Happy holidays from GSPA!

Our year in review

2021 began with a bit of a cautionary tale, with the request for everyone to stay at home, in light of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. That meant that the annual GRADflix final showcase took place remotely – though we did manage to deliver some popcorn to the special participants in the competition. Join us for the 2022 GRADflix showcase – taking place January 31, 2022.

In February, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) welcomed Shawn Wettig as the new Assistant Vice-President, GSPA. During March and April, graduate students and postdocs participated in the annual GRADventure Professional Skills Conference, and we continued celebrating successful PhD remote defences.

This year GSPA and Waterloo International were involved in webinars with partners in Latin America, through CALDO and the Egyptian Bureau of Cultural & Educational Affairs.
We were also delighted to celebrate with our graduates through two virtual convocations – in the spring and fall terms.  Both terms also saw a PhD Candidacy workshop and celebration, celebrating the accomplishments of our PhD candidates!

To support our future students, we launched an ask an expert live chat, which continues to offer support to applicants with questions about Waterloo and their offer of admission.

The summer was exciting for me, personally, as my re-appointment of Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs was approved, and I have the privilege of continuing the great work of the graduate studies and postdoctoral affairs portfolio at the University of Waterloo. Thank you for the ongoing support and for creating opportunities to make an impact together. 

In early September, we celebrated Canada’s largest annual National Postdoc Appreciation Week with a kick off video from President Vivek Goel and various workshops, activities and gifts! Speaking of postdocs, we were delighted to welcome the second cohort of AMTD scholars. And while we are on the topic of postdoctoral successes, Waterloo celebrates three Vanier Scholars.

October saw future graduate students applying to Waterloo using the Graduate online application system. We are also excited to share the Why Waterloo for graduate studies video and ongoing resources being developed for our future students.

As an institution, Waterloo continues to offer supports for international graduate students and resources such as the introduction of MyCreds for digital transcripts and Mental health training for Teaching Assistants. Throughout the year, the University of Waterloo welcomes new students and provides them with virtual onboarding through Waterloo Grad Ready. 

The GSPA team also coordinates with colleagues in the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) by offering the graduate supervision series for faculty members, which helps prepare faculty members to support their graduate students; we are also pleased to celebrate the outstanding supervision by announcing the 2020-2021 recipients of Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision.

I know it’s an understatement to say that 2021 has been a year full of unexpected surprises – ones that challenged us to reflect, reconnect and reimagine.  I am excited to see what 2022 will bring and I look forward to connecting and creating new highlights in the year to come.

On behalf of all of us in GSPA, we wish you and your loved ones the very best of the Holidays – and a healthy 2022. Cheers!

Jeff Casello,
Associate Vice-President
Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs