Venue

The workshop will take place at the UW conference center, located on Ron Eydt Village on the University of Waterloo. For a map of the campus see http://www.uwaterloo.ca/map/index.php. See here for a Google maps location.

Visa requirements

For information on specific visa and entry requirements to Canada, please see Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.

About the Region of Waterloo

The urban municipalities of Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge - sometimes referred to as the tri-cities - form the core of Waterloo Region. The City of Waterloo is a twin city with the City of Kitchener and the area is often referred to as Kitchener-Waterloo.

The Waterloo region is located relatively close to Toronto (a 90 minutes drive from the University to downtown Toronto). Also, the Niagara Falls/Buffalo area is within an approximately 2 hours drive from the university.

For information of things to do/see in the Waterloo area, please see http://www.explorewaterlooregion.com/. For information of things to do/see in Toronto, please see http://www.seetorontonow.com/.

Directions to the University of Waterloo.

Flights:

Most flights to the area land in the Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). The airport is located approximately 100km north east of Waterloo.

The other option is the local airport: Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF), but it has only limited direct flight access.

From Toronto Pearson International Airport to Waterloo

There is a shuttle service from the Toronto airport to Waterloo from Airways Transit. This company offers two services
  • The Airporter Bus Service is $54 per adult and it will drop you off the University of Waterloo Student Life Centre (SLC) and a small selection of hotels in the area. This service does not run on Saturdays or Holidays. On Sundays, the bus service only runs in the afternoon and early evening. The bus service picks up at SLC and the same select hotels according to their schedule which is available on their website. Please see http://www.airwaystransit.com/airporter.shtml for further information or contact Airways Transit directly.
  • The Door to Door Shuttle is $83 per adult (with discounts for additional people if reservation is made together). This service will take you directly from Pearson Airport to your chosen destination. See http://www.airwaystransit.com/schedules.shtml for Rate Schedule.

Via bus or train:

Toronto is the main transportation hub for Waterloo meaning that most buses and trains pass through Toronto.

Buses

Greyhound has multiple trips to/from Toronto. Most buses arrive at the Bus Terminal in Kitchener, however, some buses do come to the University of Waterloo. When searching on the website, search "Kitchener" and "Waterloo University" to give you a range of available buses. Depending on the chosen route, it can take between 90 mins to 2 hours from Toronto.

From the bus terminal in Kitchener (located at 15 Charles Street West), you may take a local bus called Grand River Transit to come directly to campus. Many buses run from Kitchener to the University of Waterloo's campus such as the iExpress, 7D, 7E, 8 and 12. The cost of the bus fare is $2.50.

Trains

Viarail has a few services each day from Toronto and connects to Amtrak. The closest train station to the university is in Kitchener at 126 Weber St. West. The two options to get to the university's campus would be to take a taxi or to get the 7D or 7E city bus. To take the bus, walk south west on Breithaupt Street towards Duke Street West. Turn left at Moore Avenue and you will be on King Street West. The walk should take you between 5-10 minutes.

Driving:

If crossing the border from the United States, there are a number of border crossing points available. For border crossing information and border wait times check the web site http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html.

If crossing the border in Detroit-Windsor travel east on Highway 401 to Highway 8 North (Exit 278B), and then follow the local directions below.

If crossing the border in Sarnia-Port Huron travel east on Highway 402 until it joins Highway 401 East and follow 401 East to Highway 8 North exit (Exit 278B). Then follow the local directions below.

If crossing the border in the Niagara Fall and Queenston follow Highway 403 West to the junction of Highway 6 North towards Guelph, turn north and proceed to Highway 401. Turn onto Highway 401 West and proceed to the Highway 8 North exit (Exit 278). Then follow the local directions below.

If driving from the Toronto area, follow Highway 401 West to the Highway 8 North exit (Exit 278), then follow the local directions below.

Copies of the official Ontario road map are available at various information centres or online in pdf format at http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/map/southindexpdf.shtml.

Local Directions

UW's main campus is located in the twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo in southwestern Ontario, about 90 minutes drive west of Toronto or three hours east of Windsor-Detroit. From east or west, follow highway 401 to exit 278, highway 8 West and proceed as below.
  • Follow 8 West to 7 East (an expressway called the Conestoga Parkway). Be sure to take the exit for 7 East, not 7 West.
  • Keep left; do not exit on 7 East (Victoria Street and Guelph). Expressway becomes 85 North (formerly 86).
  • Exit at University Avenue West and drive about 2 miles (3 km).
  • Turn at the Main Campus Entrance off University Avenue and follow red and white Conference Centre signs. The Conference Centre is located in Ron Eydt Village which is off of Ring Road
  • Turn at FED Hall turn onto Ring Road following the sign reading Conference Centre
  • Turn left at the Conference Centre sign
  • Drive past the Tutor Houses and turn right into the Ron Eydt Village cul-du-sac See Front Desk for a complimentary parking pass for Lot S or V
GPS Location for the Conference Centre: N 43 deg 28.206; W 80 deg 32.214



Program committee

Shabbir Ahmed
(GeorgiaTech)
Ricardo Fukasawa
(University of Waterloo)
Ted Ralphs
(Lehigh University)
Juan-Pablo Vielma
(University of Pittsburgh)
Giacomo Zambelli
(London School of Economics)

Contact: mip2011@uwaterloo.ca

Local committee

Samir Elhedhli
(University of Waterloo)
Ricardo Fukasawa
(University of Waterloo)