![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Thursday, September 29, 2005
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
Co-op student Aliza Kassam, left, and teachers with whom she
worked in Tajikistan
![[Happy faces, mountain view beyond]](/images/2005/0929kassan.jpg)
You are invited to join Mike Lazaridis on October 3rd as he shares his thoughts on:
Register today at: www.rim.com/go/chooserim. By registering you will also be entered for a chance to win one of two free BlackBerrys with one year of unlimited email. To win the BlackBerry, you must be registered and present for the event.
Details:
Date: October 3rd, 2005
Time: Meet and Greet RIM staff: 3:30-4:15pm
Seating: 4:15-4:30pm
Mike Lazaridis Presentation: 4:30-5:15pm
Location: Fed Hall
Work terms funded by the volunteer awards often require students to pay out of their own pockets for the opportunity to work in jobs where the only benefit is the satisfaction of having made the world a better place. The new $1,000 awards, designed to "create opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in an international volunteer work experience," helped fund spring work terms in Tanzania for fourth-year health studies student Rohini Mathur and in Tajikistan for third-year environment and business student Aliza Kassam. As required by the terms of the award, both students worked in unpaid jobs with a CIDA-approved partner non-governmental organization (NGO).
Under the auspices of Aga Khan Education Services, Kassam spent eleven weeks as a teacher's aide in Khorog, Tajikistan, a provincial capital nestled in the Pamir Mountains.
In the month before her departure, Kassam developed a fitness and health program aimed at 12 to 17-year old girls. But her preparations began much earlier, when she herself was only 15 and starting her first job at Wendy's. Since then Kassam has been building her savings "because I knew this would be in my future. It's always been my dream to travel and empower people."
The Provost's International Volunteer Award covered about 25 per cent of Kassam's expenses; she was also assisted by a McCall MacBain International Undergraduate Scholarship, and paid the rest of the expenses herself.
Packing an assortment of soccer balls and basketballs, skipping ropes, Frisbees and other fitness gear, she arrived in Khorog prepared to help in any way she could. "I worked on several projects," she explained, from tutoring English language teachers and editing their student handouts, to planning and implementing a camping experience in the mountains for urban youth. The goals of the camp were to improve English language skills and to expose city kids (ages 14 to 17) to their rural counterparts. Helping young campers achieve those goals was the highlight of her visit.
"Being exposed to such a different culture and environment, being immersed in new ideas, seeing what hardships people face, you realize how lucky we are as Canadians," said Kassam. "I think it's our responsibility as a developed nation to help.
"I would encourage others to go there," she said. "I'm really excited to do it again as soon as I'm financially stable."
![[Arm around shoulders]](/images/2005/0929tanzania.jpg)
Mathur, right, with friend in Tanzania |
The first stop was Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, where the group spent a week studying Swahili, learning about health issues and honing their cultural sensitivity. They plunged into their work the second week, holding workshops to teach local women and youth infected with HIV/AIDS how to educate their peers about the disease. As well, the Canadian students visited the homes and families of the Tanzanian participants. Stories based on these visits and conversations are being published, said Mathur, to put a human face on the statistics.
The numbers are shocking. According to Mathur, one in 10 people in Tanzania is HIV positive. In the capital city, that number rises to one in seven. Medical treatment is free, but only for those with full-blown AIDS.
"Married women are at highest risk of contracting the virus," she said, with polygamy a common lifestyle and condoms not commonly used. Efforts to improve HIV/AIDS education are being stepped up, with workplaces for men broadcasting the message: "If you want to protect your family, wear a condom." Yet Mathur found the people "so full of hope, so motivated to do the work. They just needed the skills and resources. They were very pleased that people outside the country were taking an interest and offering help," she added.
From Dar es Salaam, the group of students traveled to a rural area where they worked with a local drama group to develop a play for youth that addressed a number of social issues, including HIV/AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse, rape, and poverty.
For Mathur, who grew up in England and has traveled extensively in Europe, India, and most recently on a co-op work term to New Zealand, the trip revealed a world of possibilities. "It opened my eyes to the things that can be done. I find community education very satisfying," she discovered, "and when I graduate, I would like to work in the area of HIV/AIDS and women's health. . . . They have the motivation, we have the resources. It's just a matter of meeting in the middle to make it work."
She's hoping to pursue a master's degree in public health or reproductive health.
Both regular and co-op students are eligible to receive the awards, with selection based on "strong academic achievement, participation in an international volunteer work experience and financial need to carry out the proposed activity." Information on the award is posted online. Deadline for the winter term awards is September 30.
![[Laflamme]](http://www.iqc.ca/people/rlaflamme/rlaflamme1.jpg)
The director of the Institute for
Quantum Computing has a new distinction to add to his lengthy
curriculum vitae. Physics professor Raymond Laflamme (left)
has been named the Ivey Foundation Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced
Research.
In supporting his research, the Ivey Foundation (formerly the Richard Ivey Foundation) has become one of the founding supporters of CIAR's Quantum Information Processing Program. Laflamme has been the director of the program since 2002.
Quantum Information Processing is a very young field that promises exponential increases in computing power, likely in the form of a quantum computer. The goal of the QIP Program is to harness the laws of quantum mechanics to improve the acquisition, transmission, storage and processing of information.
"We are very excited about the intellectual challenges posed by the QIP Program," said Bruce Lourie, president of the Ivey Foundation. "We look forward to having Dr. Raymond Laflamme be the new Ivey Foundation Fellow at CIAR and to following his work closely."
