Monday, September 18, 2017

Prime Minister Trudeau visits Hack the North

by Brian Caldwell.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought equal amounts of enthusiasm and inspiration Friday as he helped kick off Hack the North with a brief but rousing speech to a packed house at Hagey Hall.

Trudeau admitted he once “sort of dropped out” of an engineering program, but said he envied about 1,000 students from top universities in 22 countries who gathered in Waterloo for the weekend hackathon.

“I love to fiddle around with gadgets,” he told the receptive crowd. “I love to try and push myself, challenge myself, meet new people and figure things out, and you guys are up for a weekend of doing just that.”

Organized by Techyon, a student-run non-profit organization, in partnership with Waterloo Engineering, the fourth annual event challenged teams of students to collaborate on ideas and solutions using technology.

Trudeau praised participants as “quick learners, creative thinkers and natural risk-takers” who have what it takes to be the leaders of both tomorrow and today.

“I want to remind you - each and every one of you - that you are in a unique position to shape the future, that you have the tools, not only to seize the countless opportunities brought by a new economy based on innovation, but to help others to do the same,” he said. “You have the power to enact positive change right here, right now.”

Speaking to an international audience, Trudeau also used the stage to tout Canada’s diversity and willingness to learn from differences rather than fight over them as key strengths that are attracting companies like Google and Microsoft to do business here.

“Dream big, work hard and have fun,” he urged students. “Most of all, enjoy the next few days - and get hacking.”

Research Talks explores cardiovascular aging in space

How does an unhealthy lifestyle accelerate aging? Waterloo’s Kinesiology Professor Richard Hughson is working with astronauts to help answer this question.

The research is showing that long-duration spaceflights cause stiffening in the arteries typically seen in over 20 years of aging. Although astronauts have become unlikely models for studying accelerated “aging-like” changes in the body, the stiffening in the arteries implies that a link exists between weightlessness and cardiovascular aging.

Learn more about what cardiovascular aging and the development of insulin resistance in space is teaching us about chronic disease on earth at the first of the Fall 2017 Research Talks series at noon on Friday, October 6.

The series, hosted by the Office of Research, celebrates research and provides an opportunity for staff, faculty, and students to learn more about some of the life-changing research underway at Waterloo.

Please register as seating is limited and registration will close when room capacity is reached. Light refreshments will be provided but feel free to bring your lunch.

Research Talks is supported by the Research Support Fund.

United Way Campaign launch is only 2 weeks away

A message from the University of Waterloo United Way Campaign.

As we gear up for the UWaterloo United Way campaign launch we’ll be meeting with two important groups who, along with many others on campus, make the campaign a success.

On Tuesday, September 19, we’ll be hosting a Volunteer Lunch as an appreciation and training event for new and returning campaign volunteers. Attendees get the chance to meet other volunteers, hear about event ideas, and learn about the UWaterloo 2017 campaign goals.

On Wednesday, September 27, we’ll be hosting the Leadership L(a)unch for friend level donors, leader level donors, as well as senior leaders and managers across campus. Attendees get the chance to learn more about the work done by United Way Waterloo Region Communities and learn about the 2017 UWaterloo campaign goals.

We want to thank everyone who will be attending these events for their ongoing support. Don’t forget to mark Tuesday, October 3 in your calendar for campaign launch and help us turn the campus red by dressing up or decorating your office space.

GTFO film takes on misogyny in gaming culture

By: Kaitlin O’Brien

On Wednesday, September 13, the Games Institute, in partnership with the HeForShe Faculty Advocates held a documentary film screening for GTFO: Get the F&#% Out at the University of Waterloo.

This film, released in 2015, featured distinguished women in the games industry including Leigh Alexander, Anita Sarkeesian, and Brianna Wu to profile their experiences with discrimination and misogyny as it (unfortunately) still exists within the video game world.

Producer and director Shannon Sun-Higginson was on site to host a discussion following the film and promoted a dialogue among attendees related to the perception of women as they are portrayed in video games and also the experiences women have working within the games industry and related academic fields. The event provided key takeaways for attendees to consider in their future interactions to support women in the games industry.

Senate meets today and other notes

The University's Senate will hold its first meeting of the fall term today at 3:30 in NH 3407. Among the agenda items:

• the opening of nominations for University Professor designation;
• a motion to approve the deletion of the masters in health informatics (MHI) and MHI – co-operative program in Computer Science, as of January 2018 (the background document notes that no students have entered the program since 2012);
• a motion to approve an articulation agreement with George Brown College in the Faculty of Arts;
• a motion to approve the five (5) new agreements for 2+2 programs with China University of Geosciences Beijing, East China University of Science and Technology, Harbin University of Technology, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, and Zhongnan University of Economics and Law;
• a motion to make a number of changes to offerings in the School of Architecture;
• a motion to change the minor and option in entrepreneurship within the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Centre; and
• a motion to approve a new Water Science Specialization in the Honours Environmental Science program.

In addition, Senate will hear a report from the the Course Evaluation Project Team (CEPT) about the ongoing Course Evaluation Project, which makes the following recommendations;

• Course evaluations, called "Student Course Perceptions" (SCPs) should be mandatory for all courses and forms of instruction on this campus;

• The SCPs should be complemented by consistent, campus-wide use of associated methods such as peer teaching evaluations, teaching dossiers, etc.;

• A cascaded course evaluation instrument should be developed that is composed of core, generic questions. Additional optional Faculty and/or unit questions; and instructor- selected questions will provide the opportunity to provide more nuanced insights into the student experience.

• The eValuate on-line system, which has been tested and/or adopted in every Faculty, should provide the platform for the proposed SCP instrument; and

• An orientation toolkit should be designed and implemented to explain why and how SCPs are used at Waterloo; the issue of bias in all its forms; and general advice about how to interpret and complete the question set.

Senate will vote on endorsing the principles and recommendations contained in the report and endorse Phase 2 of the Course Evaluation Project, which will commence in the fall of 2017 and will involve the development of a question set, a training toolkit, testing the eValuate software and pre-launch the prototype.

The President, Vice-President, Academic & Provost, and Vice-President, University Research will all deliver reports.

This week is Science Literacy Week, running from September 18 to 24. Science Literacy Week is "a week-long celebration of science-based activities that highlight our outstanding scientists and science communicators from coast-to-coast," says a statement from the University of Waterloo Library.

The Library is celebrating with a number of activities, including a Science Cafe discussion, an e-Health information session, Blind Date with a Science Book, displays and more. Follow along @uwlibrary on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: #scilit17.