Students meet careers at annual fair

Nearly 200 employers and 3,000 students and recent graduates of UW, Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College and the University of Guelph will come face to face tomorrow to discuss careers and employment prospects.

The occasion is what’s described as “Canada’s largest post-secondary career fair of its kind”, sponsored by the four institutions and now in its 16th year. The same group organizes a Job Fair during the winter term.

The fair will be held at RIM Park in Waterloo from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. tomorrow. It’s open only to students and alumni from the participating universities and college, and a shuttle bus service will be available from all four institutions to get them to RIM Park, on the east side of Waterloo, and home again.

“While economic news in the past year has not been positive, we feel encouraged by the sizable number of organizations still taking part in the fair, something we can attribute to the strength of our graduates and academic programs at the four local institutions,” says Carol Ann Olheiser of UW’s career services office, one of the event’s key organizers.

Students and alumni will have the opportunity to meet with Canadian and international employers and gather vital information on careers. In turn, employers get an opportunity to promote their organization to future employees and reduce recruitment costs by connecting with many highly skilled candidates on the same day in one location. Among the participating employers: Bloomberg, Com Dev, Canadian Tire, Agfa HealthCare, Manitoba Hydro, McCain Foods (Canada), Staples Canada, Region of Waterloo Public Health, Direct Energy, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Molson, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, TD Canada Trust.

Olheiser says the Career Fair is "an exceptional opportunity for students to network with employers. They can use this like ‘one-stop shopping’ to ask for career information, qualification requirements, industry trends, etc. Students are so fortunate to have the largest career fair of its kind take place right here in our community. A real bonus is that transportation and admission are free to students from the partner institutions.” The fair is not open to the general public.

Shuttle buses between the main UW campus and RIM Park will leave from the Ring Road near the Hagey Hall entrance driveway every 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., returning every 30 minutes from 11:00 until 4:00.

There’s a difference between tomorrow’s event and the Job Fair that will happen a few months from now, organizers say: “Career Fair is an opportunity for you to network with employers and learn about career opportunities that may be available to you upon graduation. In addition, many of the employers in attendance are currently recruiting for co-op and internships and permanent or contract positions either immediate or after graduation. At Job Fair, organizations have job opportunities available at the time of the Fair or within six months following the Fair. This Fair can encompass employers hiring for summer, co-op, full-time, part-time, permanent or contract positions.”

Additional information about upcoming fairs, registration procedures and a complete list of participating organizations are all available online.

Tomorrow's "fair" is about careers, but there's a fair today as well, with a subtly different emphasis: "The Graduate Studies Office and Career Services invite third and fourth year undergraduate students to the UW Graduate Studies Fair. Faculty and staff from UW departments will be on hand to provide information on programs, research, funding and application deadlines. This is an excellent opportunity for students to explore more than 100 master's and doctoral degree programs offered at the University of Waterloo." The fair runs from 11:00 to 2:00 today in the Student Life Centre.

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New marketing emphasis with associate VP

Organizational changes are coming “to create more efficiency and effectiveness for all the university’s principal marketing and communications efforts”, provost Feridun Hamdullahpur and vice-president (external relations) Meg Beckel announced yesterday.

The key step is appointment of an associate vice-president (public affairs and marketing) to head what are now the office of communications and public affairs and the office of marketing and undergraduate recruitment.

CPA is the department that produces this Daily Bulletin, as well as being responsible for UW’s media relations, special events and public affairs activities, and many marketing and editorial functions. MUR is currently a division of the registrar’s office and is responsible for the marketing direction and activities for undergraduate recruitment and admissions. The two departments have adjoining offices on the third floor of Needles Hall.

The director of MUR, Tina Roberts, will report to the new associate VP. The director of CPA, Martin Van Nierop, is being named to the new position of senior director of government relations and strategic initiatives — a function that hasn’t had anyone at a senior level assigned to it for the past year.

Says a memo yesterday from Hamdullahpur and Beckel: “As a result of considerable study by several task forces and committees, starting back over two years ago with the External Relations Task Force, the Marketing & Community Relations Task Force and the Marketing Communications Efficiency Task Force, it has been decided that several changes must be made.”

According to registrar Ken Lavigne, "These consultations led to the conclusion that the University should embark on an integrated marketing strategy and organisational structure that allows us to advance our goals related to recruitment, fund raising, alumni relations, research and public relations in an integrated way. To accomplish this integration, a new structure related to marketing is being put in place which has been approved by Executive Council. The Staff Relations Committee reviewed the reorganisation plan on Friday."

