Thursday, May 14, 2015

Associate Vice-President, International prepares to set sail

Nello Angerilli, the University of Waterloo’s Associate Vice-President, International since 2012, retires at the end of May. Earlier this month, the Daily Bulletin sat down with him to discuss his thoughts about Waterloo and his plans for the future.

Daily Bulletin – Let’s begin at the beginning. When did the University of Waterloo first appear on your radar?

Nello Angerilli – I spent 22 years at Simon Fraser University in a variety of roles, the last of which was as Associate Vice President, Students and International. SFU is about the same size as Waterloo, with about 33,000 undergraduate students, and from about 15 years ago, when it became my job to care about university rankings, I always saw the University of Waterloo as serious competition.

If you look at Maclean’s university rankings, Waterloo, SFU and the University of Victoria swapped first place in the comprehensive category, but there were a few things that were always better at Waterloo, and one was student retention, which was outstanding. I would say to myself, “What do those people do to retain so many students?”

So when my family needed to come back to Canada from New Zealand, where I was in a similar job as Pro Vice-Chancellor, Students and International at the University of Canterbury, and this job opportunity came up at Waterloo, I thought it was a terrific opportunity. Now having been here for two years and two months, Waterloo is even better than I thought it was, which was a surprise to me because I already saw it as one of Canada’s best universities.

Daily Bulletin – In your opinion, what makes Waterloo one of Canada’s best universities?

Nello Angerilli – It’s not just my opinion, but I’ll tell you how I arrived at that conclusion. First, the co-op program is amazing. When we were developing the strategic plan for global prominence and internationalization, as we were doing the rounds with the faculties, deans, and chairs, I was struck by something that author Salman Rushdie wrote in The Moor's Last Sigh about Einstein's theory of relativity, and how the theory of relativity in India is that “everything bends for relatives, even light.” And at Waterloo, everything bends for co-op.

Co-op is important for two reasons: first, it gives us a connectivity to industry and to employers that no other university that I’m aware of can match, and there’s a virtuous relationship between those students who are really smart, and employers who realize that Waterloo is home to really smart people and want to get to know these students and graduates better.

This is just a theory, but my view is that co-op is one of the most important drivers of our rising entrance requirements. Because more and more students want to come here, and when we ask them why, their number one reason is co-op. So you have this huge demand for access to the University because of co-op and outstanding academic programming and that has caused the minimum entrance requirements to be the second highest in the province. That’s an amazing accomplishment, as we’re a very young university that may not have the age-driven gravitas of a place like McGill or Toronto, but our students, on average, are smarter.

So then we have all these students who come here because of co-op who then get involved in the whole innovation and entrepreneurship thing. I have never ever seen a university that does that so well. Everybody talks about it, everybody wants to do it, but Waterloo has done it and continues to do it.

And because I’m fortunate enough to visit universities all over the world, I can tell you from experience that the things we are really known for are co-op, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The people who want to work with us, particularly in these areas, are the world’s best universities. We can walk onto their campuses and they know who we are, with no explanation necessary.

If you look at the graduation outcomes, what happens to our students when they leave here, it’s the same kind of very positive story: if they choose to, our students can work for almost everybody, and if they choose to, they can set up their own company.

Everybody want to know about the magic that has occurred at the University of Waterloo that has allowed this young university to become so good so fast.

Daily Bulletin – What initiatives are you proudest of during your time at Waterloo?

Nello Angerilli - Tinkering with the machinery at Waterloo can be risky. But we’ve focused on a number of things. One was to first define our strategy, because we didn’t have one, and two main pillars of internationalization have been embedded into the Strategic Plan. The job of Waterloo International is to implement those two pillars. Those pillars are partnerships with the world’s best universities, to support the other pillar, mobility for students and research collaborations. That’s actually all working pretty well.

First, we are developing deep relationships with the partners with whom we do a very large number of things: we do student exchanges, they hire our co-op students, we do collaborative research, their faculty come and visit us and stay here for sabbaticals, so we actually get to know each other and become good friends.

The next thing is what I’d like to call modernization. Moving away from using paper to streamline processes that can be automated to enable us to do more. One area is the way we process student exchange agreements and how students apply to go on exchanges. That should go live in July and will replace an entirely paper-based system.

We’ve also identified a new approach to ensuring that our students, faculty and staff are safe while travelling internationally. Bad things can happen anywhere, but knowing what to do when bad things happen, when you’re far from home, is really important for students, faculty and staff

We’ve moved from a voluntary approach to an online system that involves passing an exam and actually learning something, which is a much better approach to ensuring that our students are well informed.

The next thing we need to know is where our travellers are. We now have an automated system that you can go to a web map and find out where every University of Waterloo person is just by looking. Eventually we are going to link our new exchange system with this mapping software, so when a student is approved for an exchange, their presence will pop up automatically. For the moment we encourage them to do it manually as they move around and change cities and countries.

The third thing is that we’ve put into place an organization that can help extract people in an emergency situation. The 2011 tsunami in Japan was the catalyst for driving this forward. It will be in place before I leave.

Finally, we’ve brought a professional approach to internationalization, making it strategic and tactical, and we’ve gotten the support of all the Deans in doing so. The harder part, and I’d say we’re not there yet, is having more of our students understand how important international experiences are, that having this as part of their degree will make them stand out in very important ways and give them a perspective that will be valuable no matter what they do.

