding for enrolment adding 70,000 seats for in-demand programs
• increased funding by changing the base program weights for high-priority programs, and
• six per cent increase in base funding for all students enrolled which replaces the sustainability funding which was set to expire next year.

This is a meaningful, welcome step forward for Ontario universities, including us here at Waterloo. I am grateful to the Government of Ontario for this important investment that strengthens our financial foundation and helps us to propel graduates to careers and outcomes that support Ontario’s economy. 

We need to take some time to understand the details of today’s announcement, but it is clear that the announcement aligns with our strengths, including high-demand programs, experiential education, research commercialization, and our role in preparing talent for Ontario’s economy.

While this good news improves the broader funding environment, it does not mean an end to the financial pressures facing Waterloo. We continue to operate in a context of rising costs, enrolment shifts, and structural challenges that have built up over many years. The work underway through our budget sustainability initiatives remains essential and is expected of us by the government.

To help deliver on the important investment that Ontario is making in us, we must continue to make careful, strategic decisions about how we invest in our resources. Our benchmarking data shows us that we must deliver on initiatives already underway designed to strengthen our long-term financial sustainability through our functional reviews and academic innovations.

This announcement gives the sector a stronger foundation, and we should take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate that progress. At the same time, our responsibility to steward Waterloo’s resources thoughtfully and sustainably remains unchanged.

Thank you for your continued commitment to the University of Waterloo and to supporting our students, research, and community.

Update on the Role of the Chief Information Officer

A message from Jacinda Reitsma, Vice-President, Administration and Finance, and Thomas Duever, Interim Vice-President, Academic and Provost.

Following several University reviews of Information Technology since 2020, the University is clarifying and formalizing the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to support improved coordination, governance, and strategic alignment of IT activities across the institution.

The CIO will now report jointly to the Vice-President, Administration and Finance and the Vice-President, Academic and Provost, reflecting the institution-wide scope of the role. The CIO’s accountabilities are being expanded to include institutional IT strategy, planning and investments, coordination and integration of IT activities, and IT governance and policy.

To ensure that IT decision-making, planning and coordination continue to be aligned with the University’s core missions, we are directing the CIO to review and recommend updates to IT governance structures, in consultation with Executive Council and relevant stakeholders.

Together, these changes provide an important foundation for the upcoming implementation of recommendations from the IT Functional Review and confirm the CIO’s role in providing University-wide IT leadership.

Water-modelling company Aquanty acquired by Rocscience

Peter Forsyth is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Cheriton School of Computer Science.

This article was originally published on the Cheriton School of Computer Science website.

Aquanty Inc., a Waterloo-based water-modelling company co-founded by Distinguished Professor Emeritus Peter Forsyth, has been acquired by Rocscience, a Toronto company specializing in 2- and 3-D modelling software for civil, mining and geotechnical engineers.

Professor Emeritus Edward Sudicky of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Founded in 2012 by Professors Forsyth and Ed Sudicky of Waterloo’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, along with Professor René Therrien of Université Laval, Aquanty grew out of years of collaborative research on surface and subsurface water modelling. Professor Forsyth, who served as director of Aquanty from 2012 to 2025, contributed expertise in algorithms to solve partial differential equations and large sparse matrices, mathematical tools that power Aquanty’s water modelling.

“It is great to see a Waterloo spin-off being acquired by another Canadian company,” Distinguished Professor Emeritus Forsyth said. “All too often, technology from Canadian companies moves south, along with the R&D jobs. Aquanty’s research and software development remains in Waterloo.”

Aquanty is known for its scientific expertise in hydrogeology, contaminant transport, soil physics, climate modelling and applied mathematics. Its flagship product, HydroGeoSphere, is a hydrologic simulation engine used by water-resources engineers to model the terrestrial water cycle. The software uses a physics-based numerical approach to track how water moves among surface water, soil moisture and groundwater systems.

Best Startup Canada named Aquanty in 2021 one of Waterloo’s “top 11 big data startups and companies,” citing its innovation, growth, management and societal impact.

Rocscience’s acquisition of Aquanty expands its portfolio of software and strengthens the company to offer comprehensive tools for water-resource management and climate-risk assessment.

