The Waterloo at 100 long-term visioning exercise continues after we held several key consultations in July. We have paused consultations in August as we develop a draft document to support further engagement in the fall term.
Our recent consultations with students, faculty and staff revealed a collective desire to focus our talents on the complex challenges facing humanity. The Waterloo community aspires to elevate student experience while expanding research opportunities for them and giving students early exposure to real-world problems in academic programs.
What we’re hearing
- Innovative scholarships and financial assistance will be a priority in the coming decades as costs remain a barrier for many students, especially those in equity-deserving communities and students living in the Global South.
- The University must embrace a broader view of entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer that includes everything from venture creation and commercialization to influencing policy making, professional practices and shaping ideas in society.
- We need to find new ways of working together with our external partners to make the greatest impact on humanity.
- A stronger feedback loop between co-op students and faculty will inspire new ventures, knowledge mobilization, deepen classroom learning and strengthen relationships with Waterloo’s industrial, government and community partners.
- The future of university education will be more flexible in an environment of “open-learning,” perhaps over decades rather than only through conventional four to five-year programs.
- Students want increased flexibility, interdisciplinarity and early exposure to real-world problems in their post-secondary education. They also want exposure to the outstanding research happening across our faculties, centres and institutes.
Have your say
While consultations pause for the month of August we continue to encourage you to share the Waterloo at 100 webpage with your colleagues and networks where they can engage with the visioning exercise through a feedback form.
You can read other Waterloo at 100 newsletters here.
In the fall, look out for a new discussion paper intended to inspire more conversations as we collectively build a bold future for the University of Waterloo.