Codemakers kick things off this weekend

A new engineering program for Grade 10 girls is set to roll out this Saturday.

Catalyst Codemakers, powered by a grant from Google, aims to transform the way girls think about computer science and technology.

"Software and computers are everywhere, but fewer girls are learning computer science than boys," says an explanatory note on the event's website. "Basic knowledge in computer science help nurture creativity and problem-solving skills, and prepare you for a future career in any field."

Through a series of in-person events and at-home challenge, Codemakers will help participants develop their "toolbox of computational thinking."

The kick-off takes place on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the J.R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall. This day-long event will inspire girls to learn the fundamentals of data and coding, building blocks of hardware, and new product development.

In its inaugural year, the program will be restricted to female students in grade 10. Male students or those entering other grades have been invited to sign up for a notification when the program is expanded.

Kick-off is the first in a series of Codemakers events, including a three-day Codemakers Conference set to take place during March Break that includes workshops and field trips, and the Codemakers Awards Night in June.

Waterloo's Catalyst program empowers high school youth to be the agents of change in their community and the world by creating opportunities for them to increase awareness, confidence and leadership abilities in engineering, science and technology.

Registration for the Kick-Off is now full, but an event called "Go CODE Girl" for students in grades 9 to 11 is set to take place on February 21.

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Stantec to move into R+T Park

Stantec will soon have a new home in Waterloo Region. The global design firm is moving to the innoTECH building in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park.

“We’ve been looking for a new, larger home to help facilitate our growth in the community,” says Kevin Fergin, office leader for Stantec’s Kitchener office. “The innoTECH building is a perfect fit. Not only will it provide space for our growing team, but the building itself is LEED Gold certified. Those sustainable features are in lock step with our values as a company.”

Stantec’s more than 330 team members in the region currently work from the company’s downtown Kitchener office on Frederick Street. The Waterloo Region team will move to Stantec’s new home in the fall of 2015.

“With a global reputation for academic excellence and innovative partnerships with global industry leaders, the University of Waterloo attracts the world’s best, brightest and most motivated students,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur.  “Having a global leader such as Stantec locate on our north campus will help to advance our experiential education objectives for students by allowing them to link their academic success with future career goals.”

“The proximity of our new office to the talent pool of architects, engineers, environmental scientists and planners from the UW will be critical for our growing business,” says Fergin. “It ensures our access to the ‘best and brightest’ emerging talent in our industry.”

“We are very happy to welcome Stantec to our growing portfolio of leading edge buildings in the David Johnston Research & Technology Park,” says Adrian Conrad, director at The Cora Group Inc.  “This continues the momentum as we lead in the development of first class, modern and sustainable office space.”

Photograph courtesy of the Research + Technology Park.

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Educational technology workshops on offer

The Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) has opened registration for the Educational Technologies Workshop Series, scheduled for March 2 through March 5. Courses include:

• CTE728: Apps for Mobile Devices, Monday, March 2, 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.;
• CTE730: Peer Evaluation Tools, Monday, March 2,, 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.;
• CTE729: Question Facilitation Tools, Monday, March 2, 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.;
• CTE731: Concept Mapping Tools, Monday, March 2, 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.;
• CTE691: Introduction to the Flipped Classroom, Tuesday, March 3, 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.;
• CTE732: Course Design for Blended Learning, Tuesday, March 3, 1:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.;
• CTE733: Making Screencasts with Camtasia, Wednesday, March 4, 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.;
• CTE734: Enhancing Learning with Assessment Tools, Wednesday, March 4, 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.;
• CTE735: Presenting with an iPad, Wednesday, March 4, 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.;
• CTE736: ePortfolios: Process and Product, Thursday, March 5, 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.;
• CTE737: ePortfolios: Hands-on Introduction, Thursday, March 5, 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.;
• CTE738: ePortfolios: Peer Review, Thursday, March 5, 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.;
• CTE739: ePortfolios and Forms, Thursday, March 5, 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.;
• CTE908: Documenting Your Teaching for Tenure and Promotion on Tuesday, March 31 at 11:45 a.m. (moderated by Mario Coniglio, associate vice-president, academic);
• CTE601: Instructional Skills Workshop, scheduled August 18 to 21. This is a limited enrolment 24-hour workshop.

A full list of workshops and courses is available on the CTE website. You can register through myHRinfo. Contact Verna Keller if you run into difficulty signing up.

