On 24 May 2022, the University of Waterloo hosted a delegation from the University of Warwick (United Kingdom). The visit provided the opportunity for senior leaders from the two universities to review long-standing collaborations, to receive an update on more recent initiatives, and to explore new areas for potential cooperation.
During the visit, the University of Warwick was represented by Professor Carsten Maple, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (North America), Professor Jo Angouri, Academic Director for Education and Internationalisation, and Emily Lim, Associate Director (Americas, Asia & Middle East). They were welcomed by the team from Waterloo International at the University of Waterloo, led by Professor Ian Rowlands, Associate Vice-President, International.
Co-authored publications connecting the universities date back more than 50 years, and formal agreements taking students each way across the Atlantic Ocean have been in existence for more than two decades. The visit provided an opportunity to celebrate this long history, and to look forward.
Areas investigated during the day-long visited included:
- Activities between the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) at Waterloo and Politics and International Studies (PAIS) at Warwick, including the well-established graduate double-degree and the many research connections, were reviewed, and areas for additional work identified.
- A hybrid conversation, mixing both the in-person visitors and virtual colleagues investigating esports from both universities where (amongst other fascinating updates) they shared their exciting collaborative plans for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the United Kingdom during the summer of 2022.
- A delegation from Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics met to explore potential cooperation – building upon the many ‘grassroots collaborations’ that already exist. Means by which graduate students could be engaged were amongst the areas explored.
- Amongst other possibilities, representatives of the Faculty of Arts continued exploratory discussions focused on innovative student and faculty experiences through both intensive online and in-person programming abroad.
Follow-up activity is already underway. Waterloo members who would like to learn more – or who would like to share their own work with the University of Warwick – are encouraged to reach out to the Waterloo International, International Relations Manager, whose areas of responsibility include the United Kingdom, Eric Jardin (international.relations@uwaterloo.ca).
