Thursday, April 12, 2018

Waterloo launches academic integrity app

On Thursday April 12 members of the Office of Academic Integrity will be in Toronto presenting a workshop on a mobile application that was developed as part of a $96,000 eCampus Ontario grant.

“The IntegrityMatters: Foundations for Academic Success project aspired to improve student engagement with academic material by exploring mobile learning to better resonate with the current student population,” writes Amanda McKenzie, director, quality assurance (academic programs), who will be making the workshop presentation along with a research team. “The objectives of the project were to develop strategies for enhancing student academic integrity (AI) knowledge and understanding by employing open access mobile technology with an innovative pedagogical approach.”

The application will be officially launched at a workshop at the 8^th Annual Summit on Educational Technology Strategies for K-12 Schools, Colleges and Universities today.

The Office of Academic Integrity along with Associate Deans, Undergraduate Studies in Mathematics, Librarians from Renison and the University of Waterloo, the Centre for Teaching Excellence ,and input from the Federation of Students’ Academic Affairs Commissioners provided content to develop a unique set of scaffolded scenarios based on the values of integrity (honesty, trust, respect, responsibility, fairness and courage from the International Center for Academic Integrity, 2014).

A technological team led by Tony Tin from Lusi Wong Library at Renison brought the content to life in animated videos, and Dr. Alice Schmidt Hanbidge oversaw the research portion of the project.

Students were asked to download and test the app, which is available in English, Chinese, and French from either Google Play or iTunes. More than 800 Waterloo students tested the app.

This app has also been featured at conferences around the world such as Kobe, Japan, in the Czech Republic, and at the 2018 annual conference of the International Center for Academic Integrity, which was recently held in Richmond, Virginia.

The team hopes that this app will be adopted by the University and other educational institutions provincially, nationally, and internationally.

Top co-op students honoured

On Friday, April 6, the 2017 Co-op Student of the Year Awards took place in the Tatham Centre. The annual event highlights the co-op achievements of six winners, one from each faculty.

“The contributions this year’s winners made on their work terms exemplify the innovation and talent our co-op students are known for,” said Mario Coniglio, associate vice-president, academic and interim associate provost, co-operative and experiential education.

Faculty of Science winner Emily Pass also won the Co-operative Education  and Work-Integrated Learning Canada and Education at Work Ontario (EWO) co-op student of the year awards for her work term at the University of Western Ontario’s Centre for Planetary and Space Exploration. “It’s incredibly humbling to hear about the accomplishments of the other students here and consider myself a peer,” Pass said after receiving her awards. “I’m incredibly proud to be a Waterloo co-op student.”

Aaron Buckley, the Faculty of Environment Co-op Student of the Year winner, received an honourable mention from EWO for his work at CH2M HILL.

The following are the recipients of the 2017 University of Waterloo Co-op Student of the Year Awards for their contributions to co-operative education and their community:

Leah Drost – Health Studies (Faculty of Applied Health Sciences)

Working at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Drost made significant contributions to the medical field. Her research focused on post-surgery radiotherapy for cancer that had spread to the bone. It was a landmark study and was published in the medical journal Radiotherapy and Oncology. She presented her research to the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer in Washington, D.C.

Matthew Condie – Economics (Faculty of Arts)

Condie entered HubHead Corp. as a marketing coordinator, but quickly assumed responsibilities at the director level two weeks into his co-op term. He expanded and reinvented the company’s social media presence through implementing customer-centric marketing strategies and creating client-focused content.

Vincent Shadbolt – Biomedical Engineering (Faculty of Engineering)

Shadbolt managed all software and hardware launches for Motorola devices across Canada. At Motorola Mobility (a Lenovo Company), he was responsible for testing and introducing major IMS features (VoLTE, ViLTE and VoWifi) to be released for 2018 products. He collaborated with the company’s Chinese and Brazilian teams, learning Portuguese during his work term to help bridge major communication gaps.

