News

I have just completed a superb visit to Indonesia on behalf of the University of Waterloo.  My second trip to Indonesia, it was an opportunity to deepen existing connections and to make new ones too. Waterloo has been active with Indonesian partners for decades. Led by the Faculties of Environment and Mathematics, collaborations around sustainable development and actuarial science have served to advance understanding, learning, training, and well-being.

We are thrilled to work with our partner University of Twente, Netherlands to announce the newly formed ‘Twente and Waterloo Strategic Collaboration Grants (SCG)’. Full details can be found on this website. We would like to invite the Waterloo and Twente communities to apply by the submission deadline of Wednesday, 8 November 2023. Upon reviewing the website for the SCG funding call, please direct any questions to Eric Jardin (ejardin@uwaterloo.ca) at Waterloo, or Margriet Dekkers (m.a.h.dekkers@utwente.nl) at Twente.

Waterloo International is pleased to announce that Tamara Zur joins the team as Associate Director, International Operations for a one-year secondment. 

On Thursday Sept. 28^th, Waterloo International hosted a reception for the recipients of the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA). In addition to the award recipients, several staff and faculty members who had been directly involved in the IISMA program were invited. The event was well attended with all 15 award recipients attending.

Students were welcomed to the event and the University of Waterloo by AVPI Dr. Ian Rowlands, and then had the opportunity to network with faculty members to connect and provide feedback on their experience thus far.

Together with the FINCAPES Team at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo International hosted an MoU signing ceremony between the University of Waterloo and IPB University on 25^th September 2023 to strengthen our existing relationship and explore institution-wide collaboration initiatives. IPB University was represented by Rector Arif Satria (President-adjacent), Vice-Rector Deni Noviana, Dean of Graduate School Dodik Ridho Nurrochmat, Dean of Faculty of Forestry & Environment Naresworo Nugroho, and Chair of Woman’s Association Retna Widayawati.

We are aware that the recent diplomatic tensions between India and Canada have caused concern among many of our Indian students, faculty, staff and anyone with academic connections to India. We understand that these international matters can create a sense of uncertainty and apprehension, especially for those who are far from home.

Last week, an earthquake hit Morocco, and earlier this week, floods devastated Libya. Close to 10,000 people have reportedly been killed and hundreds of thousands have had their livelihoods and homes destroyed in an instant. 

On behalf of the University of Waterloo, I express my sadness at the loss of many lives and the catastrophic impacts for so many people following these natural disasters in North Africa.  I send my condolences to the families and communities devastated by these events. 

With the first week of a new academic year upon us, the team at Waterloo International is looking forward to a busy and impactful four months this coming term.  We already have a lot of activity on our schedule:

• We currently have more than 900 University of Waterloo members registered in the Safety Abroad System who are scheduled to depart in September for international travel.
• The majority of those outbound travellers are students going on co-operative education work terms or academic exchange terms.  Did you know that our International Agreements team stewards more than 100 agreements with universities around the world to promote successful outbound student mobility?
• Our International Operations team is looking forward to ensuring that the welcomes we give to incoming international delegations this term are – in spite of falling Autumn temperatures – incredibly warm, and that visitors’ experiences on our campus are exceptional.
• Our International Opportunities team is anticipating a new set of Global Affairs Canada opportunities being launched (keep your eyes on our dedicated webpage for that); the team is also working hard in advance of the University of Waterloo’s engagement with International Education Week (20-24 November 2023 – keep your eyes on that webpage too!).
• Our International Relations team will be supporting outbound senior leadership travel to multiple countries across two continents (Asia and Africa). More details will be forthcoming during the coming weeks.

It is hard to believe that summer – at least in the academic year sense – is drawing to a close! Here in Waterloo International, it has been a ‘full summer’. ‘Full’ for many included vacation time, which was wonderful, and ‘full’ also included impactful work to move internationalization forward at Waterloo in multiple ways. Check out these activities from the past two months:

On August 22^nd , Ian Rowlands (Associate Vice-President, International) and Amelia Burton (Associate Director, International Relations) travelled to Toronto for a series of meetings designed to strengthen Waterloo’s connections with the world.