With the start of final examinations, Wellness at UWindsor aims to distribute stress-relieving kits to students in need.

The program will place 1,000 Wellness Bags in study areas across campus, says co-ordinator Ashley Vodarek.

“During exams, we are encouraging students to take a break and snag a Wellness Bag, where they will find exam stress relief inside,” she says.

The kits contain small snacks and distracting activities as well as study tips and information on local mental health resources. They are “hidden in plain sight” in 10 locations, with supplies restocked periodically starting today, Dec. 10.

“The idea is to provide a little pick-me-up to combat the pressures students feel during exam season,” Vodarek says.

A map detailing the Wellness bag locations is available on the uwindsor.ca/wellness website.

A UWindsor spirit prize of a free lunch, T-shirts, and buttons is going to Faculty of Law members who participated in the recent Adopt-a-Family campaign.

The Office of Student Experience sponsored the prize to encourage participation in the holiday fundraiser for families served by the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society. The campus community made the holidays brighter for many children in need by donating gifts and groceries for 39 families.

“It’s to celebrate the university and the fact we’re giving back,” Ryan Flannagan, associate vice-president, student experience, told a gathering of department campaign organizers Friday.

Tina Gatt, the society’s manager of community outreach, said the holiday program helps 662 local families, including 1,300 children. UWindsor was one of 330 sponsors across Essex County.

“These are families that really, really need the help,” she said.

One in eight children in Windsor and Essex County are served by the local CAS, said Michael Clark, manager of public relations and fund development for the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Foundation, and the University is one of the largest supporters of the holiday program.

Sabina Howell, who co-ordinated the UWindsor campaign, said she is proud of the participation.

“People are enthusiastic every year,” she said. “We are making a tangible difference in the community.”

—Sarah Sacheli

In the 2018 issue of Windsor Engineering (WE), readers will learn about the Faculty of Engineering’s new, state-of-the-art micronano fabrication clean room, a socially-minded engineering student who is helping young children in India access education, and UWindsor’s incredible alumni — two of whom are the forefront of Canada’s wind energy industry, and another who is using his engineering profession to make a difference locally and worldwide.

WE is distributed annually to alumni, students, faculty, staff, and partners in industry and the community. The latest issue is available on the engineering website.

To receive WE electronically and UWindsor Engineering’s quarterly e-newsletters, join the faculty’s mailing list.

Great research matters, and “how you tell its story is just as important,” says the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

The federal funding agency is sponsoring a contest called The Storytellers. It invites students to explain how their SSHRC-funded research or that of their professors can improve lives.

Students can submit a video, audio, text, or infographic, limited to three minutes or 300 words. The top 25 entries win $3,000 and the chance to compete at the 2019 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in British Columbia in June. The top five contestants at the congress win a trip to the next SSHRC Impact Awards.

Students must be Canadian residents aged 19 or older and must be enrolled at the school where the research is taking place. The deadline to enter is Jan. 15. Go here to learn more about the contest and submit an entry.

Organizers of the 2019 UWill Discover Conference are looking for faculty, staff, and administrators willing and able to review submissions.

The conference, March 18 to 21 at the University of Windsor, will showcase the research that both undergraduate and graduate students have been working on at the University of Windsor.

Submissions come from students in all disciplines and include abstracts, descriptions of original work, and artist statements. All submissions must be less than 300 words; because they are targeted to a very interdisciplinary audience, they should be written in a form that is easily understandable across disciplines.

Following the Jan. 31 submission deadline, evaluators will have two weeks to review the submissions. Organizers promote it as a great opportunity to help integrate students into the world of research and discovery and promote the work they have done.

To volunteer as a reviewer, contact the conference organizers at uwilldiscover@uwindsor.ca.