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Waterloo is one of Canada's Top 100 Employers
For the third year in a row, the University of Waterloo has been named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, an annual ranking of businesses and organizations across the country who lead in attracting and retaining employees. The annual survey is run by Mediacorp Canada.
The official announcement magazine was published in the national edition of The Globe and Mail this morning and can be read online.
“The University of Waterloo is proud to be once again recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor. “Our institution is only as strong as those we are privileged to have work at the University every day. It is because of their dedication that we are able to be honoured with this distinction.”
“Being named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers recognizes Waterloo among the outstanding organizations who are attracting and retaining top talent in an increasingly competitive environment," said Marilyn Thompson, associate provost, human resources. "The feedback gives us insight into how well we match against top employers throughout the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. It’s all part of an ongoing process to continually improve our working environment.”
The University of Waterloo was cited for its Volunteer Centre that helps engage students and employees with charitable causes that are important to them, its commitment to ongoing employee development through its Organizational and Human Development office, and its defined benefit pension plan, retirement assistance and health benefits.
Now entering its 20th year, the Canada's Top 100 Employers competition is an editorial project that recognizes employers with exceptional human resources programs and forward-thinking workplace policies. Editors at Mediacorp grade employers on eight criteria, which have remained consistent since the project's inception: physical workplace; work atmosphere and social; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time-off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement. The editors publish detailed reasons for selection and grades for these criteria, providing transparency in the selection of winners and a ‘catalogue of best-practices’ for employers and job-seekers alike.
The awards will be handed out at a gala event on November 19 at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, part of Mediacorp's annual Top Employer Summit. This year's keynote speaker is three-time Grammy award-winner Sarah McLachlan, who will take the stage for a special performance for conference attendees.
Waterloo inks agreement with Hong Kong Polytechnic
Professor Bob Lemieux (centre), dean, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo is presented with a souvenir from Ir Professor Alexander Wai (left), vice-president (Research Development), PolyU, and Professor David Shum (right), dean, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, PolyU.
The Presidents of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the University of Waterloo signed a Strategic University Partnership institutional agreement with the objective to foster closer partnership in education, research and entrepreneurship.
This historic agreement will see the two universities exploring opportunities for collaboration in research, furthering ties on faculty and student mobility and discussing connections in entrepreneurship, among other key areas.
“It is exciting to partner with exceptional institutions like PolyU and we cannot wait to expand on an already fruitful relationship through more international exchanges, joint programmes, research projects and more,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur.
“University of Waterloo is one of our valued partners. We both are an aspiring university, committed to shaping the future through conducting world-changing research and sending forth graduates who are ready to lead in a global economy. With a solid foundation, our new partnership will serve as an institutional framework for expanding the scope of our bilateral cooperation including diversifying areas of interdisciplinary academic, research and entrepreneurial collaboration; fostering greater mobility between our universities; and paving the way for the development of dual or joint programmes together,” said Professor Timothy W. Tong, president of PolyU.
The signing of the PolyU-University of Waterloo Strategic University Partnership Memorandum of Understanding and an Implementation Agreement as an addendum marks an important milestone for advancing the initiative of establishing a global Centre for Ocular Research and Development (CORD). The Centre will operate under the umbrella of the Waterloo Biomedical Research and Innovation Node (WBRIN) in Hong Kong.
CORD will address vital population health and aging imperatives in Hong Kong by partnering with local and internationally recognised leaders in ocular and vision science, and translating the research to commercial applications. According to the World Health Organization, vision problems cost the global economy US$200 billion annually to lost productivity. The Centre for Myopic Research at PolyU found that 70 percent of people born between 1950 and 1980 in Hong Kong are myopic.
The two institutions have broadly agreed on the three possible research areas under CORD, namely aging eye, sight-saving technologies and the eye as a window to the brain. The researchers will explore new approaches in the detection and treatment of eye diseases, study the use of tear fluid as biomarkers to predict and diagnose diseases, and innovate technologies related to myopia prevention and reversal, visual neuro-rehabilitation and nanotechnology-based drug delivery. CORD will also research into early diagnosis and disease monitoring in particular for diabetes and Alzheimer's disease through peripheral retinal imaging or optic nerve examination.
One of the key members in the CORD research team is Professor Donna Strickland of the Physics & Astronomy Department at the University of Waterloo, Laureate of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics. Professor Strickland will lead a flagship project to treat age-related macular degeneration. She will expand on her award-winning work on chirped pulse amplification (CPA) to develop a laser-based two-photon excitation technique for photodynamic drug therapy to remove abnormal blood vessels in the retina with a high degree of accuracy.
