By: N.T., Peak Associate
Key Updates
SFU to launch toboggan rental service
According to an extensive poll, 99.9% of SFU students would like a way to go down Burnaby Mountain when buses stop running due to snowstorms. In preparation for winter 2021–22, SFU Recreation is teaming up with SFU Student Services to create a toboggan rental service. Students are expected to bring their own helmets. Routes might not be properly marked, so please ensure you hire a geographic information science major to lead you down the mountain.
In-person exams have not gotten any better after remote learning
After 417 hours of research, SFU education professor Dr. Erica Test found in-person exams are not perceived to be better by students when compared to online exams. Dr. Test will present her work during the December 25 SFU Chancellor’s Research Symposium together with Dr. Michael Link who is studying the plight of 145 riders during rush hour. Tickets start at $5,000. Light refreshments will be served.
Announcements
Additional COVID-19 precautions
SFU Health and Counselling is teaming up with SFU’s Faculty of Education Professional Development Program staff to rework elementary school hand washing lesson plans for use in a post-secondary institute. All students, staff, and faculty can be expected to participate in a physically distanced hand-washing tutorial session before February 2022. Those who do not pass the hand washing lesson will be paired with an elementary school student who has completed the lesson over the Spring 2022 term to ensure proper compliance with hand-washing technique.
UBC to build another NEST Building in UBC Okanagan
UBC Vancouver NEST building is extraordinarily popular with post-secondary students from all over BC, including many SFU students who used the space to study while waiting for their own SUB to be completed. The university has now started construction of another NEST building in their Kelowna Campus to better ensure space for UBC students. Not to be outdone, SFU has allocated $1.2 million to a preliminary investigation into whether SFU Surrey can support a branch of the Burnaby SUB. The investigation would initially have been completed by August 2022, but has been delayed to be completed by January 2023.
Employment and volunteer opportunities
SFU to build surface lift for students
The SFU mechatronics engineering department is hiring research assistants for a surface t-bar lift project from Surrey Central Skytrain Station to SFU Surrey. A surface lift, normally created for skiers in snow, will pull students along a cable between the two locations. This will test concept design for the eventual SFU Burnaby Mountain gondola. The mechatronics department is looking for new undergraduate students, preferably before their second year, to try the new system since the weight of first year textbooks will be required to test the potency of the t-bar.
Videographer for the SFU Undergraduate Updates wanted
To get a fresh perspective on what truly matters to students, SFU Student Services is hiring an undergraduate student to create videos for student updates. Students should possess extensive experience in movie making and have industry experience in the professional film industry, preferably with names such as Hollywood, Bollywood, or Nollywood. Students with experience creating TikTok shorts will be considered as long as they have more followers than the SFU Instagram account. Please send a resume and a cover letter to ExpertVideography@sfu.ca. Please resend your documents after every two hours if you do not get a reply regarding the job with an email titled: “URGENT!”
