Photospheres give full view of campus

by Andrew Smith.

Residence is a big part of a first-year student’s experience and future students want to know what rooms are like.

As part of this year’s augmented reality viewbook, Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment worked with Housing and Residences to create a series of 360-degree photospheres.

Using the free Layar app, future students could scan the residence page in the viewbook and then explore the inside of residence rooms. Students can pan and zoom in several types of rooms in the Villages and the University Colleges.

In addition to residence, the full set of photospheres now includes the Quantum-Nano Centre, the Stratford Campus, Theatre of the Arts, Fine Arts studio, Environment and Math, Peter Russell Rock Garden, Earth Sciences Museum, Warrior Field, and more.

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Joining the next generation of conservation

Graduate student Sondra Eger recently attended the once-per-decade World Parks Congress (WPC) as a World Commission of Protected Areas (WCPA) - “Young Professional.”

“I was initially drawn to the idea of attending the WPC because I wanted to get more involved with the international conservation community, and to network for potential career opportunities in the future,” says Eger.

Just 30 applicants were selected from the competition to attend the Pre- Congress Capacity Development Workshop for Young Leaders/Professionals at the World Parks Congress, which was held in in Sydney, Australia between November 7 to 19, 2014.

“I felt so grateful after obtaining the necessary funds to attend the WPC from my Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign,” Eger says. “Then to be selected to partake in the pre-congress event, I felt so fortunate.”

The World Parks Congress is a global forum on protected areas that shares knowledge and innovation while setting the agenda for protected areas conservation. The Congress is run by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the WCPA –YP’s were responsible in helping lead Stream 8: Inspiring a New Generation.

Eger is working towards her Masters of Environmental Studies – Geography and Environmental Management with a specialization in Integrated Water Management.

“I hoped participating in WPC would allow me to also gain up to date information from global experts to integrate wider perspectives into my final thesis,“ she says.

Eger joined 29 other young professionals in the “capacity development workshop,” a four-day retreat in the Blue Mountains, a World Heritage Site located near Sydney, which provided a collective space for young leaders to exchange skills and knowledge. The result of the workshop was the development of a draft Young People’s Pact and Action Plan for People, Parks and Planet. The pact and the action plan include a framework statement and a schedule of commitments to action on protected areas. The workshop included nature excursions, eco-restoration activities, dialogues with local communities and indigenous peoples, and an innovative session at Google Australia headquarters.

“It was empowering to experience Australia amongst other passionate emerging young leaders from all over the world and assist in the collective development of tools and ways to engage and inspire others to connect their projects and efforts on a global scale.”

One of the post-congress commitments including sharing and disseminating materials that were co-created throughout the workshop and the WPC, such as the Pact.

“We have already had measurable success, which include sharing the vision of “A new generation of conservation” at the closing Plenary at WPC as well as gaining the support and engagement of decision makers (most recently the Mexican Commissioner of Natural Protected Areas) and other inspired young people,” explains Eger.

Future outcomes will feature Coco Maps, an online platform to connect and share experiences globally, and an intergeneration mentorship framework to assist companies and organizations to take on more young people into workspaces and decision-making positions.

“I have forged personal and working relationships with other young professionals and hope that others can do the same through the numerous groups such as WCPA-YP, Global Youth Ambassadors (GYA), etc., and online platforms such as Coco Maps and Coalition Wild,” says Eger.

Another recent activity was an iACT webinar on The Pact in the IUCN WPC series “Activating ‘Our Pact for Parks, People and Planet’ to obtain further opinions, commitments and effective pathways to further engage young people around the world.

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Strategic plan addresses pressures of first work term students

By: Judene Pretti

Many students, staff, and faculty at UWaterloo will know that one of the most stressful times in a co-op student’s life is before and during their first work term. There is often the stress of deciding what to include in an application package, which jobs to apply for, and how to prepare for an interview. On top of that, when a co-op student gets employed for a first work term, their stress may involve finding a place to live in a new city and not knowing what to expect on the first day of work.

One area of focus in the Experiential Education theme of the strategic plan is to identify ways to position and support co-op students and employers for first work term success.   A number of pilot projects have been designed and implemented over the past year. The evaluation of those pilots is currently underway and will lead to recommendations for subsequent pilots or wider-scale implementation of initiatives.

One pilot this fall was a Co-op Living-Learning Community (LLC) with Housing and Residences targeting students going through the employment process for their first work term. Like the academic living-learning communities, students received support from and participated in events organized by Peer Leaders. A special feature of the Co-op LLC was the partnership with employers. Four employers participated in the pilot: Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Desire2Learn, Christie Digital, and Linamar. Students in the LLC had the opportunity to interact in formal and informal settings with employers and received feedback on their interview style through a speed-networking event held at the Village 1 Great Hall. Feedback from students and employers who participated was positive.  In addition to the qualitative and quantitative feedback collected from participants, we will also be examining the employment rates of those who were and weren’t a part of the LLC.

For more information contact Judene Pretti, WatCACE Director.

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Graduate student senate nominations open

The Secretariat & Office of General Counsel has issued a call for nominations for two graduate students Senate representatives to be elected by and from the full- and part-time graduate students of Waterloo for a term beginning May 1, 2015 to April 30, 2017.

Completed nomination forms (at least five nominators are required in each case) should be submitted to the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel in Needles Hall, Room 3060, no later than 3:00 p.m., Friday, March 6. Elections will follow if necessary.

Graduate students whose terms expire as of April 30 include Coleen Even (French studies) and Boyd Panton (mechanical & mechatronics engineering).

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