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This article originally appeared in the  of the Daily Bulletin.

First things first: congratulations to our students who have just finished the Winter 2014 academic term, and to all faculty and staff for making it possible.

I wish each and every one of you the best as you head into a co-op job, a spring-time academic term, or other opportunities. And of course, a special congratulations to all students who have just completed their degrees from the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ. I’ll see you in June!

April has been an outstanding month – I could not be more energized by the path our university is on, thanks to your hard work and commitment.

This month started off with a meeting of the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ’s board of governors. We had an excellent discussion about Strategic Plan implementation, as well as other items pertaining to university governance. As always, our board provided excellent feedback, suggestions, and comments that will continue to inform and support our work.

Like us, our governors know that experiential learning is critical to the university’s reputation and its appeal to incoming students.  In that spirit, I was thrilled to help celebrate our incredible “co-op students of the year” this month.

The six honorees joined me and special guest Steven Woods, Engineering Director of Google Canada and a great friend of the university, for a luncheon in their honour in our boardroom at Needles Hall.

Check out  for photos.

On the 14^th and 15^th, our university hosted the second annual , a “networking and ideation platform” for some of the world’s most inspiring thinkers, entrepreneurs, and innovators.

Owning the theme of innovation is critical to ��ݮ��Ƶ’s reputation, and more importantly, it’s just who we are. This summit was an excellent instrument for keeping ��ݮ��Ƶ on the leading edge of the innovation agenda in Canada and beyond. Congratulations to all organizers, panelists, discussants, and contributors on a job very well done.

April also saw ��ݮ��Ƶ exercise a leadership role in innovation and education far beyond the confines of main campus.

I joined ��ݮ��Ƶ alumni, senior colleagues, and special guests in launching our Vancouver Alumni Chapter, bringing our total number of alumni chapters to 10 world-wide. Our alumni are key members of the ��ݮ��Ƶ family, and it was wonderful to see them come together to hoist the ��ݮ��Ƶ flag in one of Canada’s greatest cities.

On April 16, the , which I serve as vice-chair on behalf of the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, released its Equinox Blueprint: Learning 2030 report at the World Literacy Summit held in the United Kingdom. challenges the global education community to re-think secondary education, and re-tool it for success in the 21^st������Գٳܰ���.

We should all be immensely proud that the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ is exercising significant thought leadership in the broader education dialogue around the world. As a leader in education and innovation, our involvement in Learning 2030 is an excellent symbol of our capacity for global sectoral leadership.

Last but by no means least, I am presently in China building institutional relationships between the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and some of the most prestigious and elite academic institutions in this country, including Tianjin University, Soochow University, Nanjing University and Tsinghua University.

This work builds on our Strategic Plan’s internationalization strategy of sustaining “global prominence” for ��ݮ��Ƶ and ensuring our cadre of partnerships is truly top tier.

��ݮ��Ƶ’s ongoing success is possible only because you make it so, in your own unique way, every day and every month.

Thank you for all your effort over the Winter term, and best of luck for the Spring.

As always, I warmly welcome your feedback and comments on these updates to president@uwaterloo.ca. I can’t promise I’ll be able to respond to every message, but I will read every single one!

Sincerely,

Feridun