Says Laflamme: "Quantum mechanics was discovered more than a hundred years ago, but it is only recently that we learned of its tremendous power to manipulate information. The QIP Program has allowed us to bring together an international team of mathematicians, computer scientists and physicists to harness its power and open the doors to a new world of unexpected discoveries, from fundamental concepts to new technological developments."
Laflamme is one of the world's leading researchers in the study of quantum devices. He co-founded the Institute for Quantum Computing at Waterloo, where seven out of 18 CIAR QIP program members are based. He also holds a Canada Research Chair in Quantum Information.
The QIP Program is one of 12 leading-edge research initiatives currently being led by CIAR. There are more than 250 researchers collaborating through CIAR, representing more than 80 research institutions and universities in 13 countries.
| WHEN AND WHERE |
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Chilled water and air conditioning will be shut down in Room 1099A, the PAS building, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. HVAC fans will still run. Warrior men's golf at the Laurier Invitational, Grey Silo Golf Club.Renison College presents Stephen M. Doust, Canadian embassy in Japan, "The Japanese Election and an Emerging Political Dynamic", 12:00, Renison chapel lounge. Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System training and safety orientation for new employees and others, 2:00, Davis Centre room 1304, information ext. 5613. 'Learning and Teaching at the Centre' -- overview by Liwana Bringelson, director of the Centre for Learning and Teaching Through Technology, 3:00, Flex lab, Dana Porter Library, registration online. Computer science Distinguished Lecture: Umesh Vazirani, University of California at Berkeley, "Making Google Richer: Optimal Algorithms for the AdWords Auction," 4:30, Davis Centre room 1302. Career workshop: "Interview Skills, Preparing for Questions" 4:30, Tatham Centre room 2218, registration online. Student think-tank: UW Forum for Independent Thought first fall meeting, 5:00, multi-purpose room, Student Life Centre. Architecture Week featured speaker Tye Farrow, "Brittle Cities at the Tipping Point," 7 p.m., Architecture building lecture hall. Environmental Studies Lecture: Trudi Bunting, department of geography, "Learning from the Local: Dispersion, Size and New Urban Forms in Waterloo Region and Beyond," 7:30, Theatre of the Arts. One Waterloo diversity campaign event: guest lecturer K-OS (spoken word/questions and answers), 8 to 9:30 p.m., Humanities Theatre. Tickets $12 for UW people and $15 for guests, Humanities box office or Federation of Students office. Warrior men's volleyball vs. Redeemer College, 8:00, Physical Activities Complex. Dimensions Bandshow and Dance at the Bombshelter, SLC, 8 p.m. - 2 a.m. The featured band is “Kaze.” Tickets $6 at the door. Ontario Universities Fair 9 to 7 Friday, 9 to 6 Saturday, 10 to 5 Sunday, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, details online. Japan video topics: First in a monthly series of short video features on Japanese culture, Friday 12:10, chapel lounge, Renison College. This month: "Japanese Pottery and Porcelain." EinsteinFest opening night, violin and piano followed by jazz, Perimeter Institute, ticket information online. One Waterloo diversity campaign event: Friday, comedian Shaun Majumder, 9 p.m., Humanities Theatre. Tickets $12 for UW people and $15 for guests, Humanities box office or Federation of Students office. |
Michelle Kan, co-chair of the Entrepreneurs Association of UW, says Friday's event "showcases successful student entrepreneurs (and their businesses), student organizations, and local businesses. It is a great way for UW students to network with the exhibitors, who include Waterloo's Chamber of Commerce, Communitech, Centre for Business Entrepreneurship and Technology, Canada's Technology Triangle, Junior Achievement, and more."
Admission to the expo is free. It will run from 11:30 to 4:00 Friday in the Davis foyer.
Over the days that follow, the second annual Entrepreneur Week "brings the entrepreneurs of tomorrow together with mentors, professional service firms, investors, government, and business organizations," a Communitech news release explains. "Acknowledging a rich entrepreneurial history, a strong and diverse economic sector, the week celebrates the brightness of the entrepreneurial future in Waterloo Region."
UW's Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology is among the sponsors of the week as a whole. On Tuesday, CBET will sponsor a day of programs in the Davis Centre under the title "Turning Clark Kent Entrepreneurs into Super Sales People". Breakfast and a keynote addresss by local business leader Greg Barratt will be followed by a workshop on "Mastering the Sales Process", then lunch and a second keynote, by Stephane Boisvert, President of Sun Microsystems Canada. Seating is limited; the number to call for reservations is ext. 7167.
Organizers are promising "renowned technology and business leaders. . . . From September 30 to October 7, E-Week recognizes Waterloo RegionŐs rich entrepreneurial history, and its strong and diverse economic sector. It also highlights why Waterloo Region is the best environment for being an entrepreneur in Canada!" Details of the week's events and speakers are on the web site.
Cornerstone of the week is the hands-on session "Chapter 3: Market Execution" on October 6. That workshop will guide entrepreneurs through "dynamite presentations from three keynote speakers". Following each presentation will be interactive roundtable discussions with more than 30 high-tech CEOs and vice-presidents, "providing advice and contacts that an early stage entrepreneur needs to build the network for the business". Carol Stewart, marketing manager for UW's north campus Research and Technology Park, is on the steering committee for that event.
Also during the week, the second annual LaunchPad$50K will get going -- a competition that offers cash prizes to winning teams involving UW and Wilfrid Laurier University students.
Tom Jenkins, chairman of the board of Open Text Corp., will close out the week with a keynote speech at a luncheon on October 7: "Managing Growth in High Growth Companies: A personal journey from $1 million to $500 million in 10 years".
CAR