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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

 

 

  • Hotmail, me.com users may be missing emails
  • Humour, advice to mark "Your First Six Weeks"
  • Gairdner winner talks as biological clocks tick
  • Sharing our co-op expertise with the world
  • Coffee shops, the art of delegation, other notes

 

  • Editor:
  • Brandon Sweet
  • Communications and Public Affairs
  • bulletin@uwaterloo.ca

 

Hotmail, me.com users may be missing emails

On Monday it was reported that Hotmail has placed the University of Waterloo's email servers on their blocked senders list because a number of accounts have been compromised after users responded to "phishing" emails designed to encourage them to give out their WatIAM credentials. These compromised accounts are then being used to send out spam messages, and thus Hotmail has automatically blocked all emails coming from University of Waterloo servers.

Information Systems and Technology (IST) is now reporting that the problem is not confined to Hotmail, (which includes live.com and msn.com) but includes Apple's me.com service as well. On the surface this seems like a minor annoyance, but there are real consequences, especially for students, as a message from the Registrar's Office illustrates.

"University of Waterloo students are sent important university-wide notices through their official uWaterloo email accounts," writes scheduling director Charlene Schumm. "Such notices include final exam information, pre-enrollment information and most recently, information regarding final examination relief eligibility with a deadline for applying for final exam relief."

"Those students who have forwarded their uWaterloo email accounts to a Hotmail account will be missing out on important university-wide notices."

"If you have forwarded your uWaterloo email to a Hotmail account, please check the uWaterloo account for important notices." Schumm notes. "The October 31 deadline to apply for final exam relief will not be extended."

While IST sorts this issue out, it may be a good idea for those who forward their messages to Hotmail to stop doing so. There is a handy guide online published by IST with support from the Arts Computing Office.

Staff in IST are working to fix the blacklisting and spamming, and to implement measures to shut down misused accounts faster.

 

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Humour, advice to mark "Your First Six Weeks"

by Jodi Szimanski, Student Success Office.

Andy Thibodeau.The cheers rang out when speaker Andy Thibodeau yelled: “You got into Waterloo, you’re all geeks! I’m one of you – a few years later.”

Thibodeau shared great advice with first-year students at FYE: Waterloo during Orientation Week. His talk focused on bringing back three things from grade 2:

  • Keep the kid who loved to answer questions
  • Keep the kid who loved to ask questions
  • Don’t wait

Grade 2 was a time when, according to Thibodeau, learning was the prize you took home every day. No one was afraid of giving a wrong answer, because even if you got the wrong answer, the teacher would tell you the right one. No one was afraid of asking a question either, because two of the smartest questions you can ask are: “Can I get some help?” and “How can I do better?” More importantly, in grade 2 you didn’t wait to try things – you never said “I’ll wait until next year.” Thibodeau likes to say that when you stop waiting, you start creating.

For him, that happened when he started to get involved. That involvement got him connected to other students and faculty. Those connections helped him to stay informed.

Your First 6 Weeks’, developed by the Student Success Office, focuses on helping first-year students get involved, connected and informed to help them through the transition following Orientation Week.

To close ‘Your First 6 Weeks’, Thibodeau is coming back to Waterloo on Thursday, October 18, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Fed Hall. This time he’s talking about how to continue success in school and in life – because in Andy’s eyes there are two things you should leave university with – a career you enjoy and great relationships.

Make sure you register today – meet up with all the first years you met during orientation, enjoy free food, prizes and have more fun with Andy.

 

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Gairdner winner talks as biological clocks tick

by Chantel Franklin, Marketing & Recruitment Specialist, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

The University of Waterloo will be hosting Gairdner International Award recipient Dr. Michael Rosbash, on Tuesday, October 23 as he delivers two public lectures hosted by the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.

The Canada Gairdner International Awards are given in recognition of outstanding international medical research. Award winners then travel to universities across Canada to share their work and inspire youth to pursue careers in health sciences.

Dr. Rosbash has been instrumental in revealing the molecular basis of circadian rhythms, the built-in biological clock that regulates sleep and wakefulness, activity and rest, hormone levels, body temperature, and other functions. His discoveries could ultimately lead to the development of drugs to treat insomnia, jet lag, and other sleep disorders.

From 2:00 – 3:30 p.m., the university community is invited to hear Dr. Rosbash present Circadian Rhythms: Molecules, Neurons and Circuits. Earlier that morning, at 10:30 a.m., Dr. Rosbash will present Circadian Rhythms: Time Travels to grade 10-12 high school students, who will then participate in workshops and tours of our Applied Health Sciences and Science labs. All are welcome to attend either lecture.

Registration is requested for each lecture. For more information, contact Pamela Hurvid, ext. 36220.


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Sharing our co-op expertise with the world

by Karina Graf, Co-operative Education and Career Action (CECA)

With more than 16,000 work terms a year, and over 4,500 employers in 63 countries around the world, University of Waterloo's Co-operative Education department is by far the largest co-op success story in the world. Not only do we manage incredible volume but we were also first off the mark 55 years ago and lead the way for other institutions as we have always done.

CAFCE 2012 poster.As the largest post-secondary co-op institution in the world (and the best!), our colleagues at other institutions look to us for leadership. At this year’s Canadian Association for Co-operative Education’s (CAFCE) National Conference, Waterloo staff presented or facilitated a whopping 11 sessions and workshops out of 40 in total. Staff from CECA, WatCACE, WatPD, CBET, and Psychology led the way with sessions such as:

  • Unpack your Expectations; Achieve Quality Co-op Programs
  • Managing Employer Relations in Large Co-op Programs: Drexel and Waterloo
    Entrepreneurial Work-terms
  • UDLES & CUDLES: Measuring Learning Outcomes with Student Job Performance Evaluations by Co-op Employers
  • Using Online Courses to Support the Development of Professional Skills for Co-op Students
  • Exploring Trends and Themes in Co-operative Education
  • A Canadian Co-op Research Roundtable: A discussion of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
  • Research Methods Workshop: Advancing Research in Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning
  • Waterloo's Sixth Decade of Co-op: Reorganizing the Department to Meet the Needs of Today and Tomorrow
  • Improving Co-op Week in Canada
  • CAFCE's Application for Accreditation Made Easy

Take a peek at the full list of sessions, all of which centred on the theme of “Higher Learning…Hire Aspirations.”

And, in case you’re curious about the results from last week’s poll on workplace integrity:
67% of people define integrity in the workplace as “all of the above: respect confidentiality and intellectual property; be honest, transparent, and communicate clearly, be accountable for your work and actions.” The winner of our random draw for a CECA mug is Carrie Gilmour from Systems Design Engineering. Congrats Carrie! And a big thanks to everyone who entered.

This week's question: how many post-secondary institutions in Canada have a co-op program? Take a guess and enter to win a CECA water bottle.

 

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Coffee shops, the art of delegation, other notes

The ES Coffee Shop in Environment I is celebrating its Grand Reopening Week this week after being closed for some lengthy and extensive restorations. Operating since 1994, the coffee shop is a student-run enterprise supported by the Environment Student Society. The redesign began as a student proposal to the Waterloo Environment Student Endowment Fund (WESEF) as part of the WESEF $100,000 competition. The layout was designed by three planning students who have since graduated, and was spearheaded by former manager of the ES Coffee Shop Erin Roberts, who has since graduated from the Environment and Business program. Plant Operations completed the project. The shop's operating hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Federation of Students is hosting The Art of Delegation today from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in PHY 150. The presentation will be given by noted speaker, consultant, facilitator and author Gerry Hall. All University of Waterloo students are invited to attend the thoughtful, entertaining, and informative presentation that will help them become better leaders and communicators.

If you're a student interested in graduate studies, you should check out the Professional School and Post-Degree Days event going on the Student Life Centre today and tomorrow from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Over the course of the two-day event, students will have the opportunity to speak with representatives from 115 institutions. Today, the fields of Education, Health, Pharmacy, Social Work, and various college programs will be represented, and tomorrow, the fields of Law, Engineering, MBA, and various university graduate programs will be in the Great Hall of the Student Life Centre. For more information about PPD Day, please contact Elisabeth Adrian at 888-4567 ext 32590 or visit the Centre for Career Action's website.

The Warriors golf teams finished second at the OUA Golf Championships held at the Grey Silo Golf Club yesterday.

Finally, the final examination schedule for the 2012 term has been posted online.

 

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Faculty, staff can take TravelWise survey

The University of Waterloo has partnered with the Region of Waterloo to offer a TravelWise program for faculty and staff.

TravelWise is a Traffic Demand Management (TDM) program that provides an assortment of transportation tools and services to program members to encourage sustainable transportation to and from work.

