With my arrival at London Heathrow on Sunday January 21, 2018, my trip to the United Kingdom had begun.
After my flight, I kicked off my visit with a dinner with Waterloo students currently on cooperative work terms in London. Of the many co-op work terms embarked upon in the 2016/2017 academic year, 35 students travelled to the UK. This was an opportunity for me to support our international co-op students and to gain insight into their experiences.
In the United Kingdom, the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) is high on the national agenda; it is frequently cited within the UK Digital Strategy as a priority area. On the 22nd, I participated in a meeting that focused on AI and how it can shape the future of the digital industry, meeting not only delegates from the UK, but also those representing institutions across Canada. I was delighted to represent the broad and deep expertise that the University of Waterloo has in AI, and to explore potential co-op connections in the field.
After the AI meeting, I met up with delegates from the Russell Group, an association of twenty-four research universities in the UK. As the University of Waterloo is a key member of the similar Canadian U15 association, I was delighted to meet a representative of the counterpart organization within the UK. As both Canada and the UK place priority on international student experience, we shared insights on international education and explored enhancing the international dimension of research activities.
Next was a meeting with the Canada-UK Foundation. Our visit laid the groundwork for an immediate return visit by William Abraham and William Sword on February 5th.
I also met with Allison Goodings, an education specialist at the Canadian High Commission with whom I discussed the landscape of British higher education as well as the University of Waterloo's international activities.
On the 23rd of January, I attended an Education Innovation Conference that also focused on the importance of AI. Through many engaging and informative presentations, I was able to learn more about how AI and other forms of innovation could play future roles in international education.
The evening brought a much anticipated alumni roundtable event. The UK is an important country for the University of Waterloo, for instance, hosting an alumni chapter and being home to more than 615 University of Waterloo alumni. This event allowed the President, other colleagues, and myself to connect with these former students, exchanging conversation as well as gathering their valued insights and perspectives.
On the 24th, I visited Improbable, a technology company located in the thriving Canary Wharf where we were hosted by a UWaterloo alumnus and were able to interact with the current co-op students there. Their input and insight regarding their co-op experience was most valuable.
I took a short break to pursue my own research activities, meeting with Dr. Chris Jones, a senior lecturer in Social and Environmental Policy at the University of Surrey. Together we discussed the development of our international comparative study focusing on the social acceptance of energy storage technologies.
The afternoon brought me to King's College London (KCL), where I participated in an event hosted by the Canadian High Commission and KCL about the student exchange prospects of studying in Canada. There are numerous links that exist between KCL and the University of Waterloo. Since 2015, our two institutions have, for instance, been a part of a university-wide research agreement, compiling 35 co-authored publications together in three years.
As part of the discussion about KCL's Canadian partner universities, I was able to give a presentation about the University of Waterloo. With a student exchange agreement in the works, students wishing to participate in an exchange between KCL and UW can look forward to the opportunity in the 2019/2020 academic year.
Following the exchange presentation, I was able to attend a Presidents' panel chaired by the Canadian High Commissioner Ms. Janice Charette, in which Waterloo's President Feridun Hamdullahpur took part.
January 25th began with another co-op themed visit, this time to Revolut, a London-based financial company, where I met with a current Waterloo co-op student and two full-time alumni. We discussed not only their own experience at this company, but also the rapidly emerging FinTech scene in London.
I returned to KCL in the afternoon to meet with my colleagues at King's Worldwide, the KCL equivalent of Waterloo International, where we discussed the next steps of the successful relations between our two universities.
I also had the opportunity to visit Imperial College London to meet a representative of their international office and share perspectives on international education. While no formal agreements exist between Imperial College and Waterloo, the two universities share research connections in the form of 43 co-authored research publications since 2014. The University of Waterloo is proud to regularly welcome visitors from Imperial College and looks forward to continued good relations in the future.
January 26th, my final day in London, began with a meeting of UK Universities International (an organization that resembles Universities Canada), followed by a discussion with representatives of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). In September 2018, the University of Waterloo will be hosting the 8th ACU HR in HE Community Conference.
The conclusion of the meeting also spelled the conclusion of my time in London. The journey back to Waterloo was a time to reflect upon what was undoubtedly a successful trip and to look forward to future connections!
