No one should have to spend the holidays alone: that’s the thought behind the International Student Centre’s annual Host for the Holidays program, which matches eager students from overseas with local families welcoming them for a holiday meal.

“The students are looking for a traditional experience, whatever that may be in your household,” says the centre’s director, Beth Oakley. “We need your help to make this holiday season one to remember for our international students.”

Lori Powers hosted a group for Thanksgiving dinner and says the addition of new friends made it her family’s best ever.

“The students that attended are wonderful young men who fit in perfectly with our family,” she says. “They shared stories and traditions from their culture and families and learned all about our families and traditions. When we went around the table to say what we were thankful for, there was a common theme of friends, family, and good health. We’re not so different after all.”

The winter holiday will see hosts invite international students to their homes on December 24, 25, or 26.

Those hoping to participate, either as hosts or guests, must fill out a short application to help organizers match the needs of both:

• Student application
• Host family application

The deadline to apply as a host for this holiday season is Friday, December 15; all matching will be completed by Wednesday, December 20.

A design competition for electrical engineering students brought their learning out of textbooks and into reality last week.

“It was interesting to apply the theory we learned in class to predict circuit behaviour and help troubleshoot,” said Emilie Bondy, whose team took home first place for designing a Multiple Option Input Responsive Beverage Mixer.

Bondy and her teammates, Muntasir Alam and Tristen Michaud-Laughton, received $180 in UWindsor Campus Bookstore gift certificates.

More than 100 electrical engineering students from professor Mitra Mirhassani’s third-year class, “Electronics II,” competed. As part of a course requirement, students were tasked with designing a product under a $30 budget using an analog circuit and various signal processors.

Jeff Bilek and Sam Cipkar received second place for designing a portable audio control board that uses three input signals to control frequency. Bilek and Cipkar’s design can control the volume and frequency of a guitar, microphone, and music playing on a smart phone.

“The biggest challenge was elimnating feedback,” Bilek said.

Mohammad Kaddouh and Mohanad Elkafarneh designed a bionic arm.

To minimize costs, the two built their own custom flex sensors to fit in a glove. The sensors in the glove used analog and digital signals to move the fingers on the bionic arm mechanically.

“Our robotic arm can assist someone with disabilities,” Elkafarneh said as he put on the glove to demonstrate how the bionic hand mimicked his movements.

The competition took place November 30 during an open house in the atrium of the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation. A panel of judges evaluated and selected the best overall project based on design, technical difficulty, presentation and a question-and-answer session.

Third place went to Kaipeng Zhang and Yidan Luo for their adaptive car-following system.

“This project encourages students to apply their knowledge and what they learned in class to design working prototypes,” Dr. Mirhassani said. “The projects help students learn the design process, and hopefully prepare them for their final capstone project and future engineering employment. I was very proud of the students and their dedication.”

It’s always nice to be able to give back to the community, says Pat Simone, business development research assistant in the Cross-Border Institute. Her colleagues collected gifts for a local family in need as part of the campus collaboration with the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society Foundation.

Boxes of gifts filled a truck collecting contributions for the Adopt-a-Family charity drive, Tuesday outside the Welcome Centre. Under the program, faculties, departments and individuals across campus “adopt” families and raise cash or buy items on their wish lists.

“We think it’s a great cause,” Simone says. “Everyone should have a gift to open on Christmas.”

The need is real, says Sabina Howell, who co-ordinated the effort through the University’s public affairs office.

“The families always list necessities such as clothing and housewares as well as some toys for the children,” she says. “It really makes you feel fortunate to be able to share with people during the holidays.”

This year, the University of Windsor community collected more than $25,000 for 43 families, making it the largest single participating organization, says Andrea Barnett, community initiatives co-ordinator for the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society.

“For many of the families supported by the holiday program, whatever you put in the bags and boxes for them is what they will have for Christmas,” she says. “There is often not enough money at the end of the day for extras once rent and regular household expenses are paid — this give families a nice meal and special things to enjoy during the holidays.”

All undergraduate students entering the University of Windsor in the Winter 2017 semester will benefit from attending an orientation program just for them on Wednesday, January 3.

The Student Success and Leadership Centre hosts Winter Orientation in room 104, Odette Building, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will answer questions incoming undergraduate students may have about their transition to UWindsor.

At Winter Orientation, you will have the opportunity to:

1. Get your UwinCARD student identification;
2. Sign up for your UWindsor webmail account;
3. Learn about UWindsor classroom technology;
4. Get to know the difference between your past educational experiences and UWindsor;
5. Familiarize yourself with the campus, staff members, and all services available to you;
6. Meet other new students and hear current students’ experiences.

Breakout sessions will address the particular concerns of mature or part-time students, transfer students, and students coming directly from high school. Register through the Student Success and Leadership site.

Keep current by using the UWindsor Guides app, available free through Google Play or the iTunes App Store. Download the “Winter Orientation” guide.

Campus food outlets have revised their operations for the period of final exams.

Here are the opening hours for each location in the CAW Student Centre through December 17:

• the full-service Tim Hortons kiosk — Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Friday to Sunday;
• the Tims Express in the Marketplace — 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day; staying open Fridays to midnight;
• Pizza Pizza — 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day;
• Chef to You station — Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Monday to Thursday, 4:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Subway — Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 7 p.m.
• Burger Bar — Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Friday to Sunday;
• Marche Pasta — Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Saturday and Sunday. 

The Crocodile Grill in Vanier Hall will serve breakfast from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with varying times on weekdays — from 7:45 to 11 a.m. through December 10; and then from December 11 to 17, from 7 to 11 a.m. It will open for dinner through this entire period Monday to Thursday, 7 to 11 p.m.; Friday to Sunday, 5 to 11 p.m.

The Bru in Alumni Hall will operate Monday to Sunday, 5 to 11 p.m.

The Brown Gold café in Leddy Library will serve Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.

The Starbucks outlet in the Toldo Health Education Centre will open Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; closed Saturday and Sunday.

The Tim Hortons in the Centre for Engineering Innovation will open weekdays at 8 a.m., closing at 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday and at 2 p.m. on Friday.

Dividends in the Odette Building will close on the weekends and open:

• December 4 to 6 — 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• December 7 — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• December 8 — 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• December 11 to 14 — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• December 15 — 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Find the most up-to-date information on the Food Services website.

The Organization of Part-time University Students (OPUS) invites nominations for its awards, recognizing professors and staff members and celebrating the contributions of part-time students and the organization’s members.

All part-time undergrads, as well as UWindsor alumni, staff, and faculty members, are welcome to submit nominations for these awards:

• Lifetime Achievement Award
• Friend of Students Award
• Teacher of the Year Award
• Volunteer of the Year Award
• Faculty Award(s)
• Support Staff Award(s)
• Disability Campus Community Recognition Award
• Appreciation Award

The nomination deadline is February 5.

In addition, part-time students may apply for a variety of monetary awards and bursaries by January 15, including the VEK Ternoey Second Chance Award and the Student with Disability Achievement Award.

To apply for the awards below, visit the Student Awards and Financial Aid Office, or login to myUWindsor, select “Financial Matters” and then search for “awards.”

• Alumni Association Academic Achievement (OPUS) Award
• Mary C. Schisler (OPUS) Award in Dramatic Art
• Kathleen E. McCrone (OPUS) Award
• Ken Long Memorial (OPUS) Award
• Wayne Girard Leadership Memorial (OPUS) Award
• Alumni Association First Year Part-Time Undergraduate Student (OPUS) Award

More details and nomination forms are available on the OPUS website. The 26th annual awards banquet is set for March 23. Learn more here.