September 30, 2002

Monday, September 30, 2002

Traveller tells of Arctic year
Speaker urges international careers
Computing courses are scheduled
Other notes and events

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

WLU staff strike: from Friday's Record

[Hats, fingers, Waterloo brochures]
They're coming: These four high schoolers, visiting UW's booth at the Canadian Universities Fair in Toronto over the weekend, weren't leaving much doubt which campus they hope to call home in 2003. Behind them (far left), UW's Betsy Zanna talks to other students with an interest in applying to Waterloo.

Traveller tells of Arctic year

Northern traveller Graeme Magor comes to UW tonight to tell what it was like spending a year on a boat locked in the ice of the Canadian high Arctic.

"A Year on Ice" starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Theatre of the Arts, Modern Languages building. Admission is free but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Magor, a veteran of more than a dozen Arctic expeditions, spent his year on the ice as a way of honouring an important but little-known Norwegian explorer, Otto Sverdrup, the first European to explore much of the Arctic west of Ellesmere Island. These lands were claimed by Norway until as recently as 1930. Sverdrup's Second Fram Expedition distinguished itself in the heroic age of exploration by placing science front and centre. In turn, Magor's team addressed the modern Arctic context, examining issues such as climate change, isolation psychology and northern habitat.

[From the flyer] Speaking tonight, Magor will describe an expedition that began by sailing Northanger from Oslo to Ellesmere Island and then included a year locked in the ice with six other intrepid people, including his wife and two-year old daughter.

"Anyone interested in Arctic expeditions, historical geography, remote adventure or the psychological challenges of spending a year on a small boat will find this illustrated talk both informative and entertaining," says an announcement from the sponsors, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Queen's University alumni association. The event is hosted by the UW department of geography.

Just in case tonight's lecture doesn't include enough snow and ice, by the way: Ellsworth LeDrew of the geography department will be giving the fourth annual Environmental Studies Lecture on Wednesday night, under the title "The Role of the Cryosphere". Know what "cryosphere" means? Cold stuff.

Speaker urges international careers

"Does a weekly visit to Curry in a Hurry not quite satisfy your taste for foreign lands?" organizers ask. "Do you have every episode of 'Lonely Planet' on tape? Are you in need of a change of scenery, a change of pace and a change of lifestyle? Then maybe an international career is right up your alley."

[Hachey publicity photo] UW gets a visit tomorrow from Jean-Marc Hachey (left), author of The Canadian Guide to Working and Living Overseas, a best-selling guide for people interested in international careers. He believes that to be most successful in an international career one must truly enjoy change.

As part of a tour of campuses this fall, Hachey will be presenting two seminars based on his book tomorrow in the Humanities Theatre. The first seminar, "Skills for Succeeding Overseas and Gaining International Experience", begins at 11:30 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m.; the second, "International Resumes and the Hiring Process", runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

The seminars are free and open to everyone. As well, Hachey's guide will be available at a 50-per-cent reduced rate of $25 during the seminar.

"The possibilities for an international career have never been better," Hachey said, but maintains that students interested in such a career should start working towards that goal in their first or second year of university.

Another option
A "fair" displaying opportunities for work, study and volunteering overseas is scheduled for Wednesday from 11:00 to 3:00 in the Student Life Centre.
He recommends building an "International IQ" by joining international clubs on campus and by befriending international students. The networking will help students become more culturally sensitive and better able to cope with living abroad.

"International employers are much more interested in the soft skills that are required to survive overseas," Hachey said. Employers often consider these cross-cultural skills at least as important as technical skills if not more so. International employers want to know your probability for success in cross-cultural situations, and Hachey says the seminars he presents can provide a strong starting point for anyone interested in pursuing a career around the world.

With the decreasing number of co-op positions available, many students are being encouraged to consider work terms overseas. "There are careers available in every field," Hachey says. "The most important question to ask yourself is what do you like best, and then research the international aspects of that field." He adds that an international experience is "both fun and exciting and will leave you enlightened and changed."

QUICK POLL

Thursday's question was aimed at staff and faculty members and retirees:
Do you use your 2002 Keystone Campaign desk calendar?

