UWindsor booth at Ontario Universities' FairA redesigned booth helped the UWindsor team to reach a record number of prospective students at the Ontario Universities’ Fair.

UWindsor draws record interest at student recruitment fair

A new booth design and continued engagement by faculty, staff, and students helped draw a record response to the UWindsor presence at the Ontario Universities’ Fair, last weekend in Toronto.

“We garnered contact information from a record number of prospective students,” says Chris Busch, associate vice-president, enrolment management. “We trust that will lead to more applications and eventually, greater registration.”

Busch notes that interest in Windsor rose while overall attendance at the fair fell.

“Even though 20,000 fewer people came to the fair, we recorded 40 per cent more prospects over last year,” he says.

He points to the new set-up, with video elements highlighting student experiences in a range of academic programs, as helping to draw attention: “Our booth was more dynamic than ever before.”

When visitors entered the UWindsor space, they found a café-style atmosphere to encourage individual conversations with faculty and service staff members.

“Our people are our real secret,” says Busch. “Their welcoming presence brings a little bit of the Windsor vibe with us to Toronto.”

Now, he says, the student recruitment team will go to work converting prospects into applicants. The next major milestone in the process is fall open house on Saturday, November 3.

Sarah WoodruffUWindsor kinesiology professor Sarah Woodruff participated in the first national measure of children’s physical literacy.

Children’s physical literacy subject of “State of the Nation” report

About two-thirds of Canadian children haven’t achieved an acceptable level of physical literacy, says a national research project. UWindsor kinesiology professor Sarah Woodruff contributed to nine of the 14 related articles published Tuesday in the journal BMC Public Health.

The research team examined varying aspects of physical literacy, defined as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life.

Researchers applied the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy to more than 10,000 children aged 8 to 12 years across the country — including 1,300 in the Windsor area tested by Dr. Woodruff and her local team — in the first comprehensive use of the tool.

“Our study gives Windsor-Essex a great baseline that can be used to monitor changes over time and evaluate the impact of physical literacy programs in the future,” she said.

Woodruff is proud of her work to help develop a version of the assessment which is shorter and easier to administer. The updated series of tests are available free of charge at www.capl-eclp.ca.

The entire project was led by the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group (HALO) at the Research Institute of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, with support from the Public Health Agency of Canada, ParticipAction, and Mitacs.

ParticipAction president Elio Antunes said the results show more work needs to be done.

“Every organization concerned with the well-being of children… should allocate additional resources to increase children’s physical literacy,” he said. “Additional education campaigns, greater priority in school curricula, and increased numbers of physical education specialists could have a real impact in the health of Canada’s children.”

Find the full set of articles on the journal’s website.

students and instructor work with mannequin simulatorThe Faculty of Nursing is holding an open house for prospective graduate students on October 18.

Open house to showcase graduate programs in nursing

An open house event Thursday, October 18, will offer attendees information about graduate programs in nursing.

The University of Windsor offers a doctorate program, thesis- and course-based master’s degrees, and a graduate diploma in primary health care nurse practitioner. All may be pursued on a full- or part-time basis.

The event runs 5 to 6:30 p.m. in room 204, Anthony B. Toldo Health Education Centre. To indicate interest in attending, RSVP online by Wednesday, October 10.

Print for Healthcare logo.Print for Healthcare invites teams to develop devices to benefit any field of healthcare.

Inventors sought for healthcare competition

See a need for a new or improved device that could benefit healthcare? Bring your ideas to the Entrepreneurship Practice and Innovation Centre (EPICentre) to win cash prizes.

The Print for Healthcare competition invites students and community members to design and 3D print devices, develop business plans, and pitch them to judges. The contest, offered in partnership with Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, will highlight 3D printing as a tool for quick and cost-effective prototyping and custom construction for creative technologies.

  • The University of Windsor Alumni Association is offering a $1,000 cash prize for the device most likely to be implemented into healthcare.
  • WEtech Alliance has sponsored an award of $500 for innovation.

No experience with 3D printing or healthcare is required. Applications are due by November 9. Find details on the Print for Healthcare website.