Grad skills to pay the bills

A group of seven leading researching-intensive universities in Ontario have developed a new resource intended to help graduate students find success after university.

The University of Waterloo is part of the Ontario Consortium for Graduate Professional Skills, which developed MyGradSkills.ca, an online training tool that includes 18 units on topics such as successful job search strategies, resumé writing and professional communications. The six other universities involved in this initiative are the University of Guelph, McMaster University, the University of Ottawa, Queen's University, the University of Toronto and Western University.

"Ontario universities are taking a leadership role in helping to prepare graduate students for the future," said the Honourable Reza Moridi, minister of training, colleges and universities. "Whether these bright young minds decide to stay in academia or begin careers in other professions, with the help of MyGradSkills.ca, grad students will have the assistance and tools they need to succeed to the next level."

The online training will benefit those who are looking for careers in academia, or those looking to work in government, non-profit groups or in the private sector. The consortium hopes to one day make the resource available to graduate students worldwide.

"MyGradSkills.ca is the result of a tremendous team effort by all seven universities," said Professor Sue Horton, School of Public Health and Health Systems professor, former associate provost, graduate studies, and Waterloo's lead on the project. "The modules that Waterloo produced highlight our strengths in online course delivery, entrepreneurship and non-academic careers."

All Ontario graduate students can access the content by logging into the site using their university email account.

“As graduate students, we don’t always have time for in-person workshops–we’re often immersed in research, traveling for field work or conferences, and teaching undergraduate students. So being able to access this sort of information online is a real plus,” said Coleen Even, a PhD candidate at Waterloo.

More than a third of all graduate students in Canada are enrolled in Ontario.

 

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Door Knocker Campaign seeks volunteers

Next week, representatives from the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, the City of Waterloo, Waterloo regional Police Services and Waterloo Fire Rescue will be knocking on doors in the neighbourhoods surrounding campus, and they're looking for your help to welcome students to the community.

“The Annual Door Knocker campaign is a way to welcome student to the community and to emphasize the support programs available to students living near campus,” writes Manager, Off-Campus Living and Neighbourhood Relations Ryan King. “University of Waterloo volunteers will be partnered with Waterloo Regional Police ancillary officers and representatives from the City of Waterloo.”

Housing and Residences is looking for volunteers to commit to 2 to 3 hours on Tuesday, September 16 beginning at 5:45 p.m. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Victoria Harkes in the Community Relations office.

The program sends teams of volunteers along with police officers, bylaw officers, and firefighters door-to-door in the neighbourhoods around both universities, to emphasize the support available to students living in the community, to promote safety and positive interaction in the community.

The Door Knocker campaign is targeted at low-density student housing, so that city officials have an opportunity to discuss rental housing licensing and the importance of being a good neighbour. The City of Waterloo, along with police, are hosting information tents along University Avenue this week to give students living in apartment-style buildings information about the community.

 

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CTE announces fall workshops

The Centre for Teaching Excellence has announced an upcoming slate of workshops for instructors.

The Centre offers workshops and events on a broad range of topics, and signup instructions and registration details are available online.

Workshops include:

• LEARN sessions for the Fall term: CTE656: Getting Started with LEARN, CTE666: Using LEARN’s Quiz Feature, CTE668: Using the Grades Tool in Waterloo LEARN, and CTE706: Timesaving Tips in LEARN.
• CTE642: Course Design Fundamentals, which will be offered on offered Monday, October 6 and Tuesday, October 7 as part of CTE’s Focus on Teaching Week, which will run from October 6 to 10.

Course Design Fundamentals provides background for the courses being held later in the week:

• CTE718: Teaching Bottlenecks & Threshold Concepts, CTE719: Describing, Supporting and Assessing International Experiential Learning with Dr. Nancy Johnston from Simon Fraser University
• CTE720: Designing High Quality High Impact Learning Experiences
• CTE721: Working with your TAs: Training in Writing Assessment with Judi Jewinski, Special Advisor to Provost on English Language Competency, and Claire Bermingham of the Writing Centre
• CTE722: Big Questions Session – Active Learning in Really Large Classes
• CTE723: Assessing Case-Based Learning, and
• CTE724: Assessing the Flipped Classroom.

All courses can be registered through myHRinfo.

Looking ahead, CTE has announced that CTE601: Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) scheduled for December 2014 is full. The next ISW offering is February 2015 (February 17-20) and registration is open through myHRinfo. There is limited enrolment for this 24-hour ISW workshop.

As always, instructors can contact their CTE Faculty Liaison with any questions they may have about CTE services.

