Thursday, May 14, 2026

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• It's one week until UWaterloo Giving Day!

• Register to attend the President's internal farewell celebration on June 3

• Waterloo students take the top spot in global finance competition

• Raise your voice at Convocation

• All's fair on campus and other flights of fancy

It's one week until UWaterloo Giving Day!

A message from the Office of Advancement.

UWaterloo Giving Day is all about momentum — the kind that builds when our community comes together to strengthen teaching and learning, fuel innovation and support the experiences that help our students thrive.

As faculty, staff and retirees, you shape the Waterloo experience every day. Whether you choose to give, play the Giving Day game or simply share the excitement, you’re part of what makes Giving Day meaningful for our entire community. You’re at the heart of what makes Waterloo truly special.

Register to attend the President's internal farewell celebration on June 3

Vivek Goel will be completing his time as the University of Waterloo's seventh President and Vice-Chancellor at the end of June. The campus community is invited to attend an internal farewell event on Wednesday, June 3.

Shaping Futures: Celebrating Vivek Goel will be held on the BMH Green and in the Indigenous Gathering Space from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, with remarks beginning at 3:00 p.m. In the event of rain, the celebration will move to the Student Life Centre’s Black & Gold Room.

A reception and refreshments will follow the event.

Register today.

You are also invited to share a personal message or well wishes via the Shaping Futures website.

Waterloo students take the top spot in global finance competition

The SAF student team beat 1,200 universities to claim the CFA Institute Research Challenge global title for the third time, making Waterloo Canada's only-ever global champion.

By Rachel Doherty.

For the third time in a decade, students from the University of Waterloo's School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) have claimed the global title at the CFA Institute Research Challenge — the world's most prestigious student finance competition.

The student team arrived in Hong Kong having spent months preparing — hundreds of hours of research, dozens of practice sessions with alumni and mentors and six gruelling rounds of competition against the best student finance teams in the world. On May 12, it all paid off.

Competing against more than 8,000 students from 1,200 universities across 160 markets, the SAF team beat finalists from California State University Fullerton, Peking University, Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Ljubljana to take home the grand prize of $10,000 USD.

With wins in 2016, 2024 and now 2026, the University of Waterloo stands alone as Canada's only global champion and ties the University of Sydney for the most global final appearances of any school in the competition's 20-year history.

The team includes Jei Raman Gnaneswaran, Alicia Wen and Michael Huang, students in the Accounting and Financial Management program, Quynh-Anh Le, a student in the Biotech/CPA program and Ethan Fraser, a Sustainability and Financial Management student.

The pitch

Ontario schools were assigned Lightspeed Commerce (TSX: LSPD), a Montreal-based technology company whose software powers the payment terminals and back-end systems used by restaurants and retailers around the world. After months of deep analysis, including primary research conversations with customers, competitors and industry professionals, the team issued a sell recommendation, citing concerns about the company's historical management and the competitive challenges facing its forward strategy. At every stage they were supported by faculty advisor Steve Balaban, CFA, and industry mentor Jeannine LiChong, CFA (MAcc '92).

Thinking on their feet

Each of the six global finalists presented as near technically perfect, but the SAF team knew their edge would have to come elsewhere — and it did.

"The number one thing that set us apart was our quality of Q and A," Gnaneswaran says. "We did a lot of practice with alumni, our industry mentors Jeannine and Steve, simulating the kinds of questions we'd face on the global stage and learning how to tie in our primary research to support our answers."

"We couldn't be more proud of these students," Balaban says. "The depth of work they put in, the primary research, the preparation, the hundreds of appendix slides — it showed in every round. When it came to the global final, they were ready for anything. That's the Waterloo difference."

"Being able to come to these finals and compete against schools that may have a larger global brand than the University of Waterloo — we feel very proud to represent Canada and our university the way we did," Gnaneswaran says.

Raise your voice at Convocation

Julie-Anne Desrochers sings O Canada at a recent convocation ceremony.

A message from Community Relations and Events (CRE).

The University of Waterloo is seeking talented members of our campus community to perform O Canada at our Spring Convocation ceremonies, taking place from June 16 to 20. Live performances are an important part of convocation and help create a meaningful and celebratory atmosphere for our graduates and their guests.

We are looking for staff or faculty volunteers who are experienced vocalists and would be interested in performing in front of our convocation audience.  

If you are interested, or would like to recommend a colleague, please contact convocation@uwaterloo.ca. 

We appreciate all who consider contributing to this special moment for our Waterloo community.

All's fair on campus and other flights of fancy

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Campus Life Fair comes WUSA's Clubs and Societies Fair, which takes over the Student Life Centre Great Hall on Thursday, May 14 and Friday, May 15. More than 200 clubs and the various constituent student societies will be on display in the Great Hall for students to connect with.

Not to be outdone, Athletics and Recreation will be hosting an Open House in the SLC/PAC Atrium today from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Students can learn more about intramural, clubs and student organizations, Athletics and Recreation programs and facilities, and other opportunities to get involved on campus. There will be trivia, prizes, giveaways and more.

Today, friends and colleagues of the late Dr. Wayne Chang will gather in the Pearl Sullivan Engineering building's event space for a Celebration of Life event beginning at 2:00 p.m. "The program will include remarks and a reception, a community display of student and alumni ventures influenced by Wayne, and some of his classic Conrad Games," says a note from organizers. "Throughout the event, there will be time to connect, reflect, and celebrate Wayne’s remarkable life and lasting impact."

An associate professor in the Faculty of Engineering’s Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business and coordinator of the Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) program, Chang passed away suddenly on October 30, 2025.

Lastly, the Seedling Swap takes place from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m. in the EV3 Foyer. "People who have excess seedlings (whether grown themselves or acquired elsewhere) can swap for other seedlings, or simply donate them," says the Sustainability Office. "Those who are interested in getting seedlings but do not have seedlings to trade can bring a non-perishable food item as payment during the swap. The donated food will be given to WUSA’s Food Support Service. Any leftover seedlings will be donated to a community organization."