The University of Windsor has exchange partnerships with other universities around the world, allowing students to earn course credit while gaining international experience.

Applications for exchange during the Winter 2020 semester are open through Sept. 15.

Michelle Fitzgerald, administrator of international and exchange student services, encourages faculty and staff to recommend the program to students they believe suitable.

“Students who participate in one of these exchanges invariably report that it is the single most valuable part of their university experience,” she says.

The online application is available here; Fitzgerald welcomes questions from interested students at exchange@uwindsor.ca.

A team of mechanical engineering students placed fifth in the world's largest intercollegiate rocket engineering competition.

The Spaceport America Cup attracted 121 teams worldwide to compete June 18 to 22, 2019 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

University of Windsor Rocketry Team member Katarina Berg says the competition has multiple categories based on motor type and either a target altitude of 10,000 or 30,000 feet.

The UWindsor team chose to compete in the 30,000 commercial off the shelf motor, solid propulsion category against 19 teams.

“We came in fifth in our category and 31st in the overall competition. Our actual apogee was 26,517 feet,” Berg says. “It was absolutely an amazing experience to be able to connect with and learn from universities all over the world. To see all the different approaches to the same common problem is very intriguing.” 

Students were tasked with presenting their research and development to peers and prospective employers in an academic conference before launching at Spaceport America. The competition is hosted by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association.

— Kristie Pearce

Instructors in the English Language Improvement Program are very focused, says Bo Huang.

A native of China’s Hunan province, he will begin studies towards an M.Eng. after completing the ELIP course this spring.

“The instructors are the best teachers I have ever met,” Huang says. “They are so kind and keep office hours to talk to you face-to-face.”

He says he appreciated being able to consult teachers on how to best address his areas of weakness: “The most important thing is how the course has improved my English grammar.”

Huang hopes to stay in Canada when his education is complete.

“Canada has a wonderful natural setting,” he says. “The environment is really good; the air is so fresh!”

The Centre for English Language Development will celebrate international language students and their contributions to campus and community on World Student Day, Friday, July 26.

UWindsor faculty, staff, and students are invited to join in free activities, entertainment, and a lunch in the David A. Wilson Commons from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Windsor experiences one of Canada’s highest incidence of extreme heat, which can put at risk people’s health — and even their lives.

The July 2019 edition of Workplace Wellness E-Digest, published by the Department of Human Resources’ Office of Employee Engagement and Development, offers information on the dangers of high temperatures and humidity.

It details five myths about sun protection, ways to protect children from the sun, and first aid advice for sunburn and heat illness. Read the Workplace Wellness E-Digest.

Network changes will make Internet services unavailable to and from the University on Saturday, July 27, starting at 7 a.m. and lasting perhaps a few hours, advises Information Technology Services.

Outages will encompass all network services — websites and email, UWinsite, Blackboard.

Both wired and wireless networks will be affected across the entire campus, including downtown sites. In addition, the downtown campus will lose network connectivity to the main campus during this time. Telephone calls to these buildings will not be available, but there will be a limited ability to call out.

The Research Data Centre in the Leddy Library will temporarily disconnect from its ORION connection until restored during the maintenance window.

IT Services anticipates that connectivity will be restored well before the end of the maintenance window at noon.

A special camp for young women that began Wednesday at UWindsor’s School of Creative Arts aims to spark interest in science, technology engineering and math.

Ten Windsor-Essex County students in grades 9 to 12 will be exploring technology and expressing their creativity at the Build a Dream 3D modelling workshop. The three-day camp teaches the young women the basics of creating and editing digital objects and printing them in 3D. At the end of the program, the students get to take their creations home.

“There is a lot of data to show that girls will begin to lose interest in STEM as they get older,” said Nour Hachem-Fawaz, Build a Dream president and founder. “Engaging them with exciting opportunities like these is one of the ways that we can keep them interested, and demonstrate what they can do with tech skills.”

Using 3D printers lets the young women take a project from the idea stage to a finished project. In the process, they learn about the breadth of applications for the technology and related careers. Hachem-Fawaz cites the manufacture of medical devices as an example.

“We really need to start telling the stories of how jobs where women are currently under-represented are not just viable and successful career options for women, but you can also do things that change and help the world around you.

SOCA professor Rod Strickland said the camp combines STEM and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math).

“STEAM is an inclusive approach to learning that encourages students to practise creative problem-solving and communication skills through hands-on, process-driven projects,” he said. “Tomorrow’s innovative thinkers will become the designers and engineers of our technological world.”

─ Sarah Sacheli