Yes -- 176
No -- 100
I don't remember getting one -- 59

Computing courses are scheduled

The information systems and technology department (IST) is offering computing courses in October to UW faculty, staff and students. Two courses are planned specifically for students: Introduction to Unix and Learning More About Unix.

The following courses are part of the Skills for the Academic e-Workplace program, and are offered to faculty, grad students, and staff with instructional responsibilities: Introduction to Mathcad; Mathcad for Statistical Analysis; Mathcad for Scientific Computing; Scientific Computing Using Maple; Submitting Your Thesis Online; Keeping Current Digitally -- Multidisciplinary; Introduction to SAS; Introduction to Access; Technical Animations Using Flash; Technical Diagrams Using Visio; Parallel Fortran and C; Parallel Matlab.

Information about the courses, along with a registration form, can be found on the web.

[Raptors logo]
Raptors scrimmage here Saturday
The Toronto Raptors basketball team have announced that they'll hold a "fundamentals clinic" and intrasquad game in UW's Physical Activities Complex this Saturday. The Raptors are in town for the week for training camp at RIM Park. Saturday's events will begin with a pep rally outside the PAC at 2:30, followed by the clinic in the gym at 3:30 and the game at 5:00. Tickets ("suggested voluntary donation" of $5 per person, with revenues going to the UW athletics department) are available starting today at the PAC office.

Other notes and events

The on-campus United Way campaign is about to start, and already there's been a glitch, says a note from Tricia Corrin in the United Way office: "We had some difficulties with the production of our envelopes this year. Some faculty and staff may receive a duplicate of their United Way envelope. You can discard the envelope in recycling or return it to the United Way office (Davis Centre 3620). Sorry for the inconvenience!"

In the wake of some controversy over whether the electrical and computer engineering department should adopt the programming language C# for use in a couple of courses, the school of computer science is peeping at a similar question. An "ad hoc committee to examine the use of C# in computer science at Waterloo" has been created, headed by faculty members Prabhakar Ragde and Troy Vasiga. "We invite comment," a recent memo said, giving much background on the kinds of issues that are seen to be relevant.

The National Post reported the other day that many Ontario universities are running into serious difficulties with their current construction projects, financed in part by the provincial SuperBuild program. "About 75% of the capital projects," the Post said, "are over budget, according to Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities data." The paper charged that the "scramble" to raise additional money is "raising concerns about whether the system will be ready for the unprecedented surge in student enrolment next fall". It also quoted colleges and universities minister Dianne Cunningham: "I am tired of people complaining about us not being ready. We are ready." Waterloo was not mentioned in the September 16 story.

I had some words about the north campus in the Daily Bulletin a while ago, which led to an interesting letter from Jennie Wiebe pointing out that [North campus view] the north campus is not "empty" but "full of food". Another viewpoint comes from John Semple of UW's biology department, who writes that "the north campus is 'empty' because people often view plants as 'background' that is not noticed. The aster in the photo is the New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae. If the scientific name is unfamiliar, then may I recommend a booklet that is about to go to Graphics for printing, Cultivated and Native Asters of Ontario, University of Waterloo Biology Series No. 41, which will be available from the department of biology in a few weeks."

Speak of asters, "Getting Your Garden Ready for Fall/Winter", a session sponsored by the employee assistance program, will be held at noontime today. But preregistration is already past the capacity of the room, so last-minute arrivals aren't welcome.

The UW Young Liberals will hold their first meeting of the term at 5 p.m. today in Arts Lecture Hall room 208. "Those who are looking to be active in politics should come out," says Doug Sibley, a vice-president of the group, noting that delegates to the Ontario Liberal Party's annual general meeting will be chosen today.

And . . . Broadcast News had a few words Friday about an Ontario Provincial Police crackdown on speeders on highway 401. Among those pulled over, the news agency said, "was "was the student who told police near Milton he was in a rush to get from one lecture to another. The problem -- the first lecture was at the University of Waterloo, the second was an hour later at the University of Toronto."

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY
September 30, 1987: Tom Brzustowski suddenly leaves the position of vice-president (academic) and provost to become deputy minister of colleges and universities; Robin Banks becomes acting provost. September 30, 1989: The football Warriors end a 33-game losing streak by beating York 32-9.