Math Strategic Plan 2018 Implementation

In fall 2018, the Dean struck representative Strategic Plan Implementation Working Groups (IWG), comprised of student, staff and faculty representatives from across the Faculty.

On an annual cycle, IWGs develop proposals for pan-Faculty initiatives to help reach our strategic goals. The Dean considered feedback from the Mathematics Strategic Planning Committee (MSPC) and our financial situation to determine which would receive funding.

Each winter, MSPC reviewed progress toward our strategic goals, our current context, and institutional priorities. This identified changes needed to capitalize on new opportunities or address unforeseen challenges, which were then provided as guidance to IWGs for the coming proposal cycle.

By the end of the Strategic Plan 2018 period (May 2023), we had completed five implementation cycles and launched 23 implementation initiatives.

Pan-Faculty implementation initiatives progress

Community Engagement Coordinator

Filled in circle with Pilot Completed wording

Create a new position to focus on well-being and community within the Faculty of Mathematics. They will work with Faculty and University partners to create initiatives that will impact the lives of students, staff and faculty; create events that raise awareness about mental health issues; and engage in community-building activities to help ensure a positive experience for everybody within the Math Faculty.

Achievements to May 2022 include:

Faculty of Mathematics Mental Health Training

Circle completely filled in

Enhance training to increase the confidence and preparedness of employees to support mental health issues presented by students and colleagues.

Achievements to May 2022 include:

  • Moved to regular Faculty operations with the Community Engagement Coordinator
  • Community Well-being and Engagement Officer connects Math community members with Campus Wellness training opportunities and resources

Staff Professional Development Fund

Circle 3/4 filled in

Establish a program at the Faculty level to support the career development and advancement of staff and build an environment that promotes a culture of learning and self-improvement.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • Program terms of reference, selection and eligibility criteria, and fund distribution model
  • Offered a “Burnout to Breakthrough” Workshop Series in 2021/22
  • 1 application funded in 2022/23

Increases to Top-end Undergraduate Scholarships

Circle half filled in

Enhance current undergraduate scholarships by increasing the value and number of scholarships for undergraduate students.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • 60 scholarship offers accepted in four years
  • Acceptance rates significantly higher than for non-scholarship offers and higher than for lower-value scholarship offers
  • Average performance of these scholarship students well above class averages
  • Strategic $50K Global scholarship targeting International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) and International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) medalists

Enhanced Recruitment in India

Circle half filled in

Develop and implement a large targeted undergraduate recruitment initiative aimed at increasing the number of registered students from India to help achieve the strategic goal of further diversifying the Faculty’s prospective international student pool.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • One contract staff recruiter in India and one Waterloo-based staff recruiter focused on India
  • Virtual recruitment and outreach events continued
  • In-country visits increased: connections with over 100 different schools in India and the Indian diaspora in Bangladesh and the Middle East in 2022/23
  • 28 India-specific scholarships accepted for Fall 2020, 2021 and 2022
  • Increased applicants from India

High-Quality YouTube and Social Media Content

Circle 1/4 filled

Leverage social medial channels through the intentional and regular creation of content to interest and excite more people about mathematics, statistics, and computer science and to highlight Waterloo Mathematics as a destination for top mathematical learning, talent and research.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • Project coordinator role established and hired in April 2023

Recruitment Initiatives to increase the number of black applicants

Circle with no filling and the word APPROVED

Develop and implement a multi-pronged approach to increase the number of Black applicants to Faculty of Mathematics programs. This will include targeted recruitment, scholarship and outreach offerings.

To start in 2023/24.

Professional Development Support for Teaching

Circle 3/4 filled in

Create a grant that instructors can apply to for their professional development related to teaching.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • 50-70 unique faculty members received funding in each of the last three fiscal years
  • Accessed by faculty from all instructional units
  • 16 faculty members used the fund for the first time in 2022/23
  • UW Math Teaching Colloquium and blog posts (8 to date) to help disseminate knowledge gained at teaching conferences
  • Funded attendance at international, national and institutional conferences, workshops and seminars on teaching and learning (e.g. Mathematical Association of America SIGMAA Rume, Canadian Mathematical Society meetings, BIRS Mathematics Education workshops, Digital Pedagogy conference, Online Learning Consortium, Waterloo Teaching and Learning Conference, etc.)

Increased Instructional Support Roles

Circle half filled in

Establish instructional support for core and service mathematics undergraduate courses, to improve course instruction, allow instructors more time to focus on student learning and ensure greater uniformity across sections.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • Instructional Support Needs Assessment Team report
  • Two ongoing Instructional Support Coordinators (ISCs) and up to four annual single-term coop Instructional Support Assistants (ISAs)
  • Five terms completed with ISC support to date, impacting:
    • 22 courses
    • 76 instructors
    • 10,600 student enrolments
    • 117 graduate TAs
    • 26 undergraduate TAs
  • Significant benefit to the administration of core and service courses

Enhanced Undergraduate Assessment Practices

Circle 1/4 filled

Establish a committee to research, discuss and evaluate possible options for enhancing undergraduate assessment practices in Math to: enhance student learning; encourage greater student engagement; and increase the quality and pedagogical value of feedback provided to students.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • Enhancing Assessment Practices Working Group
  • Senior coop Educational Research Assistant (1 term/year)
  • Web site published for instructors to learn more about each assessment type they might want to try
  • Literature review of papers about assessment in STEM courses (766 abstract and title reviews, 103 papers read, and 45 included in the final study)
  • Small-scale literature review of universal design for learning (UDL) practices on assessments and 9 recommended easy-to-implement practices for instructors
  • Systematic examination of assessment in all syllabi from Math Faculty courses in Fall 2019, Fall 2021 and Fall 2022
  • Survey of undergraduate Math students