Translating research into commercialisation will also be a key focus of CORD. The Centre aims to bring the University of Waterloo’s entrepreneurial culture to Hong Kong, developing spinoffs and multinationals to commercialize research, and creating a sustainable long-term business model.
The two institutions intend to submit a proposal to the HKSAR Government under the recently announced Health@InnoHK research cluster initiative, with a plan to establish a research node in the Hong Kong Science Park.
On Sunday, campus will remember
The University of Waterloo community will join the rest of the country in pausing for a few moments on Sunday to remember Canada's war dead.
The official date of the Remembrance Day commemoration is always November 11, the anniversary of the day in 1918 when the guns fell silent at the end of the First World War.
Much of Remembrance Day's imagery is connected to that conflict, including the poppies, sold by the Royal Canadian Legion and worn on lapels, that recall the wildflowers that grow in the fields of Flanders, in north Belgium, as mentioned in the famous poem by Lt.-Col. John McCrae that is read at many Remembrance Day commemorations.
2018 marks the centennial of the November 11 armistice.
In accordance with the University's flag guidelines, flags will be lowered from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on campus Sunday. There are no plans for an on-campus ceremony, given that Remembrance Day happens on the weekend this year.
For those on campus looking to mark the occasion today, The Mennonite Archives of Ontario Gallery located on the third floor of Conrad Grebel University College is once again one of the display locations for an international project called The World Remembers 1914-1918.
Every day from September 12 to November 11 this year, the names of 1,033,167 soldiers and nurses on all sides of the First World War who lost their lives from 1918-1922 will be displayed at more than 60 locations around the world. The commemoration is a unique expression of remembrance, reconciliation and education, and shows the enormous human cost of the war. The Gallery will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. today and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
The Gallery is also the location of the exhibit “Sites of Nonresistance: Ontario Mennonites and the First World War.”
You can also read a story on the University of Waterloo homepage today that features research by History professor Lynne Taylor that examines the impact of war on civilians, particularly displaced children.
CTV Kitchener has a listing of local ceremonies at cenotaphs around the region, as does the CBC.
President's statement: From Armistice Day to Remembrance Day
This is the latest post on President Feridun Hamdullahpur's blog.
This Remembrance Day we remember more than the wars of the past. We remember the lives lost, the sacrifices made and the innocent people forever impacted on and off the battlefields where our brave men and women fought.
Every Remembrance Day holds a special place in the hearts of Canadians and November 11, 2018 is particularly special as it marks that 100th anniversary of Armistice Day. This was a day that brought peace to World War I and hope to countless people around the world who were devastated by years of unprecedented conflict.
One hundred years after Armistice Day we remain a world impacted by conflict that requires the vigilance of our honourable Canadian soldiers and peacekeepers. We honour them by remembering the sacrifice of those soldiers who have died and the dedication of those soldiers serving now.
Armistice Day does not simply mark the end of a devastating war. It is a symbol of where hope and action come together. We hope for a peaceful future where everyone has the opportunity to pursue their passions and achieve prosperity. We act to make this future possible. The sacrifices of our soldiers deserve our respect and our efforts to ensure Canada’s freedom and security.
Canada is a diverse and free nation because of those who have defended freedom, diversity, dignity and respect for all and the protection of the innocent the world over. What we do and learn at the University of Waterloo is only possible in large part because of those men and women who have served and continue to serve in the armed forces.
Please join me in a moment of silent remembrance 11:00 AM on Sunday and by acting upon the ideals that make this great country a beacon of peace and prosperity the world over.
Lest we forget.
Remembering Doug Herter and other notes
Human Resources is reporting that retiree Doug Herter died on November 3. Herter joined the University in 2007 and worked as a technician in Information Systems and Technology (IST).
The campus telephone tech, Doug was well known across campus for his love of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team - his cubicle was full of Habs memorabilia.
Doug retired from the University in 2017.
There will be a visitation today from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at the Henry Walser Funeral Home at 507 Frederick Street in Kitchener with the Celebration of Life taking place at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel.
The Healthy Workplace Committee has organized a Campus-Wide Movember Scavenger Hunt! Get your team of 4 to 6 people together and register by 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 13. Scavenger hunts will take place each Tuesday and Thursday from November 15 to 29 over the lunch hour. Clues will be sent to your team captain.
There's still time to fill out the Strategic Plan survey. As members of the University community, your knowledge and experiences can help determine the steps we need to take to generate and achieve a set of strategic priorities, goals, and objectives for 2020–2025. By participating in this survey, you have the opportunity to help confirm institutional vision and values statements, and to offer ideas on what Waterloo needs to achieve by 2025 and what success looks like for the University.
The survey closes on Saturday, November 10.