A student's thank-you to co-op employers

On March 19, 2011, Jean-Samuel Rancourt (co-op student of the year 2010, class of 2011) delivered the following speech thanking co-op employers at the University of Waterloo’s Top Employer event.

"During my last year at uWaterloo, I had the pleasure of sitting on the undergraduate student experience committee for Mechanical & Mechatronics engineering, a committee that gathered and pushed student input for Vision 2015 – the Faculty of Engineering’s five year action plan. In one of our student surveys sent out to all fourth years, two of the questions asked were “why did you choose Waterloo” and “would you recommend Waterloo, and if so, why?” The most popular answer to both of those questions by far, was: the co-op program. And this answer, coming directly from students in anonymous surveys, really showed us the true value of Waterloo co-op in the eyes of students, and its importance in the action plan."

"I could go on for a long time about the things you learn in your early co-op terms, like discipline, responsibility, how to interact with co-workers, management, and customers; I can talk about the things you learn in your later work terms, such as ethics, performing under pressure, managing teams, individuals, and projects, how to become the face of a company even though you’ve only been working there for a few weeks (and yes… that does happen)."

"However, there is one thing that Waterloo co-op graduates come out with which, I believe, is one of the most important. This is something that I have heard over and over when asking friends and classmates what the best part of co-op was, and is something we also learned during our Vision 2015 surveys."

Read more of Rancourt's speech on the Hire Waterloo website.

Last week’s poll results: last week’s question must have been a no-brainer since 98 per cent of you guessed correctly; it’s definitely not too late to post a job and hire a co-op student for the winter 2013 work term. Congratulations to last week’s draw winner Julian Wong, Accounting and Finance student.

This week’s question: It’s not too late to nominate a student for the Co-op Student of the Year award; the deadline is this Friday. How many nominations are sent to CECA each year, on average? Take a guess and enter to win a CECA chocolate bar.

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Highlights from the president's update

by Matthew Bondy, senior communications officer.

On Monday, December 10, university president and vice-chancellor Feridun Hamdullahpur released his fourth update to the campus community of the year, highlighting recent governance decisions and an overview of his presidential activities in recent months.

The university senate and board of governors have presided over significant growth and change at the institution over the fall term, the president reported, including the opening of the Mike & Ophelia Quantum-Nano Centre and Waterloo Stratford Campus, as well as the reconsolidation of Waterloo’s satellite engineering campus in the United Arab Emirates.

“We continue to explore international opportunities in a way that’s congruent with our strategic direction,” Hamdullahpur said of the UAE campus closure, to underscore the institution’s continued commitment to internationalization.

The president included in his report an update about the university’s strategic planning process, which has resulted in a new strategic plan website and a submission to the Government of Ontario outlining Waterloo’s strategic vision as an innovation-based university.

Taking the university’s message to external audiences, on Thursday, December 6 in Toronto, Hamdullahpur presented to “Canada-India Economic Relations” Conference”, convened by major Canadian think-tank and public policy shop, the C.D. Howe institute. Presenting alongside Open Text chief Tom Jenkins, the uWaterloo president led a discussion on enhancing education and research linkages between Canada and India.

President Hamdullahpur’s report also touched on the evolving political environment in Ontario, with Premier McGuinty’s resignation opening the question of who will serve as the Liberal Party of Ontario’s next leader and Ontario’s next premier. Glen Murray, until recently the minister responsible for higher education, has resigned his post to run for the top job. The Honourable John Milloy, MPP for Kitchener-Centre, has been appointed Murray’s successor as minister of training, colleges and universities, a position he previously held from 2007 to 2011.

“We thank both individuals for their ongoing support for post-secondary education in Ontario,” said Hamdullahpur.

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Safe seasonal celebrations and other notes

"It is that time of year again when thoughts are turning to seasonal and holiday celebrations," says a memo from the provost that has been distributed to all employees. "Whether these celebrations are large or small, it is important that we take proactive steps to ensure the health and safety of our employees who attend office parties or other celebrations whether on-campus, off-campus, or at your private home."

"Please take steps to ensure our employees have a safe and enjoyable event," says the memo, signed by provost Sallie Keller, which references university policy 21, Alcohol Use and Education. The memo also offers the following options to assist in office holiday planning:

• Consider having an alcohol-free event.
• If you provide alcohol, do not provide an open and unsupervised bar.
• Close the bar an hour or more before the party ends.
• Monitor employees’ alcohol consumption. Be prepared to keep track of how much guests are drinking.
• Consider utilizing a ticket system to limit the number of drinks an employee or other guest may have during the party.

Keller notes that the university "will allow staff members to expense alternative transportation for returning home from celebrations that are University approved by department heads."

The Library is reporting that as of today, the term loan date changes from January 15, 2013 to May 15, 2013. People may begin renewing their books for the Winter term after today. Information about library borrowing privileges can be found on the Library's website.

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