Community

Future innovations rely on researchers doing basic science, Canada’s newest Nobel laureate told a near-capacity crowd during the President’s Lecture at the University of Waterloo.

Donna Strickland, a professor of physics at Waterloo, advocated for support of curiosity-driven research during a thought-provoking discussion with Kate Lunau, senior editor at Motherboard, VICE’s science and technology site. The fireside chat followed Strickland’s lecture.

Many of us have found ourselves in need of a supportive community during tough times, especially during university.

Michael Robson (BA ’13) found his support among African, Caribbean and Black student groups at Waterloo when an unfortunate hip surgery kept him from the football field.

Inspired by the commitment these students showed and the impact they made on his life, Michael established an award to support other students who volunteer with African, Caribbean and Black communities, and who build a culture of helping others at Waterloo.

But it wasn’t a traditional job that was calling to me during this mid-life detour.

I knew I wanted to use what I had learned at the University of Waterloo in terms of urban planning and cities, and infuse it with green and with a new way of shaping and appreciating our urban environment. I had started seeing cities in a different way and was keen to share this vision and inspire others with the potential.

There are few truly wild places left in the world. The middle of the North Atlantic is one of them. It’s not a place I ever expected to be.

After completing a master’s degree in English at UWaterloo, I embarked on a long and satisfying career as a communications professional, first running my own business, then joining the Communications and Public Affairs team at UWaterloo. I was working as editor of the University of Waterloo Magazine when I met Chris Hatton (BASc ’76) who had always dreamed of sailing across the ocean in his 43-foot steel sailboat.

Five years before I arrived at the University of Waterloo to begin my MA in Language and Professional Writing (as it was then called), I moved to Ndejje, a small town in south-central Uganda that I would call home for the next three years.

I was 25 years old, had taught junior high school in northern Manitoba for the previous three years, and was now a volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee.

“Managers can use job enrichment to make work more engaging and to develop a bond between staff and the organization,” says David Drewery, a PhD candidate in Waterloo’s Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. “Job enrichment aims to design work conditions in ways that maximize meaning, responsibility and knowledge.”

The study surveyed 124 seasonal student workers who had just completed a four-month-long summer job to find out whether they intended to return the following year, and the motivations behind their intentions. 

The University of Waterloo will celebrate Canada Day with traditional evening fireworks in 2019 as it explores new options to create connections between its students and the local community. 

The University evaluated its recent Canada Day events and concluded that leading a large-scale entertainment event is not a sustainable role for the institution. 

A study from the University of Waterloo and Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging has found that newly admitted residents’ history of heart failure, as well as their score on the interRAI Changes to Health, End-Stage disease, Signs and Symptoms (CHESS) scale, can accurately determine which residents are most at risk.
 

On the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday has become the unofficial opening day of the giving season. The Giving Tuesday movement is taking root around the world, in our communities, and, thanks to your thoughtful generosity, right here on our campus.

In a recent study, researchers from the University of Waterloo found patients who had not been able to maintain or learn skills such as taking medication, preparing meals, or arranging transportation experienced discharge delays of more than 30 days.

“We found that impairment in functional, social or cognitive abilities often means that patients experience a delay in being discharged, suggesting their needs are not being served in the mental health care setting,” said Jerrica Little, lead author of the study and PhD candidate at Waterloo’s School of Public Health.