uXperience Design Jam: Designing for Mental Health
You’re invited to Research Talks, a public event and panel discussion featuring guest speakers Kesha Bodawala - P & P Optica, Evan Jones - Stitch Media, and Sirisha Rambhatla and Will Zhao - University of Waterloo.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), the study of machines and software that exhibit intelligence, is transforming every aspect of society, from financial services, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, and more. AI is dependent on data, that is, AI uses data to make predictions so humans can make data-driven decisions. With the explosion of data over the past two decades, there is an AI tsunami on our threshold. So, we are left with the question, “Where will AI take us?”
Will Zhao is an Assistant Professor at the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, University of Waterloo. He earned his Ph.D. from the French Grande Ecole EM Lyon Business school and pursued his postdoctoral research at Stanford University. He is an interdisciplinary researcher interested in studying innovation from organizational, educational, and engineering perspectives, particularly using multimodal methods that draw on semiotics and/or artificial intelligence techniques. His most recent research on artificial intelligence has been published in leading journals such as IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics.
Kesha Bodawala is the Model Development Lead at P&P Optica (PPO), based in Waterloo, ON. At PPO, she oversees the Machine Learning Team. She works with the team to develop models to assess the quality of meat products. Kesha has a Master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a focus on machine learning and a Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering.
Evan Jones is the founder of Stitch Media, an interactive media production services company which tells stories using new technology and timeless techniques. A two-time Emmy Award winner, Evan’s work combines web, mobile and games with TV, film, radio, and the real world. He has been recognized as a 'Top 10 New Media Groundbreaker' by the Bell Fund and chosen as one of the ‘most innovative and influential minds in McMaster history’ by his alma mater. His interactive documentary work has won ‘Best in Electronic Culture’ at the UNESCO World Summit and his experience with branded entertainment has won ‘Best in Digital Marketing’ by the Digi Awards. Evan has guest lectured on the art & business of interactive story internationally at the Canadian Film Centre, the Australian Film, Television & Radio School and the University of Southern California. He has consulted for the Smithsonian, Greenpeace, Microsoft, Disney, NBC, Universal, Nickelodeon, and 20th Century Fox on the future of entertainment.
Sirisha Rambhatla is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, where she leads the Critical ML Lab as the director. Her research focusses on developing deep learning-based reliable artificial intelligence (AI) models for critical real-world decision making in surgery and healthcare, covid spread, climate change, and intelligent manufacturing and aviation using spatiotemporal modelling, representation learning, and explainable AI. Her inter-disciplinary work spans both theory and practice of machine learning (ML), has been published at top ML venues such as NeurIPS, ICLR, KDD, IJCAI, AAAI, and clinical venues such as AMIA, Surgery, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Recipient of the 2021 Merit Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Research at the University of Southern California, Dr. Rambhatla received her Ph.D. (EE) from the University of Minnesota -- Twin Cities in 2019.
Pizza and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Donations of non-perishable food items for the Salvation Army - Stratford Food Bank will be accepted.
Bystander Intervention Training can help create a sense of belonging, care, and respect across our campus community. This training will provide skills and resources to help people intervene when they see a harmful, or potentially harmful, situation.
Register for the traning and for more information.
The Internship workshop is taking place on Thursday, February 2 via Microsoft Teams. This session is a follow-up to GBDA Internships 101 that was held in the Fall term.
Now that you’re in your first co-op interview cycle, you may have a few questions about your job search strategy and other tips/tricks to help you find a co-op job. At this session, we will cover:
· Important dates
· Job search tips
· Arranging your own job
· Supports and resources
· Your questions and feedback
This session is for 3B term students ONLY.
Calling all creators at University of Waterloo’s Stratford Campus! Are you passionate about what you do? Can you race against the clock to find creative solutions to pressing problems?
Open to all UW Stratford Campus students, regardless of technical background. NO TECHNICAL BACKGROUND REQUIRED! Join us in this rapid version of a creative hackathon where participants will be teamed up at the event and work together to ideate, research and brainstorm solutions to problems in a surprise creative problem space all in 2-hours. Present your 3-minute pitch of a solution and you could win some great prizing if you’re selected as people’s choice vote.
Revolutionizing Academic Work with ChatGPT and AI Tools
Join us for a grab and go lunch on Wednesday, February 15th from 12:00 – 1:30 PM. Connect with fellow UWaterloo students at this FREE event. See you there!
The student-run arts club, Creator's Collective, hosts a yearly gallery exhibition for artists to showcase their recent or past artistic ventures. This includes photography, videography, music, drawings, paintings, and more.
This year, our gallery theme is NoTheme which encourages whoever is submitting to express their creativity however they like! The event is being held in person at the UWaterloo Stratford School (125 St. Patrick Street, Stratford ON, N5A 0C1) on March 17 from at 4 pm - 8:30pm and March 18 from 10 am - 5 pm.
What we can offer you:
For updates, keep a look out on the Creator's Collective Instagram: @uwcreatorscollective
BLEND: What to expect
At Blend, you'll connect with like-minded professionals, hear stories of designers and leaders breaking boundaries, and participate in workshops that will help you in your industry.
This year features keynotes and workshops from industry leaders and the BLEND after-party. And the best part? You'll be surrounded by people who are just as passionate about breaking boundaries as you are. We're talking about entrepreneurs, creatives, and boundary-pushing thinkers who will inspire you to think bigger and bolder than ever before.
Over the day, you'll be inspired as we hear inspiring stories of people in our community of designers breaking boundaries and overcoming obstacles to redefine our world.
We'd love for you to be part of the conversation. We promise it'll be worth the investment.
Join us on March 25, 2023 at the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business. This event includes breakfast, lunch, and light appetizers at our networking social evening.
For more information including schedule and speaker line up please check out the Blend website.
September 6, 7, 8;
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Stratford School Atrium
Come stop by and say hi to your GBDA advisors- We are here to help with GBDA program questions and to connect you with student supports and services!