Partnership and Engagement

The Windsor-Detroit region has an extensive and rich history of cross-border connection, including as a key gateway in the Underground Railroad. 

A pair of events next week highlight the longstanding international ties across the Detroit River and the role this region played in helping formerly enslaved people escape to freedom. 

By Sara Elliott 

Bald eagles circled overhead as more than 50 biodiversity experts, Indigenous knowledge holders and science-policy leaders from around the world gathered at the Caldwell First Nation restoration site in the Carolinian forest of southwestern Ontario. 

The landmark international biodiversity workshop was hosted by the University of Windsor, UNESCO Paris and the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).  

By Sara Elliott 

Dr. Munir Rahim is the first recipient of the Cancer Research Society National Partnership Grant in collaboration with Play for a Cure and WE-SPARK Health Institute.

Rahim, a biomedical scientist and WE-SPARK core principal member, opened his lab in 2019 to study how the immune system responds to cancer. 

By Victor Romao

Turning classroom knowledge into real-world impact is the goal of every graduate — and for third-year electrical engineering student Lucas Pineo, that dream became reality. 

Through a 16-week co-op at Ford Motor Company, Pineo gained hands-on experience that went far beyond textbooks. 

“My experience with Ford was phenomenal,” he said. 

“I was able to meet and work with professionals, which helped me better understand what I want to do in the future.” 

By Victor Romao

From Classroom to Career: How a Co-op at Vistaprint Shaped a Data Analyst’s Future

Turning classroom knowledge into real-world impact is the goal of every graduate—and for University of Windsor alum Akshat Rami (MAC 2025), that dream became reality through an eight-month co-op at Vistaprint, a leading brand architecture that offers design, digital and print solutions for small businesses.

In this role as a data analyst, the experience proved transformative.

By Kate Hargreaves 

When UWindsor Sport Management and Leadership alumna Cailey Theos (MHK ’21) recalls her experience with the program, she describes it as being part of a family. 

From faculty, staff and peers to alumni and internship partners, she says “everybody that works within the program cares so much about everybody’s success. It feels so authentic.” 

By Lindsay Charlton

From the University of Windsor’s Turbulence and Energy Lab to the greenhouse industry, a recent graduate is putting research into practice, tackling efficiency and sustainability challenges.

Kayes Reza (MASc ‘24) joined the team at Under Sun Acres, a Leamington greenhouse operation that uses advanced technology for sustainable solutions, as a cogeneration and heating system operator just weeks after graduation.

By Kate Hargreaves 

For kinesiology professor Chad Sutherland, the phrase “volunteer work” is a misnomer. 

“I don’t really view it as work,” he says. 

“I view it as something everyone should be doing: getting involved and helping in the things that you love to do, whether that’s bringing expertise to an area or offering an extra set of hands. It’s all important, and we need it more than ever right now.” 

By Sara Elliott 

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry hosted Christa Brosseau of Saint Mary’s University as guest speaker for the second annual Ottenbrite Seminar Series, held Friday, Oct. 24.  

Dr. Brosseau shared her insights into next-generation plasmonic sensors, sustainable nanotechnology, point-of-need medical diagnostics and green mining technologies.  

By Kate Hargreaves

When Marc Zhichang Xu visited Windsor for the first time in early 2024, he found his time at the University to be “impressive and inspirational.”

“I was particularly inspired by the Indigenous Spirit on the Turtle Island Walk on the campus,” he says, referencing the Seven Grandfather Teachings represented along the route.

Having since published on the topic of Indigenizing knowledge, Dr. Xu will return to the University of Windsor in early November for two talks in the Faculty of Education.