“We are thrilled to welcome Aquanty to the Rocscience family,” said Dr. Thamer Yacoub, CEO and President of Rocscience. “This acquisition empowers us to expand our impact by offering industry-leading hydrologic modelling and AI-powered water resource analytics to our global customer base.”

Aquanty’s work has had far-reaching impact. One notable example is Canada1Water, an ambitious initiative to develop a continent-scale hydrologic model spanning all of Canada, including the Far North. The project provides policymakers and the public with tools to understand how climate change and land-use decisions affect Canada’s water resources.“The association with Rocscience marks a new chapter for Aquanty, allowing us to leverage a wider platform and customer reach,” said Dr. Steven Berg, CEO and President of Aquanty. “Together, we will accelerate the innovation of advanced, hydrologic modelling tools that help clients better understand and adapt to complex water cycle dynamics and climate impacts worldwide.”

What's open and closed on Reading Week and Family Day

The winter term is thundering ever onward like a runaway snowmobile, and that means Reading Week and the Family Day holiday are suddenly upon us. 

Reading Week begins with Valentine's Day on Saturday, February 14 and runs until Sunday, February 22. During Reading Week, all classes are cancelled, and students are free to catch up on their reading, get ahead on their schoolwork, or maybe just relax. Right?

Then comes the long weekend. Monday is Family Day, a statutory holiday brought in nearly 20 years ago by the Ontario government that takes place on the third Monday in February. Most University operations will be closed. Operational changes to look out for next week include:

Athletics and Recreation facilities will be open on Saturday, February 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., closed on Sunday, February 15, and on Monday, February 16, the PAC will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon while the CIF will be closed. Check out the Facility Hours website for more information.

Dana Porter and the Davis Centre Library branches will be closed on Monday, February 16, but will be open during Reading Week. Visit the Library’s Opening Hours page for more details.

SLC & Turnkey at SLC are open all throughout Reading Week 24/7.

Flock Stop has various hours next week, and will resume regular hours on February 22 at 8:00 a.m.

• Saturday, Feb 14, Open 24/7 
• Sunday, Feb 15, Closed at 10pm
• Monday, Feb 16, Closed
• Tuesday, Feb 17, 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb 18, 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb 19 - Saturday, Feb 21, Closed

Turnkey@DC is closed Reading Week - reopens on February 23.

The Bomber is open 11:00 - 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb 17 & Wednesday, Feb 18 and closed Feb 19 and 20.

Most Food Services operations will be closed on Monday and during Reading Week in general, with the following exceptions:

• The Market at UWP;
• Tim Hortons SLC (closed Monday, February 16 but open February 17 to 20, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.); and
• Mudie's in Village 1.

Check out the Locations and Hours page for more details.

Notes as a long weekend looms

Flags on the University of Waterloo's campus were lowered on Wednesday, February 11, in recognition of the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Flags will stay lowered until Tuesday, February 17.

Waterloo community members came to the PAC in droves this past Saturday, February 7. Hosted by Athletics and Advancement, the Fantastic Alumni, Faculty, Staff and Retiree Day featured two Warriors basketball games, family-friendly activities and the beloved Airplane Toss. This year, more than 1,100 fans attended the event. Thank you to everyone who joined to cheer on the Warriors! 

The Office of Indigenous Relations, the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre are coming together to host a Have a Heart Day community gathering tonight. "The evening will feature opportunities to connect through culture, song, dance, crafts, and kid-friendly activities, creating a welcoming space for learning, reflection, and community," says a note from the Office of Indigenous Relations. All students, faculty, and staff are welcome. Registration is required. Visit the Office of Indigenous Relations event page to learn more about Have a Heart Day and register.   

Hurry hard! Today is the deadline to register for the Hagey Funspiel, which is set to take place on Saturday, February 21 at the Ayr Curling Club.

Join SVPRO and the Neurominds Collective for an in-person workshop on Dating & Neurodiversity on Tuesday, February 24 from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. In this interactive workshop, participants will cover topics like healthy relationships with/as a neurodivergent individual and sensory-friendly dating tips. We'll also discuss and understand why people on the Autism Spectrum receive less sexual health education other typically developing people.