Talking co-op, and other happenings

People involved in co-op education across Canada will be visiting the Tatham Centre today, some in the flesh and some by teleconference, as UW hosts the annual general meeting and professional development day of the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education. Before and after the business meeting, which takes place over lunch, CAFCE participants will hear a couple of keynote talks — Brian Foreman of the federal department of foreign affairs, on "Work and Travel Abroad", and Patti Jones of the University of Michigan on "Effective Marketing of Your Experiential Education Program". There's also a panel discussion on international work terms for Canadian students, including Tony Munro, who manages international programs for UW's co-op and career services department. The afternoon winds up with presentation of some awards. Venue for the CAFCE session is the main meeting room at the head of the Tatham Centre stairway, room 2218.

Early childhood educators across Waterloo Region will be getting together tonight to hear some guest speakers, do some networking and see some awards presented, and among the recipients will be Joyce Buckley of the Early Childhood Education Centre in UW's department of psychology. She's being honoured as an "exceptional" teacher, a distinction given to just one teacher in the Region each year. "We are very proud of Joyce's accomplishment," says Val Rozon, director of the ECEC, who notes that the nomination was set in motion by the parent of a young child at the centre, who then organized other parents to provide letters of support. "Joyce has demonstrated an enthusiasm and zest in her 19 years teaching young children in the ECEC," Rozon says. "Her engagement of children, each in the way that suits them the best, her support of parents, her mentoring of MASc interns, ECE students and university volunteers have all been noted in the nomination." Tonight's "Fall Focus" for teachers starts at 7 p.m. at Bingemans conference centre.

Arts alumni, UW donors and other VIPs will make up the audience tonight for a preview performance of the drama department's first big production of the season, "The Rocky Horror Show". It starts at 7:00 — an hour earlier than most performances — to allow for a dessert buffet for the guests afterwards. "Rocky Horror" will be in the Theatre of the Arts for the next two weeks, with public performances November 8-9 and 15-17 at 8 p.m., and November 10 at 7 p.m. and midnight. Tickets are $12 (students and seniors $10) at the Humanities box office, 519-888-4908. The department is also offering a pair of school matinees, November 9 and 16 at 12:30, for an audience that's sure to appreciate the Sweet Transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania.

Tonight in Studio 180 of the Humanities building: Julia Ahumada Grob will give the only Waterloo-area performance of her one-woman play, He(R)evolution, as a fundraiser for Educación Popular en Salud (Popular Education in Health). “In 2007,” publicity for the agency notes, “EPES is celebrating 25 years of working in poor communities in Latin America. Donations will help build empowered communities and give hope for health and dignity to thousands. I can promise you laughter, tears and food for thought.” The Waterloo Public Interest Research Group, which is sponsoring the local performance, adds that it "will touch both older and younger generations trying to come to terms with the politics of the time. The play examines the struggles of a young woman working to understand her identity, both personal and political. The actress portrays seven characters. . . . He(R)evolution moves in and out of time, drawing parallels between the clandestine political work of Julia, a 1940s anti-fascist freedom fighter living in Germany, and the solidarity work of Chilean exiles and young North Americans with the people of Chile. . . . He(R)evolution premiered in 2006 at Chashama in New York and has toured nationally and internationally.” Tonight’s show starts at 8:00; admission is by donation at the door.

Remembrance Day falls on Sunday this year, and the City of Waterloo will hold its service on that day, starting at 10:15 at the Cenotaph on Regina Street. As in past years, two graduate students working in military areas in the department of history will lay a wreath at the Cenotaph on behalf of UW. On campus, however, Remembrance Day observations will be held on Friday, at the usual two spots. The Chaplains Association will hold its ecumenical service at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Jerome's University; the Engineering Society will hold its observation in the Carl Pollock Hall foyer starting Friday at 10:45.

Tickets are on sale until Friday noon for half a dozen prizes, including a wine basket and a Tupperware collection, being raffled off to benefit the United Way (see them in the Computing Help and Information Place on the bottom floor of Math and Computer). • Student volunteers are being sought (e-mail uwthankyou@gmail.com) to take part in a "thank-you-a-thon" to be held Saturday to phone and write thank-you messages to alumni donors to UW. • The staff association has set its annual craft sale for November 22 and 23, in the Davis Centre lounge.

