Behind the illustrations
Illustrator Julia Nakanishi is a Toronto-based designer and researcher who holds a Master of Architecture (MArch’20) and a Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BAS ’18) from the University of Waterloo. See more of Julia's designs inside the Spring 2021 University of Waterloo Magazine.
Campus development
Significant growth in campus development with the introduction of 17 new spaces including the Stratford campus, three engineering buildings, the Student Life Centre, Physical Activities Complex expansion, Math 3, Hagey Hall Hub and Field House.
Transformative entrepreneurship
Waterloo’s flagship incubator, Velocity, has continued to grow and launch remarkable technology companies alongside a generation of Canadian business leaders. Today, Velocity is preparing to move into the new Innovation Arena with purpose-built space for supporting companies located in the City of Kitchener’s Innovation District. Since 2008, Velocity founders have created more than 5,000 jobs across 400+ startups. In general, 474 University of Waterloo entrepreneurs have raised $12.9 billion (PitchBook 2020), with 19% of all tech founders in Canada holding Waterloo degrees.
Co-operative education
Since 2010, co-op enrolment has grown by 57.4%, with 7,100+ active employers and more than 25,000 (73%) of Waterloo’s full-time undergraduate population currently registered in the program. Co-op students reported earnings of nearly $300M in 2019-20 alone. Under Feridun’s tenure, Waterloo is Canada’s #1 University for employer-student connections. Feridun was also instrumental in helping introduce the University’s Work-Learn Institute in Fall of 2020, the first unit of its kind to research the development of talent through quality work-integrated learning programs.
Equity
Feridun was one of 10 University presidents to join the United Nation’s HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 global effort. He also established the Equity Office and the President’s Anti-Racism Taskforce (PART) on campus. As president, Feridun oversaw an increase in outreach experiences and activities for girls and women in STEM, an increase in female faculty representation to 30% and increased female leaders into senior academic and administrative University positions to 34%. In 2020 alone, more than 1,700 University community members were engaged in Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion training, while PART continues to work with 80+ members on 33+ identified deliverables to address systemic racism and make the campus community a safer and more inclusive place.
Student support and development
Feridun has focused on creating student support and development initiatives such as the Student Success Office (SSO) in 2010 and The Centre in 2019 to enrich the student experience through resources and services. Both offices have been instrumental in supporting and leading students through Waterloo’s online and remote learning transition during the global pandemic. In 2020, the SSO’s first-year transition, immigration consulting, international supports and peer programming provided 30,000+ student interactions per term. The Centre saw nearly 130,000 student interactions throughout the year.
Alumni connections
Approximately 30% of all Waterloo alumni graduated under Feridun’s tenure. He witnessed the 200,000th alumnus cross the convocation stage, oversaw approximately 65,000 students graduate to alumni and participated in 170 convocations spanning 510+ hours. Today, Waterloo's alumni network has grown to more than 220,000 alumni residing in 151 countries around the world.
Mental health
In 2017, Feridun created the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health. In 2018 the group made 36 recommendations to improve student well-being. Today, 83% of the recommendations have been completed and 17% remain in progress. As a result of improvements in funding from the University and the student health care plan, mental health services including in-person, online and phone supports are significantly expanded.
Research
Led Waterloo as Canada’s #1 research University (comprehensive category) for ten consecutive years (Research Infosource 2020), while advancing research through the Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute, Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute, Water Institute, Games Institute, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change, and Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology. He has helped attract and retain top researchers who have won a Nobel Prize and taken the first photo of a black hole, overseen more than 100 funded research chairs, 30+ senate-approved research centres, and Killam Prize winners who have advanced research in the areas of natural sciences, engineering, humanities and social sciences.
Global connections
Feridun has led the growth of Waterloo’s global network, expanding post-secondary partnerships in China, France, Israel and the United Kingdom. He’s launched 10 alumni chapters and deepened relationships with University friends and alumni in 15 countries. In 2019-20, 22% of Waterloo undergraduates and 40% of graduates were international students. During that same time, 10K+ donors across 39 countries donated $46M. He was also instrumental behind the Technion partnership, which continues to accelerate breakthroughs in research and commercialization in the areas of quantum information science, nanotechnology and water for pure and applied research./p>
Economic impact
During his time as president, Feridun oversaw the creation of 7,500+ jobs and $2.3B+ in revenue through entrepreneurship programs at the University. A 2019 study by Deloitte found that in the 2017-18 academic year alone, the University of Waterloo contributed $1.52 billion to Canada’s GDP, including $1.16 billion to Waterloo region’s GDP.
