The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
Contact us at bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Submission guidelines
Provost provides update on copyright and fair dealing
Vice-President, Academic & Provost Jim Rush has circulated a memo to campus on Copyright and Fair Dealing in the wake of a recent Federal Court of Appeal decision that impacts the post-secondary education sector.
"On 22 April 2020, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) released its decision in the case of York University v. The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright)," the provost writes in the memo. "There were two main issues in this case:
- Whether the Copyright Board’s Post-Secondary Tariff is mandatory in its application to institutions; and,
- Whether confirming with York University’s 2012 Fair Dealing Guidelines constitutes fair dealing under the Copyright Act."
"On the first issue, the FCA found in York University’s favour and confirmed that the Copyright Board tariff was not mandatory and therefore not enforceable against York University. On the second issue, the FCA found in favour of Access Copyright and upheld the decision of the Federal Court of Canada. The FCA found that York University’s 2012 Fair Dealing Guidelines would not necessarily constitute fair dealing under the Copyright Act."
"Both Access Copyright and York University have filed applications for leave to appeal the FCA decision to the Supreme Court of Canada."
"Here at the University of Waterloo, we intend to continue our focus on Copyright and Fair Dealing awareness and education to support broad uptake of compliance by instructors, students, and the overall University community," the provost's memo continues. "All students, faculty and staff should continue to follow the University of Waterloo Fair Dealing Guidelines."
When considering copyright issues in your instruction and research, please review the following UWaterloo resources:
- Fair Dealing Advisory Guidelines web page (https://uwaterloo.ca/copyright-at-waterloo/fair-dealing-advisory)
- Copyright guidance for online instruction on the University’s Keep Learning website (https://uwaterloo.ca/copyright-at-waterloo/copyright-teaching-online)
- An expert is available to assist with your copyright questions at copyright@uwaterloo.ca
"In its ongoing copyright awareness efforts, the University will continue to make supports available to students, faculty and staff using the above web resources, email, social media, and individual consultation opportunities," writes the provost. "Please consult the Copyright Advisory Committee website for the most recent updates on this and related matters (https://uwaterloo.ca/copyright-at-waterloo/). If you have any copyright questions, you are encouraged to contact Lauren Byl, the Copyright and Licensing Librarian at copyright@uwaterloo.ca."
Is it time to move in already?
A message from Waterloo Residences.
With thousands of students moving on campus this fall, Waterloo Residences has adjusted its move in procedures to ensure each student has a safe move in.
Typically held over three days on Labour Day weekend, this year’s move in will take place between August 24 and September 4. Students with a residence assignment will be sent a link to sign up for a 60-minute move in slot. Students must sign up for a move-in time. Available times vary by building. If students expect to arrive to campus later than September 4, they can fill out a late arrival form.
Upon arrival to campus, students will take part in an active screening process before receiving their keys. While students can bring as many people to campus as they need to help them move, only 1 person per student will be permitted entrance to residence. As per Public Health guidelines and provincial regulations, masks and social distancing are required.
The Get Ready for Residence webinar, held on July 15, is now available. The webinar includes move in information as well as more details about how we’ve modified our spaces and programs in order to meet student’s needs. Other questions related to fall in residence can be found on their website. Trending updates and behind the scenes footage is also available @uwhouing.
The first round of room assignments for first-year students was sent last week, and offers will continue throughout August. Students are asked to check their UWaterloo email frequently.
Lastly, the winter 2021 application for students that are interested in winter only accommodations will be available on Tuesday, July 28.
From startup to health tech leader — one entrepreneur shares his scale-up success
This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo Stories.
“Growing up with an orthopaedic surgeon for a father, there was always a motivation to go into medicine,” Armen Bakirtzian recalls while discussing his decision to sidestep medical school to pursue his passion for technology and engineering. Bakirtzian may have taken a different route into the medical world from his dad, but his mark on orthopaedics has been nothing less than groundbreaking.
Bakirtzian is the CEO and co-founder of Intellijoint Surgical Inc., one of Canada’s fastest growing health tech companies. Their flagship product, Intellijoint HIP, is a computer navigation system that assists orthopaedic surgeons with implant size selection and positioning during total hip replacement (THR) surgery. The miniature optical camera provides accurate, real-time measurements while compensating for intraoperative patient movement, which is routine during THR. Today, Intellijoint HIP has been used by surgeons worldwide, including Bakirtzian’s father, in more than 15,000 hip replacement surgeries.
From startup to the operating room
The idea for Intellijoint HIP came from Bakirtzian’s final year capstone design assignment at the University of Waterloo. He needed an innovative engineering project and was inspired by a frank discussion he had with his dad.
“He was forthcoming that surgeons have to rely on their training and their judgement to make decisions during surgery, and that in some cases, patients will have to undergo more costly and involved revision surgery,” Bakirtzian says. “That was the motivation for us to create a technology to help deliver better outcomes for patients.”
After graduation, Bakirtzian and his classmates, now co-founders, Andre Hladio and Richard Fanson, worked closely with surgeons to design a prototype that would inform decision making in the operating room in real-time. But developing a solution to a real-world problem may have been the easiest part of the journey.
“A startup is about getting your problem identified, understanding your customer and developing your prototype,” Bakirtzian says. “Our goal from the beginning was to graduate from a startup and become a real medical technology company.”
Read the rest of the article on Waterloo Stories.
Next Ask Us Anything event will look at equity in STEM teaching
The Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion (HREI) has scheduled its next Ask Us Anything for August, entitled Equity in Practice: Teaching and STEM.
The event will be hosted by Andrew Hamilton-Wright from the University of Guelph. While courses such as computer science are typically defined in terms of the abstractions that they use to deal with data, the reality is that the problems that are being solved are always the problems of real people. By considering the people driving the search for a given solution, as well as those affected by the implementation of a given strategy, we can explore how relatively abstract computational choices have real-world consequences that directly impact people's lives.
While algorithms and data structures may be abstract, there is no solution to a real-world problem that is not concrete. Considering the effect of our choices when making the abstract concrete provides a lens to explore inequities of impact and the possibilities of recourse in any scenario based on solving problems.
The event takes place on Friday, August 7 from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. All are welcome, and you can register through the HREI events site. Ask Us Anything will be held online using a video link that will be provided before the event. You may submit your questions when you register, or at any time during the event using the Q&A function of the online platform.
Ask Us Anything is a virtual series hosted by Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion (HREI) that creates space for open dialogue and further deepens community at University of Waterloo. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members are welcome.