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Engineers will take their obligation

There will be more than 1,100 new Canadian engineers before tomorrow is over, as graduating students from the faculty of engineering take part in the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer (otherwise known as the Iron Ring Ceremony) and put on the Iron Ring, the symbol of the professional engineer, for the first time.

The ceremonies will be followed by the biggest party of an engineering student’s campus years — the Iron Ring Stag — and preceded by smaller celebrations today.

The office of the associate dean (co-operative education and professional affairs) says that there will be four ceremonies starting at noon on Saturday, all in the Theatre of the Arts. The ceremonies are not open to the public.

More than 1,140 engineering students are expected to file an Intent to Graduate form to the Registrar's Office by March 1, and if previous ceremonies are any indication, almost all graduating students will attend the ceremony and receive their Iron Ring. In preparation for this event, graduating students have been attending introductory talks and have participated in ring fittings.

The first Iron Ring ceremony at the University was held in the spring of 1963.

"The Iron Ring is both a symbol of pride in the engineering profession and a reminder of the engineer’s obligation to live by a high standard of professional conduct," says a note on the Engineering Society's website.

In helping to stage the traditional (and distinctively Canadian) ceremony, the Faculty of Engineering works with an independent agency, Camp 15 of the Corporation of the Seven Wardens, which will be conducting the Ritual.

The wardens’ web site gives this background on the event: “The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer has a history dating back to 1922, when seven past-presidents of the Engineering Institute of Canada attended a meeting in Montreal with other engineers. One of the speakers was civil engineer Professor [Herbert] Haultain of the University of Toronto. He felt that an organization was needed to bind all members of the engineering profession in Canada more closely together. He also felt that an obligation or statement of ethics to which a young graduate in engineering could subscribe should be developed.

“Haultain wrote to Rudyard Kipling, who had made reference to the work of engineers in some of his poems and writings. He asked Kipling for his assistance in developing a suitably dignified obligation and ceremony for its undertaking. Kipling was very enthusiastic in his response and shortly produced both an obligation and a ceremony formally entitled 'The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer.'

“The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer has been instituted with the simple end of directing the newly qualified engineer toward a consciousness of the profession and its social significance and indicating to the more experienced engineer their responsibilities in welcoming and supporting the newer engineers when they are ready to enter the profession.

“The Iron Ring has been registered and may be worn on the little finger of the working hand by any engineer who has been obligated at an authorized ceremony of the Ritual of the Calling of the Engineer. The ring symbolizes the pride which engineers have in their profession, while simultaneously reminding them of their humility. The ring serves as a reminder to the engineer and others of the engineer's obligation to live by a high standard of professional conduct. It is not a symbol of qualification as an engineer — this is determined by the provincial and territorial licensing bodies.”

Waterloo’s graduating engineers have typically shown their joy by dressing up in exuberant outfits and parading on campus before the Iron Ring ceremonies. With the ritual now held on a Saturday, such celebrations are focused on today, as part of a week of social events organized by GradComm, an offshoot of the Engineering Society.

After the ceremony comes the Iron Ring Stag. A tradition of that event: everybody dresses in black. Amid the merriment, the Tool, mascot of Waterloo engineers, will be introduced — and the newly ringed ones permitted to touch its metal surface for the first time ever.

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Friday's notes

FASS 2015 continues tonight with two shows, one at 7:00 p.m. and the other at 10:30 p.m., both in the Humanities Theatre in Hagey Hall.

Tickets to the annual theatrical production are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Be forewarned, it's "audience participation night."

The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) is offering three student awards, each valued at $500, and applications are now open. Two are aimed at undergraduate students, and one is being offered to graduate students. One of the undergraduate awards is proudly sponsored and funded by the Education Credit Union.

Eligibility requirements are straightforward - the recipient must be a full or part-time student in a degree program at the University of Waterloo and must be either a member of the UWSA, or the spouse, child, grandchild, or dependent of a UWSA member.

More details about the undergraduate and graduate awards are available on the UWSA website. The application deadline for the winter 2015 term is February 15.

Today is the deadline for submitting nominations for the Distinguished Teacher Awards. Information about how to apply is on the Centre for Teaching Excellence's website.

Human Resources is reporting that retiree Eugene Hanusch died January 18. Eugene began his employment in October 1978. He was a Custodian in Village One of the Waterloo Residences. Eugene retired in July 1994. He is survived by his spouse, Alma. He was 85.

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