Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Waterloo welcomes the 2023 cohort of Schulich Leaders

A message from University Relations.

As the fall term begins, the University of Waterloo is pleased to welcome 10 new first-year students to its cohort, through the Schulich Leader Scholarships program. Awarded annually to 100 high school students across Canada, the Schulich Leader Scholarships are granted to exceptional students who show great entrepreneurial promise in the field of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  

For 12 consecutive years, the University of Waterloo has been called “home” for budding STEM scholars who are recipients of this award. Each scholarship recipient can expect between $100,000 and $120,000, which allows them to focus on their studies, knowing that their financial needs are covered.  

Since 2012, Waterloo has welcomed nearly 70 Schulich Leader Scholarship students.  

Learn more about the latest class of Schulich Leader Scholarship winners.  

When there is no 9-1-1

From the fall issue of the Waterloo Magazine: The New Entrepreneur. 

Originally from Nigeria,  Folake  Owodunni  (MBET ’21) was compelled to create Emergency Response Africa to address the gaps in health services available to people living in Africa.  

In many parts of the continent, there is no consistent or reliable central emergency service to call when a person is in medical distress.  Owodunni’s  health-tech company is transforming the way medical emergencies are managed in Africa, beginning in Nigeria, by connecting communities to a large network of first responders, emergency vehicles and hospitals in minutes.   

Read what inspired Owodunni to launch her social enterprise, and her vision for the future of health care in Africa.  
 

IST announces new Director, Information Systems

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST).

IST is pleased to announce that Mike Gaspic has been hired as the Director, Information Systems, effective August 28. Mike is celebrating 20 years at Waterloo in 2023, having begun his career in 2003 as a Computer Administrator in the Registrar's Office before moving to the Information Systems group in IST in 2010. 

Mike has deep experience in the implementation and support of both enterprise and departmental information systems across Waterloo, as a Business Analyst, Project Manager, and Manager of both the Departmental and Campus Applications, and Enterprise Systems teams.  

Since 2021, Mike's leadership of the Enterprise Systems team in IST has focused on support of the HR and Finance ERP platforms, as well as Shopify eCommerce and Business Process Management.

Notes as the fall term begins

We're back for the fall 2023 term, with the co-operative work term beginning today lectures and classes starting up tomorrow. For now, Orientation continues unabated.

W Store will be open for extended hours on September 6 and 7 (9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.), as well as Saturday, September 9 and 30 (10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) and Saturday, September 16 and 24 (12 noon to 4:00 p.m.)

Warrior Recreation registration opens today beginning at 9:00 a.m. Students can sign up for clubs, intramurals, fitness, instructional, first aid, strength and conditioning and more. Find out more on the Athletics and Recreation website.

Many Food Services locations across campus are also back in action for the fall term after the long weekend. Exceptions include the CEIT Café, which remains closed until September 10, while a few other outlets open tomorrow, such as Rolltation HLTH, ML's Diner, H3 Café, and Chatime in the Davis Centre. Check the Food Services Locations and Hours page for more details.

Finally, noted Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama died on Friday, September 1 at the age of 93. Famous for projects that included the Ontario Science Centre, the Bata Shoe Museum, the Toronto Reference Library, Science North in Sudbury, and the Canadian War Museum, his architectural legacy includes two buildings on the University of Waterloo's main campus: the Health Services Building and the Minota Hagey Residence, both completed in 1968. The 10,253 square-foot Health Services Building was built to service a campus constituency of 9,000 students (sheesh, remember when the University had less than 10,000 students?). Named to honour the memory of Minota Hagey (1904-1965), wife of the University of Waterloo's first president Gerry Hagey, the Minota Hagey residence won Moriyama the Ontario Masons' Council Relations Award and was later the launch site for the University's Velocity student entrepreneurship incubator program. I have it on good authority that the Minota Hagey residence was intended as the first of four similar projects at Waterloo, but the remaining three were never built.

Moriyama partnered with Ted Teshima in 1970 to create Moriyama and Teshima Architects. Local projects include the Waterloo Region Museum, opened in 2011, the construction of which had strong links to Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering.

Moriyama and Teshima Architects were recently retained as the prime consultants for the design of the Mathematics 4 building.