Registration is open now for "The Power of Ideas", a one-day conference focusing on “issues of inclusiveness and access in academic environments”, to be held at UW on December 5. The conference promises an opportunity to explore how changes in attitude, curriculum, teaching strategies and technologies can help promote success for students who have experienced educational challenges. Timothy Bilkey, a psychiatrist specializing in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adolescents and adults, will give the keynote address. Derek Featherstone, a web development and accessibility consultant, will give the closing talk. Concurrent sessions address Curriculum Design and Delivery, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Disability Issues, Applications of Learning Technologies, and Cultural, Gender, and Sexual Orientation Issues. And an exhibition hall will present community agencies and vendors demonstrating adaptive technology solutions to enhance research, teaching and learning. The conference is sponsored by half a dozen UW departments; full information and registration are online.

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Student entrepreneurs gather in TO

from the UW media relations office

Close to 500 of Canada's brightest future leaders will gather at the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto this weekend for the annual two-day Impact Leadership Conference. The conference is being offered by the Impact Entrepreneurship Group, which aims to help students learn about entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership outside the classroom. It was founded at UW three years ago and has become one of Canada's largest student-run entrepreneurship organizations.

"It has been great to be involved with Impact because as an organization it offers the ideal vehicle to kindle entrepreneurial flame in these young leaders of tomorrow," says UW president David Johnston, a founding member of the Impact advisory board. "These young people will be instrumental in helping to keep Canada competitive in the future."

The founder of the group, Kunal Gupta, a fourth-year UW software engineering student, says the group has enjoyed great success in part because it has received solid support from UW and its industry partners. It now employs co-op students to help run its events. "There is now a team of about 100 students centrally involved in Impact, and now we've become students who hire students," says Impact president Albert Lam, a third-year UW economics student.

The leadership conference this weekend will examine 21st century business skills, innovation and the role of entrepreneurship in shaping Canada's economic future. A number of successful executives will share their knowledge with the student participants. They include Michael Lee-Chin, chairman of Portland Holdings and a recent $30 million donor to the Royal Ontario Museum. Lee-Chin will address about 800 guests at Impact's industry banquet Friday at the Westin Harbour Castle.

The future leaders will also learn about helping others and giving back to society during a talk on social entrepreneurship by Nobel Prize nominee Craig Kielburger. Kielburger is the founder of Free the Children, which will benefit from a charity auction at the conference.

Title sponsor of the event is the Business Development Bank of Canada. Other support and sponsorship is being provided by the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, Deloitte, the Government of Ontario, IBM Canada, Infusion Development, MasterCard, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, Research In Motion, UW and the university's Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology.

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Next week, 'social entrepreneurship'

“An inspirational new initiative will soon bring passion for social change together with business-minded discipline,” says Suzanne Gardner, a UW arts graduate who’s helping to organize the Waterloo Conference on Social Entrepreneurship to be hosted by UW and Wilfrid Laurier University next week.

“The conference,” she writes, “brings together students, alumni, community members, academics, and current leaders in the world of social entrepreneurship.” It’s scheduled for November 16-18, and participation is free for students.

Says Gardner: “This event is truly one for all members of the UW community to take note of. Not only is its content matter a unique and crucial topic in today's entrepreneurial world, but the creation of the conference itself is also unique as the leadership team consists of recent UW and WLU grads as well as current undergrad students at both schools.”

She calls the event “an example of the young entrepreneurial spirit that this city has fostered”, and adds, “This conference is truly one that all members of the UW community would learn a lot from, regardless of their age or field of study.” Conference chair is another recent UW graduate, Andrew Dilts.

The inaugural Waterloo Conference on Social Entrepreneurship will bring together community members, academics and both current and future leaders for three days. A news release notes that conference content “will focus on the advancement of social entrepreneurship both internationally and here at home, featuring the three key themes of community leadership, international development, and sustainable environmental change.

“The conference aims to match individuals and organizations passionate about social change with the business-focused resources and knowledge that they need to grow and succeed. Towards this end, the initiative will bring together industry representatives, educational partners, and more than 100 delegates to learn, network, and be exposed to opportunities in their field.”

It says keynote speakers have been confirmed from Ashoka, an organization renowned for its global leader in social entrepreneurship, as well as from the University of Alberta-based Canadian Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. “The conference is partnering with a number of different organizations, including Engineers Without Borders Canada, and both the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.

“The weekend conference will expose delegates to many different aspects of social entrepreneurship through keynotes, lectures, panel discussions, and workshops. One conference highlight is the exhibition component, where delegates will have a chance to network and interact with representatives from a wide variety of organizations already active in social change.” While students attend free, “community delegates are invited to attend for a small fee” of $95.

CAR

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