Through partnership in TravelWise, University of Waterloo employees will have access to events, information, and exclusive services that can help them commute in sustainable ways.

The first step is a survey of university employees that asks about their work transportation habits. Survey respondents can enter into a draw for prizes that include gift certificates and a BlackBerry PlayBook.

The survey runs until Friday, October 19.

Link of the day

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

When and where

CTE presents Focus on Teaching Week, October 15 to October 19. Registration Details.

Waterloo Stratford Campus ribbon cutting, Tuesday, October 16, 11:00 a.m., 125 St. Patrick St., Stratford.

EAP Brown Bag Lunch event, "Travel Safe, Travel Well," Thursday, October 18, 12:00 p.m., TC 2218.

Waterloo Stratford Campus public open house, Tuesday, October 16, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.., 125 St. Patrick St., Stratford. Details.

The School of Public Health and Health Systems presents Dr. Atreyi Mukherji, McMaster University, “STI/HIV: Utilizing Epidemiology to inform Interventions, Health Policy and Human Rights,” Wednesday, October 17, 10:00 a.m., Burt Matthews Hall, room 3119.

Arriscraft Lecture Series featuring Donald Schmitt, Diamond Schmitt Architects, "Just-In-Time Design," Thursday, October 18, 6:45 p.m., School of Architecture.

Ambassador Lecture Series featuring H.E. Ambassador Piragibe dos Santos Tarragô, Ambassador of Brazil to Canada, "Brazil and Its Prospects for the Future", Thursday, October 18,7:00 p.m., CIGI Campus Auditorium, 67 Erb Street West. RSVP details.

Public lecture by Stanford University President John Hennessy, "Online Education: The Coming Tsunami," Friday, October 19, 10:00 a.m., Humanities Theatre.

Fall 2012 Convocation, Applied Health Sciences, Science, including Optometry and Pharmacy, Friday, October 19, 10:00 a.m.

Chemistry Department Seminar Series featuring Prof. Warren Chan, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, "The Complexities of Nanoparticle Tumor Targeting," Friday, October 19, 10:30 a.m., C2-361.


Fall 2012 Convocation, Environment, Mathematics (including St. Jerome's), Friday, October 19, 2:30 p.m.

Mind, Violence and Freedom seminar featuring Hamid Tizhoosh, Systems Design Engineering, "Violence: Why do we find violence beautiful?" Friday, October 19, 5:00 p.m., E5 6004.

Fall 2012 Convocation, Arts (including Independent Studies), St. Jerome's University Arts, Renison University Arts, Social Work (Honours BSW), Saturday, October 20, 10:00 a.m.

Fall 2012 Convocation, Engineering (including architecture), MBET, Software Engineering, Saturday, October 20, 2:30 p.m.

Public lecture by Claire Kramsch, UC Berkeley, "Symbolic Competence: New Goal for Global Times," Saturday, October 20, 4:00 p.m., EV3 1408. Details.

Open Access Week, October 22 to October 28. Details.

Public lecture for high school students by Dr. Michael Rosbash, recipient of the 2012 Canada Gairdner International Award, “Circadian rhythms: Time travels”, Tuesday, October 23, 10:30 a.m., Davis Centre 1302. Details.

Public lecture by Dr. Michael Rosbash, recipient of the 2012 Canada Gairdner International Award, “Circadian rhythms: Molecules, neurons and circuits”, Tuesday, October 23, 2:00 p.m., Davis Centre 1302. Details.

Noon Hour Concert, "Canadian Music for Saxophone & Piano," featuring Willem Moolenbeek, sax, Cheryl Duvall, piano, Wednesday, October 24, 12:30 p.m., Conrad Grebel University College chapel. Free admission, all are welcome.

Data Management Day, Thursday, October 25.

UWSA Annual General Meeting, Thursday, October 25, 9:00 a.m., MC 5158, coffee and treats at 8:45 a.m. Details.

Positions available

On this week's list from the human resources department, viewable through myHRinfo:

• Customer Publishing Co-ordinator – Retail Services-Book Store, USG 6
• Senior Buyer – Procurement Services, USG 8
• Senior Development Officer – Dean of Engineering Office, USG 11
• Financial Officer – School of Pharmacy, USG 9
• Financial Support Administrative – Electrical & Computer Engineering, USG 5
• Assistant Director, Media Relations & Issues Management – Communications & Public Affairs, USG 13

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