Societal Futures

The University of Waterloo and Ontario land development and homebuilding company The Caivan Group (Caivan) are launching the Future Cities Institute (FCI) thanks to a transformational $10-million commitment from Caivan. The Institute will bring together some of the top minds in the country and provide the resources they need to tackle the greatest challenges facing urban spaces now, and in the future.

Twelve senior student teams from the Faculty of Engineering competed in this year’s Norman Esch Entrepreneurship Awards for Capstone Design, pitching their startup ideas to a panel of judges who distributed more than $110,000 in investment funding for the projects.

“GreenHouse, now in its 11th year of operation, has provided social innovation and entrepreneurship education to thousands of students, and has supported, through the Social Impact Fund, the development of 120 student-run social ventures — that’s a lot of positive impact, both for the students and for society as a whole,” said Richard Myers, principal at United College, during his opening remarks on March 27 at the GreenHouse 31st Social Impact Showcase.  

Being able to understand the medications you take should be a given. However, many people struggle to understand what to expect from the medications they’re taking and how to take them effectively.  

Waterloo’s clinical associate professor, Dr. Tejal Patel, has teamed up with QRxDigital to include QR codes on medication bottles that link to an instructional video that patients can view at home. This seemingly small addition makes a big impact in improving patient knowledge about their medications and ultimately increases medication adherence. 

The Ontario government recently announced funding for five University of Waterloo faculty members to advance their research projects. The announcement was made as part of an investment into Ontario-based researchers whose projects will help to create jobs, technologies and accelerate economic growth. 

The five Waterloo researchers will receive funding through the Early Researcher Awards program — a program that gives research funds to new researchers working at publicly funded Ontario research institutions to build a research team.  

Though matters of climate change, biodiversity loss and Indigenous Peoples’ health and well-being are often considered separately, the three are linked in innumerable ways. 

While people worldwide are experiencing the impacts of climate change and biodiversity losses, Indigenous Peoples are most disproportionately and acutely affected. 

Recently reported ecosystem changes and impacts on biodiversity are described as extensive, severe and dramatically declining, including aquatic, atmospheric, terrestrial and most notably, cryospheric changes. 

When the organizers of a violence prevention program for children and youth invited Dr. Adam Ellis to contribute a recorded lecture to their array of teaching resources, he wasn’t all that keen. Instead, he pitched a hip hop song.

“From a communication standpoint, it was really important for me to get the message out this way,” says Ellis, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies.

Dr. Nadine Ibrahim, a professor in the University of Waterloo’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Turkstra Chair in Urban Engineering, never misses a chance to inspire her students to think about how the application of their knowledge could create solutions that improve and sustain our humanity and prosperity.  

AutoCate, a newly-launched membership-based platform geared toward women, aims to reduce fraud and discrimination in the auto repair industry.

The platform, created by Stefanie Bruinsma, a mechanic and engineering grad from the University of Waterloo, connects people in need of car repairs or advice with trusted experts and educators.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. It’s almost always caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) which can be passed from one person to another during sex. The Pap test (or Pap smear) screens women for cervical cancer but regular testing can be difficult to access — in Ontario, women are only eligible for the test every three years. This is cause for concern as early detection is key to treating cervical cancer successfully.