Improve Math Students’ Teamwork Skills

Circle 1/4 filled

Customize resources for instructors to support students in developing teamwork skills and confidence working in groups, and to enhance the considered incorporation of group work in courses.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • Teamwork Skills Working Group
  • Various faculty members in two units were interviewed about their group project experience
  • 4 of 6 teamwork skills modules developed
  • 4 modules piloted in COMM 431 and COMM 432 in Fall 2022 and Winter 2023

Enhanced Mathematics Undergraduate Research Award (MURA) Program

Circle 1/4 filled

Increase the number of Mathematics Undergraduate Research Awards (MURA) for undergraduates – including international students and top students from other universities – to engage in research opportunities with our faculty members, enriching the undergraduate experience, the research environment, and graduate recruitment efforts.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • 17 additional MURAs awarded in 2022/23
  • Matching platform introduced to connect students and supervisors for potential undergraduate research projects, including MURAs
  • MURA student research outputs in 2022/23 included papers, technical reports, software packages and conference talks

Cohort-Based First-Year Courses

Circle with no filling and the word APPROVED

Establish a sustainable system to group first-year students into cohorts to help establish peer relationships in first-year to help foster well-being and community building for the remainder of their undergraduate careers.

To start in 2023/24.

Competitive Funding for Graduate Students

Circle 1/4 filled

Provide Math-funded International Master’s Awards of Excellence (IMAE) to help bridge the tuition differential for new international research master’s students and create new prestigious scholarships to attract top students to our doctoral programs.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • In 2022/23, 106 students received the Math IMAE, which provides $2,500 per term for up to five terms
  • 8 top entering students have received the Dean of Mathematics Excellence Scholarship, an $8,000 entrance scholarship

Enhanced Teaching Opportunities for PhD Students

Circle with no filling and the word APPROVED

Establish increased opportunities for interested PhD students to teach, supported by a systematic and coordinated training and feedback program.

To start in 2023/24.

Holistic Review of Graduate Funding

Circle with no filling and the word APPROVED

Conduct a holistic review of Faculty of Mathematics graduate student funding, with the parallel goals to (a) streamline the administration of graduate funding and (b) assess the appropriateness of overall graduate student funding packages and enhance those where necessary and as financially feasible.

To start in 2023/24.

Prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Faculty of Mathematics William T. Tutte Postdoctoral Fellowship intends to attract high-calibre scholars to conduct research in Applied Mathematics, Combinatorics and Optimization, Computer Science, Pure Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science or any related fields. Up to three Fellowships per year will be awarded, recognizing postdoctoral researchers with the potential to transform their field of research.

Eligibility: Open to citizens in any country. Applicants must have completed a PhD no earlier than 3 years prior to the start date of the Fellowship. At the time of application submission, the applicant must not hold a postdoc position or be employed at the University of Waterloo.

Applications are evaluated based on research excellence in leadership in the applicant’s research field and quality of the proposed research program.

Value: $75,000/year plus $15,000/year research fund
Duration: 2 years
Application deadline: Closed for 2024

Faculty of Mathematics Research Awards

Circle 1/4 filled

Introduce new strategic research awards to support specific researcher needs: to reduce obstacles for researchers to lead large collaborative projects; and to mitigate the effects of personal life events that are disruptive at critical career stages.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • Bridge Support and Project Leader awards established and launched

Enhanced Research Online Presence

Circle half filled in

Develop an engaging online presence for research in the Faculty of Mathematics, incorporating promotional videos and updated content to showcase the cutting-edge and innovative nature of our faculty members’ work.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • Initial web content update
  • 6 research videos filmed; editing underway
  • Photoshoots of 6 research groups

Dean’s Distinguished Visiting Professorship

Circle 1/4 filled

Reinvigorate the previous DDVP program to bring a leading international researcher in mathematics, statistics or computer science to Waterloo to be a resident for one academic term and to offer a public lecture and full-term course.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • DDVP Dr. Mostafa Ammar joined the Cheriton School of Computer Science in Fall 2022
  • Dr. Sanjeev Khanna (CS) was selected as next DDVP and will join the Cheriton School of Computer Science in Winter 2024

Math Computing Research Discovery Days

Circle 1/4 filled

Host an annual event that incorporates a series of programs and activities to meaningfully engage external partners with faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and their research.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • Inaugural event hosted April 17-18, including academic keynotes, student speakers and posters, networking opportunities, a fireside chat with a VIP alumni and an interactive workshop
  • Over 275 individuals registered for the event, including external partners, alumni, faculty, staff and students (though attendance rates were lower, consistent with drop-out rates experienced by peer event organizers)

MMT Scholarships for Indigenous Teachers

Circle half filled in

The Master of Mathematics for Teachers (MMT) program seeks to engage teachers who are Indigenous or who are teaching in Indigenous communities to encourage mathematical education and continuous learning. This full scholarship opportunity is designed to eliminate financial barriers that may exist for interested teachers and to increase awareness of mathematics amongst Indigenous teachers and the Indigenous communities they serve.

Achievements to May 2023 include:

  • 10 students accepted scholarships in first two years; no eligible applicants for the awards in third year
  • 1 scholarship recipient has graduated, 2 have deferred enrolment and 6 were enrolled in Fall 2022 and Winter 2023
  • All active scholarship recipients are in good standing with cumulative averages exceeding 80%
  • Anecdotal participant feedback has been positive