The changes include the creation of a new University Marketing Council, to be chaired by the new associate VP. It will be “charged with the duty of helping to pull together and integrate the current decentralized marketing approach existing on campus”. There will also be “a review of our staffing and resources in order to maximize our marketing and communications needs and goals”.

Staff led by the associate VP will be “building on some actions we are already taking, including a strategic annual marketing retreat, our communications council, our news group; building on professional development opportunities in order to help these groups succeed.”

Other steps include “the improvement of our web presence, which has already started through use of new language and will continue via the web redesign team; the development of an overall MC strategy, using new media tools, stressing less print and more digital and new media”.

While staff in what are currently CPA and MUR report directly to the associate VP, there will be a more indirect relationship in which the creative services unit in UW Graphics “will continue to receive strategic direction” from the associate VP on issues such as UW’s marketing positioning and graphic identity.

In a background summary, Beckel says the associate VP will “coordinate” rather than “control” UW’s marketing activities — he or she will “set out the overarching marketing communications objectives for the university and review and sign off on each unit marketing communications plan,” such as marketing activities in the six faculties. All the faculties, as well as such units as athletics, co-op and career services and Waterloo International will be represented on the Marketing Council.

An internal posting of the associate VP’s position appears in this week’s Positions Available from the human resources department. Plans are to advertise the job externally as well, Beckel says, but things will move fast, “with the expectation a person may be in place by the beginning of 2010.”

Until the new official is named, Van Nierop “will wear two hats”, she said, continuing as director of CPA and also handling the new government relations duties. Roberts of the marketing and undergraduate recruitment office will continue to report to the registrar for the time being.

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Kate Robertson, a UW undergraduate in religious studies, is among the finalists in the "Who Inspires You" competition, and urges her admirers to go online, watch her video and vote for her to win the $10,000 prize. "I speak," she explains, "about a woman named Kiran Bedi who has worked for years to fight corruption in India's judicial system and to implement literacy, detox and meditation programs in the prison system. In one of my classes last year I watched an interview with Kiran Bedi and I was inspired by what she was doing — especially since I know first hand the positive change that meditation can bring about." Robertson works with the Spiritual Heritage Education Network and teaches meditation classes at the Grand River Hospital drug and alcohol detox centre.

United Way campaign nears, and more

The on-campus United Way campaign will run during October as it does every year, raising funds for local service agencies and charities. A preview is scheduled for today when campaign volunteers meet for their “orientation and appreciation” luncheon, scheduled for 11:45 in the Laurel Room, South Campus Hall. The campaign is headed by three volunteer chairs, all returning from last year: faculty member Richard Wells (kinesiology), staff member Donna Sutherland (accounting and finance), and retiree Pat Cunningham. “Through individual donations and all-important special events put on by various departments,” says a memo from the trio, “we are confident we will reach and surpass our goal of $200,000. Thanks to our on-going donors we are already well on the way.” Pledge packages will reach staff and faculty members within the next few days. With the campaign scheduled to begin Thursday, Engineering has already kicked off its traditional bingo event, and the equally traditional Dress-Down Fridays are about to begin. “We will also be having a formal dress up day on the Friday preceding Convocation,” the co-chairs say. “Stay tuned to the Events Calendar on the United Way’s website for further events across campus.”

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy will launch a new lecture series with a talk tonight by Jan Carr, an engineer who has held top posts with both the Ontario Energy Board and the Ontario Power Authority. “In our search for ways to reduce society's dependence on fossil fuels,” a flyer notes, “electricity's future role will be shaped not only by its immense flexibility but also by limitations imposed by the laws of physics and the realities of economics. Jan Carr will explore the role that electricity has played in the economic development of Ontario and Canada and he will highlight the current challenges as they relate to the environmental footprint of energy use.” Title of his talk: “The Evolution of Electricity”. It starts at 6:00 in Davis Centre room 1302.

Three positions on the executive of UW's staff association are coming vacant this fall, and the deadline for nominations passed last week. Exactly three nominees came forward, says association secretary Trevor Grove. They are Robert Bernard of the parking office, Annette Dietrich of electrical and computer engineering, and Jason Gorrie of information systems and technology. Accordingly, those three have been acclaimed to the executive for two-year terms, joining four members whose terms run until 2010. "They will take office officially," says Grove, "as of the UWSA annual general meeting, to be held on October 29."

CAR

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