What myHRinfo will offer after upgrade

a memo from the human resources department

Changes to myHRinfo put you in the driver’s seat: myHRinfo shut down yesterday at 4:30 for a systems upgrade. Just like software programs we use in the office or at home, advances in technology require us to perform periodic upgrades to our enterprise-wide technology systems.

Starting November 9, users of myHRinfo will see a new look and new services.  As part of the University’s commitment to expand the suite of online people and career management tools, we’re making more functionality available directly to employees and managers.

Take a look at the new self-service features you’ll find:

• Printable pay advice with year-to-date information
• Online T4s and T4As
• Online updates to direct deposit bank account information
• Emergency contact information
• Voluntary deductions for United Way

The manager self-service tool set is also expanding.  New features allow managers of people to:

• Access employee profiles
• Initiate a “reports to” change
• Name a proxy to serve in your role for a period of time

Users will discover an entirely new function called “myProfile”.  Much like a LinkedIn profile, this function offers a new way to store information about your career. In the future, the University will investigate this tool to support recruitment, career management and strategic workforce planning.

We’re working hard to improve recruitment online. Changes to myHRinfo now allow hiring managers to conduct a number of new activities to manage recruitment more efficiently and provide more features for applicants. Here are changes you’ll see:

• RSS feeds for job openings
• Online job offers
• Asking new employees for personal information with online offer
• More sections for the online application
• Outlook integration for interviews
• Pre-applicant screening (only applicants that meet minimum requirements may apply)
• Integration with self-service profiles

MyHRinfo remains completely confidential and is password protected.

Up-to-date information on the upgrade is available online (including drop in centre schedule, documentation, training materials and other upgrade announcements).

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Hong Kong office will open tomorrow

The university is celebrating the opening of its Hong Kong office with festivities on Saturday at the new establishment, on the 19th floor of one of the Chinese city’s iconic skyscrapers. University president Feridun Hamdullahpur will be on hand for the occasion.

He plays host to a dinner at the Regal Kowloon Hotel tonight for some of the estimated 1,400 Waterloo alumni who live and work in Hong Kong (skyline, above), and will meet with business leaders at a chamber of commerce luncheon on Monday. Members of the business community, alumni and students are expected to be among the guests at today’s opening event, a highly visible gesture to emphasize the university’s international aspirations and achievements.

“In an era where we have seen the emergence of a global digital economy, it’s critical that universities reach out internationally to collaborate, educate and influence,” says Hamdullahpur.  “We have more than 2,600 Asian students currently enrolled at the university, comprising 41 percent of our international student population. We welcome connecting even more closely with the community in Hong Kong through our newly established office, furthering collaboration and extending our international engagement.”

A further Waterloo link with Hong Kong involves co-op students: an average of 35 students are on work terms there at any given time.

The new Waterloo office is located at the Malahon Center at 10-12 Stanley Street in the business district at the heart of Hong Kong, and will have full-time staff supported by Waterloo co-op students. A news release explains that the office “will enable the university to establish deeper connections in the Hong Kong community where Waterloo already interacts with businesses, professional organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, partners, students and their families.”

The opening reception is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, Hong Kong time, which is 3 a.m. in Waterloo. Besides the president, a number of Waterloo people will be on hand, including Linda Kieswetter, associate vice-president (principal gifts), who is responsible for operation of the new office. Erica Voisin, alumni officer in charge of international programs, will also be there as part of a trip that has taken her to Shanghai for a reception last Tuesday and will include Singapore for an event November 9.

Monday’s big event for Hamdullahpur is a luncheon organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, to be held at the Jockey Club. The president will appear along with Waterloo graduate Jason Chiu, founder and CEO of Cherrypicks Group, a Red Herring Asia 100 company. Hamdullahpur is also spending time during his tour with members of industry and university partners in Hong Kong.

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Prof joins telescope projects in two nations

by Joanna Magee, faculty of science

From Chile to Japan, physics and astronomy professor Brian McNamara will soon be racking up frequent flyer miles in a quest to better understand our universe. McNamara and his team are involved with a number of international initiatives where the University of Waterloo is among the very few chosen for exploration projects.

In Chile, McNamara and Helen Russell, a postdoctoral fellow at Waterloo, will be watching matter that falls into black holes using the world’s most powerful telescope. The Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-Millimeter Array, otherwise known as ALMA, is made up of 64 individual radio telescopes. Since a high altitude and dry climate is crucial to millimeter wavelength operations, the telescope is being constructed in the Atacama desert of Northern Chile.

“The telescope will allow us to map out how galaxies and black holes form,” McNamara (right) says. “It will also help us to figure out how stars form, which is something we still don’t fully understand.”

Out of the 900 proposals submitted for the project, Waterloo, McGill University and the University of Victoria were the only projects selected with Canadian principal investigators.

McNamara is also working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Astro-H, an x-ray telescope that will be launched in 2014. “This will be the biggest and most complicated telescope that JAXA has ever built,” McNamara says. “It will examine the hottest gases in the universe.”

He is one of three members selected to be part of the Astro-H science working group. “We will provide guidance and planning for its science program,” McNamara says. “I’ll be going to Japan at least once a year to work with the team and to help make Astro-H a successful mission.”

He is looking forward to seeing what findings he may make with these two projects. “It’s really exciting to be part of two amazing new new telescopes because discoveries will pour out of them,” he says. He's also looking forward to including his students. “It’s gratifying to have the opportunity to involve our students in exciting research using state-of-the art technology.”

CAR

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