Thursday, June 18, 2026

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• Arts convocation ceremonies today
• MBET program introduces new graduate specializations
• From research to policy - knowledge mobilization in the public sphere
• Tejal Patel named new Schlegel – UW RIA Research Chair

Arts convocation ceremonies today 

The Faculty of Arts will celebrate convocation today with three ceremonies. 

Grads by the numbers: 1,327 undergraduates, 177 Master’s students, and  22  PhD candidates. 

Distinguished awards for the Faculty of Arts 

• Finalist for the Governor General's Gold Medal award: Karmvir Kaur Padda  

• Governor General's Academic Silver Medal award: Caitlyn Marie Mask (fall 2025)  

• Alumni Gold Medal: Michael Ian Anthony Frapporti

• An honorary doctorate will be awarded to Ronald F. Williamson

Morning ceremony

The first ceremony will be held at 10:00 a.m. in the PAC. Watch the livestream. 

The Valedictorian is Timaya Harriott, and the mace bearer is Marcel O’Gorman.

Afternoon ceremony

The second ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. in the PAC. Watch the livestream. 

The Valedictorian is Tanraj Dulai, and the mace bearer is Dillon Browne.

Evening ceremony

The last ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the PAC. Watch the livestream. 

The Valedictorian is Mahmoud Halloum, and the mace bearer is Bradley Pomeroy. 

MBET program introduces new graduate specializations 

A message from Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, Faculty of Engineering. 

The Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business has introduced three optional graduate specializations within its Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program. 

Beginning this fall, MBET students can choose to pursue a specialization in: 

• Product Management and Innovation 

• Venture Creation and Commercialization 

• Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation 

The new specializations provide students with opportunities to tailor their studies to align with specific interests and career goals while completing the MBET degree. 

The MBET program combines experiential learning with venture creation, commercialization, innovation leadership, and technology-focused business education. It is offered in both full-time and part-time formats. 

To provide prospective students with additional time to apply, the application deadline for domestic applicants to the full-time MBET program has been extended to June 19, 2026. Applications also remain open for domestic applicants interested in the part-time MBET program. 

For working professionals, the part-time format offers the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial and innovation leadership skills while continuing their careers. 

“Taking the part-time MBET program while working at the University of Waterloo allowed me to immediately apply what I was learning in a real-world context,” says Cristen Brown (MBET ’22), Manager, Outreach and International Programs. “It gave me the structure and tools to think more strategically about entrepreneurship and innovation within complex environments. I didn’t step away from my career to grow in this space; I built on it, and that made all the difference.” 

More information about the MBET program and its specialization options is available on the Conrad School website. 

From research to policy – knowledge mobilization in the public sphere 

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

On June 4, the Office of the Vice-President, Research and International and the Faculty of Environment co-hosted a panel session entitled From Research to Policy to support Waterloo researchers interested in engaging with policy makers and mobilizing their knowledge in the public sphere. The panel, moderated by Rob de Loë, Associate Dean, Research, Faculty of Environment, featured University of Waterloo’s Blair Feltmate, Head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation and Trevor Swerdfager, Practitioner in Residence, School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability. On the public policy side, perspectives were shared by Chris Derksen, Director, Climate Modelling Division at Environment and Climate Change Canada and Krista Urchenko, Senior Policy Advisor, Pharmaceutical Policy Division at Health Canada. 

The discussion was lively and several tactics were identified for successful engagement with external audiences and policy makers. The list below captures some of the key points. 

• Identify your goals for the engagement in advance 

• Use plain language and provide short executive summaries to accompany longer reports 

• Use clear infographics where appropriate  

• Get out of your echo chamber to make sure your message resonates with non-experts, and articulate how your work fits into a broader narrative  

• Build relationships 

• Share your media coverage to demonstrate your reach 

• Connect at conferences 

• Collaborate with other universities 

• Directly engage with communities to ensure research is relevant 

• Understand how the policy system works 

If you missed the session and want to review the video recording, please contact Nadine Quehl, Senior Manager, Knowledge Mobilization and Partnerships:  nquehl@uwaterloo.ca  

Want to learn more about how you can amplify your research impact? The Knowledge Mobilization Community of Practice is a great resource to help you develop strategies to engage external partners and support the uptake of research outside of the academic community. The network supports Waterloo staff, faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars through information exchange, sharing of best practices, and professional development opportunities. Meetings are held every other month. For more information, please contact Nadine at nquehl@uwaterloo.ca 

N.B. Waterloo asks faculty, staff and students to avoid lobbying on behalf of the University without a registered lobbyist joining the conversation. Please contact the Government Relations team for more information.

Tejal Patel named new Schlegel – UW RIA Research Chair

This article was originally published on the School of Pharmacy website.

The University of Waterloo and Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA) are pleased to announce that Dr. Tejal Patel, Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy, has been appointed as Schlegel Chair in Medication Management and Aging.

Dr. Patel’s research focuses on pharmacotherapeutic management of neurological conditions, in particular dementia, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. Her current research interests include the assessment, classification and management of drug related problems in persons presenting with cognitive impairment as well as the frail elderly in primary care settings, with a particular focus on medication management capacity and adherence to medications. Additionally, Dr. Patel has worked at the MINT Memory Clinic since 2009 as a pharmacist. This clinic provides care to those with cognitive impairments and dementia in a primary care setting.

"We are excited to welcome Tejal as Schlegel Research Chair,” said Tammy Cumming, Acting Executive Director at the RIA. "Throughout her time at the RIA, she has demonstrated a commitment to research that delivers real impact. Her expertise and experience will drive change and deliver the actionable insights needed to help older adults live well." 

With over 25 years of experience as a pharmacist in interdisciplinary teams serving persons diagnosed with epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease and dementia, informing her research, Dr. Patel aims to optimize medication use by older adults in home and in clinic-based settings.  In pursuit of this goal, Dr. Patel’s research program investigates the role of healthcare technology in supporting older adults with self-management of medications, develops tools to support care-partners assist older adults with medication management tasks and develops medication review instruments to facilitate the identification and resolution of medication related problems amongst older adults by all clinicians, but especially pharmacists.

Dr. Patel has been involved with the RIA as a scientist since 2017, as specialist in 2023 to 2026 and this move to Chair will continue to foster collaborations with other aging-related researchers to inform health aging and well-being.

“I am excited about the ability to continue working with the RIA to optimize medication use and management for older adults and their care partners,” Patel says. “Medications are a key part of the lives of many older adults, and I aim to optimize the use of medications as much as possible.”

Dr. Patel hopes to reach this goal through multiple pronged approaches: examining how to enable older adults to continue managing their medications at home through the use of technology and providing pharmacists with the tools necessary to conduct medication reviews with older adults that have cognitive impairments to improve their medication use.