Aaron Buckley – Geography and Environmental Management (Faculty of Environment)

At CH2M HILL, Buckley managed a project that increased drinking water capacity by 30 per cent in a major North American city. He has also volunteered his consulting services to organizations such as the Waterloo Regional Police Service, making a difference in the local community.

Jiajia Yin – Actuarial Science (Faculty of Mathematics)

While on a work term at Travelers Canada, Yin played a key role in developing a pricing sub-model project that will have a worldwide impact on profitability for the company.  She presented her work to senior management, including the CEO and Vice Chairman of Travelers Canada. The company was so impressed with her work that they have hired her to work for them full-time after she graduates.

Emily Pass – Physics and Astronomy (Faculty of Science)

Pass was a research assistant at the University of Western Ontario’s Centre for Planetary and Space Exploration. She successfully developed a data analysis pipeline for Colibri, a rapid-imaging astronomical experiment. She developed the pipeline from scratch—a year’s worth of work— completing it in six weeks. Her findings appear in a 13-page scientific paper in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, a respected academic publication. Pass is also one of 270 Schulich Leaders in Canada.

In addition to the students listed above, Anita Iacono (Applied Health Sciences), Darya Berezhnova (Arts), Austin Tripp (Engineering), Stephen Kiss (Environment), Zeping Ding (Mathematics), Stephanie Chan (Science) and Marisa Rankin (Science) received honourable mentions for the awards.

For more information on this year’s Co-op Student of the Year Award winners, please visit the co-operative education website.

Reception celebrated teachers, researchers

More than 110 faculty members and graduate students who won teaching and research awards over the last year joined President, Feridun Hamdullahpur, Vice-President, Academic & Provost George Dixon, and Federation of Students President Antonio Brieva at the President’s Reception for Excellence in Teaching and Research in the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre on Tuesday night.

“I want you to know that what you do every day makes a difference in the lives of our students and makes Waterloo the exceptional institution it is today,” said President Feridun Hamdullahpur during his remarks at the reception.  

Attendees included recipients of awards both internal and external to the University.

Congratulations to all the award winners!

Jersey Day and other notes

In the wake of the tragic crash that occurred this past weekend in Saskatchewan involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team, the University of Waterloo is encouraging students, faculty and staff to join a cross-Canada initiative by wearing a sports jersey to campus today. 

In response to the tragedy, a group of hockey parents in British Columbia started the Jersey Day campaign to show support for the victims of the crash and their families, let them know they are not alone in their grief, and that the entire country is behind them.

Follow along with the campaign on social media using the hashtag #jerseysforhumboldt.

And now, a word from the Sustainability Office: "Looking for a great way to get involved and get outside for Earth Month? Join the Sustainability Office on Wednesday, April 18 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. for the annual 20 Minute Makeover! Meet in the foyer of EV3 at noon to pick up gloves and garbage bags. Please register on the event page as an individual or group by teaming up with other members of your office. It’s a great way to enjoy some fresh air while doing good for our planet!"

The Fine Arts department is presenting MFA THESIS ONE from Thursday, April 12 to Saturday, April 28 featuring the work of two MFA candidates. The opening reception takes place tonight from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the University of Waterloo Art Gallery.

Gallery One features the work of MFA candidate Eryn O'Neill, entitled Restrictions of Routine, "a series of paintings inspired by my co-dependent relationship with running and painting. The urban environment cannot be experienced all at once; our senses and motion work to create a constant reorientation within the complex systems of the city, but it is our visual connection that resonates. Place, and how we respond to it, plays a central role in both my painting and my running."

In Gallery Two is Tess Martens' 1, 2, 3, 4. "I started performing as a child," writes Martens. "Alone in my bedroom I harnessed the power of make-believe to act out different roles, design costumes and wardrobe changes to entertain myself. Although the elaborate nature of play is not seen as anything out of the norm for a child, similar behaviours gain an edge when reenacted during adulthood. I am still very interested in the make-believe, and continue to reference the past in my work."

As always, exhibitions are free and open to the public. Check out the Fine Arts website for full artist statements, bios, and more information about the thesis exhibition.