Daily Bulletin

More postings for co-op jobs

Students wait for interviews in the Needles Hall pit.

The number of postings received "is much greater than anticipated", says a memo from Olaf Naese in the department of co-operative education and career services. "In order to accommodate as many of these positions as possible and provide students with as many opportunities as possible, it will be necessary to add two additional job postings. However, to do this, new postings must occur every day during the week of October 4."

So students should note that there will be postings #8 and #9 this term, and that the job posting period has been "tightened", to end on October 8 (the Friday before the Thanksgiving weekend)

Posting #5 will be out at noon on Monday, #6 on Tuesday, #7 on Wednesday (see a pattern here?), #8 on Thursday and #9 on Friday. Each posting will go up at 12 noon and expire at 10 p.m. Needles Hall will remain open until 10:00 each night from October 4 through 8 to accommodate the new expiry time, Naese said.

"The job application limit has been raised to 24 (from 18)," he added. Meanwhile, employer interviews will start October 6.

Said Naese: "More jobs than we thought we would get is a nice problem to have to deal with!" Still, it does count as a problem. "Every time we need to add more postings we put an enormous amount of pressure on the office staff to process applications at a time in the term when they are already busy trying to put together the interview schedules. Doing both jobs at the same time is very difficult. In fact we will be hiring five or six temps for the week to get the applications into the system.

"We can only advertise about 240 jobs each posting because that is the number of bins we have. Some time ago we determined that seven or eight postings at 240 jobs each will basically fill up the interview spaces we have. Advertising more jobs than this will result in us not having offices to give employers when they come.

"Why not extend the interview period? The main interviews used to go on for 5 or 6 weeks years ago. But faculty didn't like the fact that their their students were missing classes to take the interviews over a significant part of the term, and professors had to be careful when they scheduled mid-term exams. Students didn't like the length because of dealing with the consequences of missed classes. If the main interviews go on too long, it annoys employers who are anxious to get the results of the computer match. . . .

"Of course some of the issues I've mentioned here will be disappear with the introduction of the new CECS.online system."

As for the current term, figures were released this week showing that there were just two co-op students without jobs. With 3,207 students employed, that works out to a 99.94 per cent employment rate. Co-op director Bruce Lumsden called that figure "a tremendous achievement given the size of our co-op programme and the fluctuations in the job market".

Lumsden added a note about the "challenge" his department will face as UW enrolment increases and more students need to find co-op jobs. "This fall there are over 250 more students in co-op than last year," he said. "You can help out. We are constantly developing new job leads, but would welcome leads from your contacts within the business community."

And despite the problems of the crowded interview schedule, Naese agrees: "We are definitely looking at what we can do to in the future to manage a greater influx of jobs. This is important because we need those positions for the increasing number of students coming to UW."

Answers about Sympatico service

In response to questions, Paul Snyder of the information systems and technology department asked Bell "to try to clarify who's eligible" for the $40-a-month service. Here's his report:

The flyer that was distributed contained a footnote saying that the service was "not available to on-campus residents". Is this true?

This information was not accurate. Students in residences may subscribe to the HSE if they choose to do so. However, students who have access to resnet (e.g. Village One) would find resnet to be faster and more economical.

My residence seems to be well within the 4.5 km range described by Bell, but the Web page says that I'm not eligible. Why?

Bell bases its eligibility criteria on postal codes which are mapped onto larger "Distribution Service Areas". Currently, to be eligible, all of the residences in the Service Area must meet the distance (and other) restrictions. Bell will be refining this method to more accurately include residences that should be eligible.

In addition to the distance restriction, a Service Area must be fed by a "direct copper loop originating at the Bell Central Office". Some of the areas are fed by fibre, making them ineligible for the service.

From the lab to the market -- by Barbara Elve

In response, the UW technology transfer and licensing office -- with funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) -- is trying to make that leap from the lab to the market place a little easier.

An NSERC grant of $480,000 will fund the Prototype Development/Demonstration Project, a three-year program that aims to make technology "a little more market-ready," says TTLO director Jerry Gray.

The grant will fund demonstration projects -- applying groundwater technology to septic systems, or making power assist ballet slippers that can be tested by real dancers, for example.

To qualify for the program, intellectual property must first be accepted by TTLO for commercialization. There are no deadlines for applications; the program will continue for three years or until the money runs out, said Gray.

For more information, contact TTLO at ext. 3300, or visit the TTLO web site.

The talk of the campus

The pension and benefits committee is meeting this morning, another of its morning-long marathons, followed by a lunch and information session for members. Among the agenda items: "final consideration" of proposed revisions to Policy 23, on "eligibility for pension and benefits"; the feasibility of an early retirement option in the pension plan; "realignment" of the way the pension plan is invested.

This fall's version of the "home use CD" produced by the information systems and technology department is available for $15, says Carol Vogt of IST. You can pick up the CD-ROM in "the CHIP", the Computing Help and Information Place on the first floor of the Math and Computer building. Says Vogt: "It contains software for both Macs and PCs, including a licensed copy of the latest Norton Antivirus software. For PC people, it also contains a licensed copy of Winzip. Other software includes: latest versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer, Eudora Light, a news reader, an ftp program, and a telnet program that will work with the CECS Student Access system. Also included this time are Y2K patches for Windows 95 and Office 97."

Software for mathematics is also available on a CD this year, Vogt adds. "It is called Math at Home, and includes licensed copies of Matlab and MathCad. These are fully functioning versions, not limited student versions. These programs are used by students in many courses. We have been given access to these products through very favourable licensing arrangements with the two companies involved (Mathworks and Mathsoft). The Math at Home CD comes in a PC version and a Mac version." It costs $15, also from the CHIP in Math and Computer.

Gail Cuthbert Brandt, principal of Renison College, will be favoured with an honorary degree tonight by Thorneloe University, the Anglican college at Laurentian University in Sudbury. Brandt, a leader in women's studies and a Canadian historian, will receive a Doctor of Sacred Letters degree. She is co-editor of the newly published Canadian Women: A History; author of numerous books and articles; director of the world association, Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion; and, Thorneloe's announcement says, "one of the leading lay women heading a Canadian university". Her PhD dissertation was a study of the Franco-Ontario community in Sudbury from 1888 to 1913.

The career development seminar series continues: today it's "Are You Prepared to Work Outside Canada?" at 1:30, and tomorrow it's "Interview Skills: Preparing for Questions" at 10:30. Both sessions happen in Needles Hall room 1020. Saturday brings the day-long "Whole Kit 'n' Kaboodle" session on career planning; check with the career resource centre in NH for preregistration information.

Members of the UW Retirees' Association are off to Niagara-on-the-Lake today for lunch at the Queen's Landing and a performance of "Easy Virtue" at the Shaw Festival. Next function for the association is its fall wine-and-cheese reception, to be held at the University Club from 3 to 5 p.m. on October 13. Esther Kipp (662-1598) is the association's social organizer and is collecting RSVPs for the reception.

Literacy leaders needed: "Project READ Literacy Network," a note here says, "is looking for reliable, enthusiastic volunteers with good communication skills to join their Board of Directors. This responsible position could include assisting with fundraising, public speaking, meeting with other agencies or sharing your knowledge with staff. Individuals with expertise in human resources, business management, strategic planning, communications or technology are especially needed. A chartered accountant or CMA with knowledge of charitable audits and returns is also required." More information is available from the Volunteer Action Centre at 742-8610.

Final note: today is the last day to pay tuition fees for the fall term.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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