Last year we had about 2,000 students go abroad on international co-op, and 300 students went on exchange. We’ve set a target that 30 per cent of our students will have spent a semester abroad before finishing their degrees. From our student surveys we know of three main barriers: money, co-op, because it can get in the way, and rigid program structures. So we’re working on developing international exchange programs that students can fit between semesters that will still give them credit and can be priced reasonably, and provide greater financial assistance for students to participate in an international experience.

Daily Bulletin – Let’s talk about what you’ll be doing after you leave the University of Waterloo.

Nello Angerilli – Well, I’m a very keen sailor. About ten years ago I started on a project to ultimately sail my boat Marathon, a 38-foot Beneteau sailboat, from Vancouver to New Zealand, after which we weren’t clear where we were going to go from there. And about five years ago I left Vancouver on an extended vacation, and sailed from Vancouver to Mexico, which is one of the hardest legs of this particular trip. That was step one. The plan was to leave the boat in Mexico for a while until I ultimately retired from SFU. Partway there, the first place we pulled into was San Francisco, and there was an email from a headhunter asking if we were interested in a job at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

I went through a series of telephone interviews all the way down the coast of California, to the coast of Mexico to Baja, and ultimately got that job. We lived in New Zealand for three years but had to come back to Canada because of rapidly aging parents, and I was very fortunate and truly privileged to get this job at Waterloo, but over the last five years I’ve discovered two things – I’m getting older and my boat is getting older.

Sailboats naturally self-destruct, it’s a constant battle with self-destruction, especially as it sits there in the heat of Mexico, and I had to make this very difficult decision about a year ago, to continue the voyage soon or possibly never be able to do it. And I’ve met lots of people who have waited too long. So my current view is “sail now, work later” and my plan is to spend the next two to three years sailing to New Zealand through the South Pacific.

I was talking to someone recently about my decision and his response was “as you get older, the horizons get closer,” and that got me to thinking, there’s this famous French sailor, a philosopher really, named Bernard Moitessier, who once said that the beauty of sailing is that the horizon never gets closer.

Performers announced for Canada Day Celebration

This is the latest in a series of #UWCommunity stories that feature Waterloo in the community.

Each year, the University of Waterloo and our Federation of Students thank our community for its partnership and mutual support by hosting Waterloo Region's flagship Canada Day Celebration. Canada Day 2014 marked the 30th anniversary of our celebration, with more than 60,000 people in attendance, and we’re building another exceptional event for our community this year.

The University of Waterloo is excited to announce that popular Vancouver-based children’s musical duo, Bobs & LoLo, will light up the afternoon with engaging performances on the TVOKids Stage hosted by the beloved Gisèle Corinthios. And outstanding national talent will headline our Live Music Stage, with Juno-Award winners, The Strumbellas, kicking off the evening concert, and Canadian rock icon, Kim Mitchell, closing the show.

Families are welcome to explore a number of free and interactive activities. From face painting and arts and crafts, to inflatable obstacle courses, there's guaranteed fun for everyone. Catch a super silly show on the field from the talented Silly People, get snapped in our Canada Day photo booth, and even cool off on the University of Waterloo Engineering society water slide.

Everyone is invited to fill up on delicious festival fare from a variety of local food vendors, including summer classics like ice cream and cotton candy, or try something new from our community’s diverse multicultural offerings. And adults can relax and enjoy a refreshing break with a craft beer from Ontario’s first and largest microbrewery, Waterloo Brewing Co.

The University of Waterloo Canada Day Celebration offers entertainment for all ages. Join us on Wednesday, July 1 at Columbia Lake Fields and share your national pride with the community!

Thursday's notes

There will be a power shutdown at the Bauer Warehouse tonight from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. as electrical work is performed. Any computer equipment should be properly shut down by the end of the workday today, according to a recommendation from Plant Operations.

The service road between Needles Hall and Hagey Hall will be closed beginning Tuesday, May 19 until Tuesday May 26 to allow for the tunnels that run between the Arts Library and Needles Hall, Arts Lecture and Modern Languages to have roofs reinforced, according to a note from Plant Operations. This will allow for heavier trucks to drive over these tunnels. The area will be fenced off by the contractor doing the work.

Conrad Grebel University College has announced the hiring of Jennifer Ball as Assistant Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies and the hiring of Maisie Sum as Assistant Professor of Music, both in tenure track positions commencing July 1, 2015.

Ball comes to Grebel most recently from a position at the University of Guelph where she received a PhD in Rural Studies. She is also a graduate of the University of Waterloo in Social Development Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies. She has worked in rural Ontario dealing with conflict related natural resource management, such as land use, water quality, and wind turbine installations.

Maisie Sum began at Grebel two years ago in a two-year contract. She has connected with Grebel’s academic and residence students, with the Music Department and the College community in general, and has made significant connections to the University. The Grebel Gamelan, under her direction, has become a cause for much excitement. She has shared it through concerts and workshops at high schools in Waterloo Region including Rockway Mennonite School, to Ontario Mennonite Music Camp, and to Rockway Mennonite Church where she attends.