Events

Format: Hybrid conference

The Waterloo Staff Conference is an annual two-day learning and development opportunity designed exclusively for staff to attend for free at Waterloo. Featuring employee-led workshops and expert keynote speakers, the conference is hosted by Human Resources' Organizational and Human Development (OHD) team and made possible through the Staff Excellence Fund. 

Upwards of 1500 staff members participate every year, and it’s a wonderful way to delve into new topics, reflect on your own professional growth, and connect with colleagues from across all our campuses.

Format: Online course on LEARN

Understanding the fundamentals of giving and receiving feedback is a crucial first step to being able to experience the process productively. Feedback does not need to be stressful, particularly when a culture of feedback is created within a team. Be part of fostering this culture within your department by gaining awareness of the feedback loop, recognizing when to offer feedback, and how to receive feedback with grace. Participants will also have the opportunity to navigate through practice scenarios, as well as create a document to articulate their own personal feedback preference, which they can share with colleagues, managers or others with whom they work closely.

Format: Online session

Chefs Donna Shin and Mari-Beth Davis are hosting a fun and interactive virtual cooking class where you’ll learn how to craft your own delicious, fresh poke bowl. Whether you're a seafood lover or prefer plant-based options, you will be guided through the process step by step, helping you create a balanced, vibrant, and healthy dish with your choice of tuna, salmon, shrimp, or tofu as your base. 

Format: Online- March 2025

We welcome you to join us for a half-day orientation session designed just for you. This half-day event aims to connect the dots between you and the history, culture, priorities, services, opportunities, and resources that make the University of Waterloo an exciting place to work.

Throughout this engaging and interactive experience, you will meet other new employees and representatives from across the university and you will gain a helpful, foundational understanding of your new employer. Our aim is to share with you what it means to be an employee of one of Canada's top universities, and show you how to enrich your employee experience with all that is available to you.

To ensure maximum access for participation, this event is offered twice a term: once in-person and once virtually.

Format: Online course

Emotional intelligence encompasses the personal, emotional, and social abilities and skills which allow us to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures. Those with high emotional intelligence readily recognize their feelings, manage their reactions, and build positive interactions with others. In this guided asynchronous course, we will unpack what emotional intelligence is. Then, we’ll learn to develop our emotional intelligence to improve our personal resilience and performance, and learn to apply the appropriate emotions skillfully at the appropriate time.

Format: In-person workshop

Inspired to grow your own garden but don’t know where to start? This introductory and experiential workshop led by Monica Vesely will show participants how to start growing plants from seed and provide tips on how to do so successfully. Spots are limited! Necessary gardening materials will be provided.

Format: In-person workshop

Have you ever wondered why you immediately click with some people, yet feel guarded around others? Personality Dimensions® is a self-assessment tool that has you discover your individual preferences, styles and temperaments while learning to recognize and appreciate the preferences of others. Learn to strengthen your communication skills with others through a variety of highly effective tools and techniques that will allow you to explore your strengths and build on areas for development.

Format: Online workshop

Join us for a 45-minute LinkedIn Learning (LIL) Lunch and Learn session designed to help you unlock the full potential of LinkedIn Learning. Whether you're new to the platform or looking to deepen your knowledge, this workshop will provide you with practical tips and strategies to make the most of your learning journey. Come and discover what LinkedIn Learning can do for you and use it to craft your own professional learning journey! 

Note: The topics of each LIL Lunch and Learn session will vary. Our current topics include: 

Topic 1: Introduction to LinkedIn Learning 

Topic 2: Building Your Personal Learning Path with LinkedIn Learning 

Topic 3: Hey LinkedIn! Tapping into LinkedIn AI for Professional Development (coming soon) 

Topic 4: Developing Soft Skills with LinkedIn Learning (coming soon) 

Format: Online workshop

Knowing your character strengths and how to use them is essential to your career growth and development. In this workshop, we will explore our personal strengths using the VIA Character Strengths assessment tool. We will explore how our strengths can be used in new ways at work and at home. Finally, we will learn how to spot and appreciate the strengths of others, including our colleagues, to create stronger connections with them. 

Format: Online workshop

Practicing self-compassion is sometimes viewed as being self-indulgent, self-absorbed or letting ourselves off easy. In fact, self-compassion enables us to evaluate our experiences more rationally and also kicks in to help us develop more effective solutions for making things better. Research shows that practicing self-compassion is a powerful tool for motivation and is strongly related to psychological well-being, including increased life satisfaction and resilience and decreased anxiety and depression. Join this session to learn about how to start implementing self-compassion in your own life.