Wednesday, August 1, 2018


Co-op harnesses AI in predictive hiring pilot

A message from Co-operative and Experiential Education.

Starting this fall, Co-operative and Experiential Education will be piloting Plum.io’s predictive hiring platform to help better connect co-op students with the 7,000+ employers that recruit from Waterloo each year. The Plum platform marries artificial intelligence and machine-learning with industrial organizational psychology to give hiring managers an additional, distinct dimension to predict candidates' on-the-job performance.

The objective is not to reinvent campus recruitment, but to increase recruiting success through innovative use of information available to hiring managers and campus career service personnel.

"We’ve long been dedicated to helping our students cultivate a clear sense of career direction and purpose, both of which play a big role in job satisfaction and performance," says Dianne Bader, Director of Co-operative and Experiential Education Services. “While we have excelled at helping match students with employers based on skills and knowledge, we wanted to add a dimension that captured who our students are as humans. Research, including our own here at Waterloo, has shown that human talent - things like work ethic, teamwork, leadership and creativity - is just as important as skills and knowledge when predicting job performance.”

Rolling out this summer, the partnership will initially span the following:

  • All University of Waterloo students will have the option to complete a Plum profile. By taking a 25-minute assessment test, students can learn about what makes them happy and fulfilled in their work, which work environments best suit them, and how their personality affects their job interviews.
  • All employers recruiting at the University of Waterloo will have the option to complete a Plum match criteria assessment. Plum match criteria are the behavioural job requirements that hiring managers and their teams set for a job. Match criteria - also known as a Competency Model or a talent model - outline which behaviours are most important for being successful on the job and are determined when one or more of a hiring manager's team completes a 25-minute match criteria assessment test.
  • Based in part on the intersection of match criteria and the findings of Plum assessment tests, students will be matched with open employment positions (and employers) where there is a high predictive degree that they will succeed based on qualities that make them unique.

"We're really excited about launching this partnership with the University of Waterloo. Thanks to funding from the Build in Canada Innovation Program, employers can now quantify students' potential for success in their unique roles," said Caitlin McGregor, co-founder and CEO, Plum. "Employers will be able to understand students' ability to execute, be innovative and work well on teams. This is unparalleled insight that Waterloo is uniquely positioned to offer their employers. Together, the University of Waterloo and Plum can provide the data and insights to help companies build agile, innovative and collaborative workforces."

These are the issues: Internationalization

This is part three of a 7-week series in the Daily Bulletin examining the Strategic Plan Bridge to 2020 issue papers. Have your say and join the Strategic Plan conversation by providing feedback!

A table and chairs set up with alternating Canadian and Dutch national flags behind.

In an increasingly interconnected and complex world, the need for universities to make a contribution is perhaps more important now than ever. That was the thinking that informed the Internationalization advisory group as they considered the issue as part of the strategic planning process.

The Internationalization advisory group identified several ways that universities engage with the idea of internationalization:

  • Learning: Internationalization better prepares the student for a globalized world;
  • Research: Diverse perspectives and insights, as well as a larger pool of financial, infrastructural, and educational resources, provide a strong foundation for research;
  • Service: Public universities are obliged to contribute to issues of significance, many of which are global in scope;
  • Strategic: To help a university advance its strategic goals, internationalization can be a stimulus to innovation, and it can be a gateway to resources.

Contemporary components of internationalization include the concepts of Internationalization Abroad (IA), or mobility of the university population across international borders, International Partnerships (IP), or the cross-border linkages with institutions, alumni, industry, governments, and other stakeholders, and Internationalization on Campus (IoC), which refers to the multiple international dimensions on the home campus, with focus on incoming international students and internationalizing all students’ experiences. 

Internationalization can serve to advance the higher education sector's core mission of teaching, research, and service for the public good, and a strong international outlook and vibrant international engagement are vital to Waterloo’s global excellence. 

Thought-starting questions:

  • What ought to be the goals, values, and motivations/drivers for Waterloo’s international engagement (e.g., preparing global citizens, contributing to global challenges, knowledge, discovery)?
  • What are Waterloo’s unique contributions to the world and how can they contribute to Waterloo’s international engagement?
  • How can Waterloo support/increase faculty members’ engagement in the international component of their research? Of their teaching/learning? Of their service?
  • How can Waterloo facilitate access to international opportunities for faculty and staff?
  • How can we engage our global network of alumni in support of our internationalization efforts?

Consider the full list of thought-starting questions.

Check out the full issue paper (PDF) on the Bridge to 2020 website.

Join the conversation and provide your feedback on the Internationalization issue paper.

Info session for students interested in going abroad

Student on laptop

This year, all students planning to participate in an exchange or study abroad program in the 2019/20 academic year will be required to attend an information session before they can apply.

Information sessions will be held in the Student Success Office several times a week starting on August 8, and will help students be more informed about the process and more intentional with their applications to go abroad.

Visit the Student Success Office website for upcoming dates and times. 

Wednesday's notes

The Centre for Ocular Research and Education (CORE) is currently seeking children ages 7-12 years old who wear glasses/contacts to participate in an exciting new daily disposable, contact lens research study here at the University (with ethics clearance). All study contacts and glasses will be provided. Receive up to $370 for up to 7 visits over 6-12 months. For more information visit the CORE website. Anyone with questions is invited to email corestudies@uwaterloo.ca or call 519-888-4742.

