Tuesday, September 15, 2015

HeForShe scholarships awarded to outstanding female students

The University of Waterloo will award 24 outstanding female students a total of $288,000 over the next four years as part of a new scholarship supporting ongoing efforts to achieve comprehensive, long-term and sustainable gender equality.

The University of Waterloo HeForShe IMPACT Scholarships will annually award six female students who apply to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs with $12,000 each for the duration of their studies. 

“I’m so inspired by the University of Waterloo’s efforts to achieve gender equality in our lifetimes,” said Emma Watson, UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador. “Their commitment to women in STEM is unparalleled. This scholarship program is a perfect example of how the HeForShe movement is generating tangible change around the world.”

This year’s recipients of the University of Waterloo HeForShe IMPACT Scholarships are: 

•    Sarah Muth (Mathematical Physics, Port Dover, ON)

•    Sally Hui (Mechatronics Engineering, East York, ON)

•    Anya Forestell (Physics and Astronomy, Fredericton, NB)

•    Anqi Yang (Computer Science, Surrey, BC)

•    Jing Ma (Computer Engineering, Whitby, ON)

•    Zhuo Yu (Mathematics, Weihai, China)

The six young women are all first-year students at Waterloo commencing studies this week. Read more about the first University of Waterloo HeForShe IMPACT Scholarship recipients.

“The University of Waterloo really caught my eye last summer, while I was participating in the International Summer School for Young Physicists in Waterloo,” said Anya Forestell. “Receiving this scholarship is a huge honour for me. HeForShe is an admirable program and I am so grateful for the help.”

Focusing on the most gender-disparate STEM experiences, Waterloo is committed to expanding the pipeline of women pursuing STEM education and careers and has specifically targeted boosting female enrolment in outreach programs to 33 per cent by 2020. 

“In the technology courses that I took in high school, in a classroom of twenty people, there were maybe five females,” said Sally Hui. “It is good to not have to depend on my parents as much and it will be a really good incentive to study really hard to keep the scholarship.”

Waterloo is one of 10 universities around the world committing to take bold, game-changing action to achieve gender equality as part of the UN HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 framework. HeForShe is a global effort to engage men and boys in removing the social and cultural barriers that prevent women and girls from achieving their potential, and together positively reshaping society. 

“We must continue to find ways to ensure that young women and girls have greater access and better experiences in traditionally male-dominated disciplines,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur. “This scholarship program recognizes some of the most talented young women who are embarking on STEM careers and helps to keep them in those programs. I am immensely proud of these students and pleased that the University can offer them support as they start their journeys to become the leaders of tomorrow.”

Waterloo is working in partnership with UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.

“With an estimated 90 per cent of all future jobs requiring ICT skills, and with climate change and clean technology sectors representing a 6.4 trillion dollar opportunity in the next decade, nurturing women in STEM careers is a vital investment – in them and in our future”, said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women. “With these scholarships, we have the chance to establish greater gender balance in STEM fields, ensuring that women offer relevant skills to future employers and have a solid path to both academic leadership positions and creative scientific careers”.

Working alongside governments, leading universities and global businesses, the University is making three commitments to achieve gender equality by developing innovative programming aimed at a full spectrum of women, from young girls right through to the University’s senior leadership.

The University of Waterloo has committed to:

• Boost participation of female students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) experiences and academic careers to build the pipeline of future female leaders in traditionally male dominated disciplines;
• Enhance the representation of female faculty to improve the campus environment today and drive towards parity in the future; and
• Attract and advance female leaders to senior academic and administrative positions at the University.

UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, created the HeForShe initiative that was launched by UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in September 2014.

St. Paul's partners with Centre for Community Based Research

Above, left to right: Joanna Ochocka and Rich Janzen from the CCBR, Peter Frick and Graham Brown (front) from St. Paul's.

St. Paul's University College has announced an affiliation with the Centre for Community Based Research (CCBR) to collaborate on research that contributes to community development. The CCBR is an organization based in Kitchener with 33 years of applied research and knowledge mobilization projects at the local, provincial, national, and international levels.

The affiliation will allow the two institutions to strengthen their missions, both of which are based on the idea of finding solutions to pressing societal problems. Both value and engage in research that is important for community groups to effectively address issues that matter to them, and both engage in research that leads to societal innovation and change.

“Our students want to change the world," said Graham Brown, principal of St. Paul’s. "We prepare them with sound theory tested through experiential learning. With the CCBR connection, we can now engage students in relevant research that contributes to community problem-solving,” 

“What this collaboration means is: If you want to use research to solve societal issues, this is the place for you,” said Joanna Ochocka and Rich Janzen, co-directors at CCBR.

CCBR will eventually be housed at St. Paul’s, but the formal collaboration will begin before that with two CCBR senior researchers being appointed Research Associates at St. Paul’s. Research and community projects will be based around four key areas: community health and wellness, Aboriginal and cultural diversity, international development, and faith and society.

Tuesday's notes

Feds Welcome Week continues today with a Warriors Breakfast presented by Sobeys in the Student Life Centre Great Hall from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The first 2,000 students to pass through will receive a hot breakfast. 

Welcome Week runs until Friday, September 18.

As part of the regular maintenance of IST services, Microsoft patches will be applied to SharePoint servers on Wednesday, September 16. These updates will impact both mySharePoint.uwaterloo.ca and SharePoint.uwaterloo.ca services. The process will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday and will take several hours to run.

During this time, SharePoint service will be briefly interrupted during the updates as servers are rebooted after the patches are applied. In some instances, users may be prompted to re-authenticate.

Anyone with questions or concerns should contact the IST Service Desk at helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 44357.

"Do you have a teenager between 12-17 years who is looking to start making healthier lifestyle choices but needs help getting started?" asks a message from UW Fitness. "The Teens In Motion program is a 12-week exercise and lifestyle program for teens who are clinically overweight and ready to make a change. The program costs $150 for the 12 sessions. Our goal is to help teens become more active, less sedentary and aware of proper nutrition choices by giving them the knowledge, confidence and skills to do so. In addition to the weekly exercise sessions, they are provided with a home-based exercise and learning component to encourage changes outside the program. The program, run by the UW Fitness in the Kinesiology Department, takes place on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Manulife Wellness Center in the Lyle Hallman Institute. The next session starts on Tuesday, September 22. If you know a teen who is looking for a safe, comfortable and supportive environment to start making healthier lifestyle choices, call extension 38058 or email fitness@uwaterloo.ca and ask about this program today. Visit our website for more information on getting started."