The Keynote: December 2023

• Registration for the 2024 Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition will open on Friday, January 12, 2024. 3MT® is a university-wide competition for graduate students in which participants present their research and its wider impact in three minutes or less to a panel of non-specialist judges. Visit our website to learn more about this amazing event!
  
  
• Winter 2024 Grad Pro Skills schedule will be coming soon! Registration for our January workshops will be opening soon. Please visit our Grad Pro Skills Workshop page for updates. 

A message from the Dean,

Warm holiday wishes to our dedicated Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows! May this season nurture community, reflection, and excellence. Your research, studies, and contributions to our community are deeply valued, and we look forward to a restful break and a promising New Year ahead.

Theodore Christou

Dean, School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

• Stay up to date on career opportunities and requests for proposals from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. 
  
  
• Graduate students have an opportunity to attend the second annual Queen's-BSIA International Migration and Mobilities Graduate Symposium and submit an abstract for this year's in-person event at the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfred Laurier University. All graduate students are invited, whether preparing to publish their work or just getting started. Learn more. 
  
  
• Attention all graduate students, the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) is hosting the 2023-2024 National Student Paper Competition. Graduate students are encouraged to submit an application which closes on December 15, 2023. To  learn more about this competition and how to apply please visit The National Student Paper Competition (NSPC).
  
  

• Visit our Funding opportunities page to view postdoc funding opportunities and application details.

• Nominations for the Student Leadership Awards deadline is Friday, January 19. These awards acknowledge and celebrate students for their achievements and contributions, and for demonstrating excellence in leadership practices within the Ontario Tech community.

You can nominate a student for a Student Leadership Award in one or more of the following award categories:

• • Accountability (Ethics)
  • Community Building
  • Innovation
  • Respect

Or nominate a student for a President’s Award of Excellence in Student Leadership:

• • The Undergraduate President’s Award
  • The Graduate President’s Award

• Join us at the Carriage Cup on Thursday, January 11 at 7 p.m. as the Ridgebacks take over the Tribute Community Centre! Cheer on the men’s hockey team as they face-off against the York Lions. Proceeds from the event will help raise financial support for the Ontario Tech Student Relief Fund. Get your tickets now! For more information and details about the pre-party at Charles Hall, visit the website.
• Are you interested in meeting students from different cultures? Or looking to improve your English speaking and listening skills? You should attend Conversation Café! You can drop in on Thursdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Shawengijewining Hall, Room 223 for the opportunity to meet other students and learn about other cultures. Learn more on the Conversation Café web page.
• The Career Centre has a variety of workshops that are designed to help students who are job searching, going to work for the first time, or entering a new workplace. Learn more and register for a workshop today!
  
  
• Join us for Ted Talk Tuesdays! Come together with your fellow peers to watch and discuss a variety of Ted Talks on Tuesdays from 2 to 3 p.m. in Shawenjigewining Hall, Room 223. By attending, you’ll be able to:

• Develop academic speaking and listening skills
• Encourage critical thinking and speaking with confidence
• Share ideas and opinions in a friendly and relaxed environment 
  
  
• Afternoons with SEE runs weekly on Tuesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. in Shawenjigewining Hall, Room 210. All students are welcome to drop in and join the Student Engagement and Equity team to hang out, play games, meet others and enjoy refreshments.
  
  
• For the tenth semester, Student Mental Health Services has collaborated with Ontario Shores to offer the Recovery College program. Discover mental health, wellness and your passions with us. We blend lived experiences and professional expertise to empower you in managing challenges and pursuing your dreams. Learn more and register for a journey of hope, empowerment and meaningful connections.
  
  
• The Living Room Community Art Studio has partnered with our university to give you a creative break and enjoy some self-care. The Creative Wellness Hive is a chance for you to make and share art for free! If you see the blue bus on campus, stop by for some well-deserved fun and to learn more about our campus supports and services. Learn more.

• Your Liaison Librarian offers research supports in an array of areas including identifying and searching our wealth of electronic resources, data management strategies and research metrics, to name a few. Graduate and postdoctoral students should book an appointment for assistance.

• We offer support through the publishing cycle from beginning your research, to selecting journals for publication, to long-term preservation of your work. Learn how to deposit and access E-scholar, our institutional repository. Find out how we support open access publishing and article processing charges (APC) discount programs available. Interested in launching a journal? Our journal hosting program can help, and we’ll make sense of the complex predatory publishing landscape.

• Looking for a data set? Not sure how to plan for managing your research data?  We can help! We offer a range of data support services from sourcing and citing data sets to managing, disseminating, and archiving research data. The Library’s Borealis subscription is one way to fulfill the Tri Agency RDM requirements. And we can assist with identifying additional relevant OA repositories for your research.

• Respondus is offering free training webinars in November and December focused on educational technology use in higher education. Topics include proctoring exams with Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, and creating online exams with Respondus 4. Check out the webinar list for the full schedule!
  
  
• Nominations for the Celebrate Teaching! Awards are open until February 23, 2024.
  These awards highlight excellence in teaching, teaching innovation, and educational leadership in the 2023 calendar year (Winter 2023, Spring/Summer 2023, and Fall 2023).
  Full details and nomination instructions are available on the Celebrate Teaching! Awards website

• Always apply for OSAP. Many variables when assessing your OSAP and eligibility to receive funding could change every year. Also, make sure your Winter semester course load matches what's in your OSAP application—if not, this will delay the release of your second semester funding. Make updates with SAFA.