There are no employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions. Visit the Employer Information Session calendar to stay updated.

Organizational & Human Development closed tomorrow

The office of Organizational & Human Development in MC will be closed on Thursday, August 2, all day, for an all-staff retreat. Regular operations and office hours will resume on Friday, August 3.

Link of the day

15 years ago: The Toronto SARS Concert

When and where 

Celebrate Canada's Diversity at the University Club, Tuesday, July 3 to Friday, August 10, 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., University Club.

Online examination days, Saturday, July 28 and Friday, August 3.

Lobsterlicious at the University Club, Tuesday, July 31 to Friday, August 10, 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., University Club.

Pop-Up HR session, Wednesday, August 1, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., outdoor quad between EC1 and EC5.

Part Time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) Info Session, Wednesday, August 1, 12:30 p.m., Online Webinar.

Alleviating Anxiety Seminar, Thursday, August 2, 5:00 p.m., NH 2447.

SSHRC START training: Master Methodologies, Thursday, August 2, 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Hagey Hall 373

Civic holiday, Monday, August 6, most University operations closed.

Seminar featuring Daniel Berry, Software Engineering — A rerun of "The Prehistory and History of RE (+SE) as Seen by Me", Tuesday, August 7, 10:30 a.m., DC 2310.

Coping Skills Seminar - Strengthening Motivation, Tuesday, August 7, 4:00 p.m., HS 2302.

Computer science seminar, The prehistory and history of RE (+SE) as seen by me, Daniel Berry, David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, Tuesday, August 7, 10:30 a.m., DC 2310.

LGBTQ+ Making Spaces workshop, Wednesday, August 8, 12:30 p.m., NH 3318.

SSHRC START training: Knock-Out Knowledge Mobilization Plans, Thursday, August 9, 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Hagey Hall 373

Quantum Cryptography School for Young Students (QCSYS), Friday, August 10 to Friday, August 17, Institute for Quantum Computing.

Examinations end, Saturday, August 11.

Perseids Sky-watching Party and lecture: "Mapping the Universe", Sunday, August 12, 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., OPT 347.

Food Services Recruitment Fair, Tuesday, August 14, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Fed Hall. 

SSHRC START training: Stellar Student Training Plans, Tuesday, August 14, 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Hagey Hall 373

More Feet on the Ground - Mental Health Training, Thursday, August 16, 9:00 a.m., NH 2447.

SSHRC START training: Bringing your Budget “A Game”, Thursday, August 16, 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Hagey Hall 373.

NEW - SynBio at Waterloo featuring Stanley Cohen, Stanford University, Friday, August 17, 9:30 a.m., QNC 1506.

NEW - Multi-Year Accessibility Plan information session, Wednesday, August 22, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., BMH 1016.

NEW - Co-operative work term ends, Friday, August 24.

NEW - QPR Training, Monday, August 27, 10:30 a.m., Needles Hall 2nd Floor.

Positions available

On this week's list from the human resources department, viewable on the UWaterloo Talent Acquisition System (iCIMS):

  • Job ID# 2018-3169 - Administrative Assistant, Anthropology – Anthropology, USG 6
  • Job ID# 2018-3161 - Administrative Coordinator Graduate Studies – Psychology, USG 6
  • Job ID# 2018-3121 - Assistant Athletic Therapist - Athletics & Rec Services, USG 7
  • Job ID# 2018-3160 - Client Support Representative - Centre for Career Action, USG 4 – 5
  • Job ID# 2018-3164 - Client Support Specialist (Service Desks) - Information Systems and Technology, USG 7 – 8
  • Job ID# 2018-3173 - Computing Consultant (Digital Communications) - 5170 - Information Systems and Technology, USG 9
  • Job ID# 2018-3147 - Instructional Support Coordinator - School of Computer Science, USG 8 – 9
  • Job ID# 2018-3092 - Manager, Safety Abroad - VP University Research, USG 12
  • Job ID# 2018-3081 - Nursing Supervisor - Health Services, USG 10
  • Job ID# 2018-3083 - Technical Writer - Mathematics Research Office, USG 10

Internal secondment opportunities:

  • Job ID# 2018-3118- Design Administrative Assistant - Plant Operations, USG 5
  • Job ID# 2018-3002- Graduate Admissions and Records Specialist – Grad Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), USG 7
  • Job ID# 2018-3151 - Graduate Studies Admissions Specialist - Grad Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), USG 8
  • Job ID# 2018-3168 - Information Systems Specialist (BI Developer) - Information Systems and Technology, USG 10 – 12
  • Job ID# 2018-3158- Learning Strategist - SSO - AccessAbility Services, USG 8
  • Job ID# 2018-3047 - Manager, Marketing and Recruitment - School of Accounting & Finance, USG 10
  • Job ID# 2018-3042 - Project Co-ordinator - Eye Institute - School of Optometry & Vision Science, USG 8
  • Job ID# 2018-3096 - GSA Administrative Assistant - Grad Student Association, USG 4