 

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PAC and parking lot construction delayed

Shovels won't be going into the ground in the laneway behind the Physical Activities Complex and in M Lot just yet.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances," says a note from Plant Operations, "the start date and road closure date has been delayed until further notice."

Signs placed at the laneway exit to the Ring Road had indicated that the ring road would be closed in both directions as work is done on a new storm drain connection. A portion of M Lot was also to be fenced off, and a job trailer deposited on site as construction began on an expansion in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.

Further details will be published in the Daily Bulletin as the situation develops.

 

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Tuesday's notes

The University's new Director of Athletics and Recreation has arrived. Roly Webster started work on Monday, September 8.

Webster spent more than 19 years in various roles at Wilfrid Laurier University, including nearly 13 years in athletics and recreation. He was a co-ordinator of  facilities, events and sponsorship and also worked as a development officer managing promotions, sports information and media relations for the Golden Hawks while implementing an annual athletic fundraising and department marketing strategy. Most recently, he was executive director and chief operating officer of Laurier’s students' union, WLUSU. Webster holds a degree in kinesiology from Laurier and a master of arts in leadership from the University of Guelph. His hiring was announced in August.

Feds Fall Welcome Week continues today. The marquee events for Tuesday are Bike Day, presented by Sustainable Campus Initiative (SCI). It is an all-day event, the Welcome Week arcade in the Student Life Centre that runs until 9:00 p.m., and the Welcome Week Carnival, running from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on the BMH Green.

"I am delighted to inform you that Dr. Jennifer S. Simpson has agreed to chair the Steering Committee for English Language Competency Initiatives (SCELCI) at the University of Waterloo," says a note from Associate Vice-President, Academic Mario Coniglio. "Dr. Simpson is replacing Dr. Sheila Ager, who ably chaired the committee since its inception in May, 2013."

Professor Simpson joined the Department of Drama and Speech Communication in 2007, becoming chair in Fall 2010, and is currently Acting Associate Dean, Research in the Faculty of Arts.

"Dr. Simpson brings extensive experience to her role as SCELCI Chair," Coniglio continues. "Since Fall 2013, she has been working with colleagues from English Language and Literature, Speech Communication, St. Jerome’s, and Renison to provide core communication courses for students in the Faculty of Mathematics. In this capacity, she has been significantly engaged with design, delivery, and logistical issues, identification of course outcomes, and coordination across units, activity she will carry on in 2014-2015."

"Under Dr. Simpson’s leadership, SCELCI will continue to guide and implement change as it relates to English language communication initiatives, including those from our strategic plan that focus on improved oral and written communication skills for all our students."

The University of Waterloo Art Gallery (UWAG) is hosting a "visually arresting" mid-career survey exhibition investigating the multidisciplinary art practice of Lois Andison.

Andison is a Canadian artist who has exhibited nationally and internationally in Toronto, Montréal, Lethbridge, Mexico City, Boston, Buffalo and New York.

The exhibition, entitled relay, represents a fifteen-year period of artistic production ranging from kinetic sculpture to video installation to text-based artworks and features two large installations that will occupy Gallery One and Two, alongside several new works created specifically for the survey.

"While many of her recent works draw heavily on the influence of 20th century masters, including Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso, they question the orthodoxy of the Modernist hierarchy by using appropriation, movement and wordplay to challenge our perceptions of gender and meaning," says a UWAG statement. "Andison’s work engages the body and mind equally through her complex engineering of elegant minimalist constructions."

Andison is an Associate Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo and lives in Toronto.

The exhibition runs from Thursday, September 11 to November 1. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, September 11 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The UW Retirees’ Association’s Annual Fall Reception is scheduled to take place on Thursday, September 25 at the University Club from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. President Feridun Hamdullahpur will be speaking.

Pack your bags and shine up that credit card stripe as the University of Waterloo Staff Association celebrates 10 years of the annual UWSA Shopping Trip. The fun-filled weekend starts Friday, November 7 and runs to Sunday, November 9. The registration deadline is Monday, September 15. Contact the UWSA for more details.

The Ceremony of Induction into Professional Planning Education, Saturday, September 20, Registration & Reception (EV3-Atrium) 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. followed by the Induction Ceremony (ML-Theatre of Arts) 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Details.

Incoming 2014 graduate and undergraduate students and their families are being invited to the Ceremony of Induction into Professional Planning Education, which will take place on Saturday, September 20. Registration and a reception will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in the Environment 3 atrium, followed by the induction ceremony at 11:00 a.m. in the Theatre of the Arts. More details are available on the School of Planning's website.

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