Three reasons to attend Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Days this November

Coming November 15 to 19, 2021 is Western Libraries’ Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Days, giving you the chance to learn about innovative projects from around the world that use geographic information systems – or GIS – to tell the stories of lands, people, contagious diseases, agriculture and more.

Here are three reasons you should register to join this week of free, interactive talks:

• Reason 1: Did you know that GIS surrounds us every day? Whether it’s through Google Maps, ordering pizza for delivery or grabbing an Uber, GIS connects data to a map, integrating location data (where things are) with all kinds of descriptive information (what things are like there).
• Reason 2: GIS provides a foundation for mapping and analysis that’s used in almost every industry. No matter your discipline, there’s likely a GIS application you could build to support or showcase your research or studies.
• Reason 3: No clue about GIS? That's okay! Maps and mapping technology are more accessible now than ever before. Plus there will be a wide range of presentations throughout the week, so everyone from GIS beginners to experts in the field can join in.

Plus there are networking opportunities, a trivia night, and door prizes to win!

Register today for GIS Days at lib.uwo.ca/gisday.

SCHOLARS TO LEADERS SPEAKER SERIES | "Translating your Academic Value for the Industry Job Market" | October 27, 2021

Eric James Stephens, Business Data Analyst, Gaggle and Founder, Hire Higher Ed, will be speaking next Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. with a talk entitled Translating your Academic Value for the Industry Job Market.

DATE: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
TIME: 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Zoom

REGISTER NOW ON ZOOM

About the Talk
If the board of directors of an organization that can make things happen heard your research and wanted you to help fix the problem, would you know what to do? Not, like, "yeah, of course, here's what you'd need to do." If they gave you 6 months and $100,000, would you know what to do with it? If you can't implement your research, they'll thank you for pointing out the problem, and then pay someone else good money to fix it.

How do you translate your value?

At the core of this miscommunication between academia and industry is an ideological difference of value systems. If you want to get a job outside of academia, it is your responsibility to translate your value using industry language. How do you do that? Don't try to convince industry of the worth of academic value. Instead, rediscover your own worth using your audience's language & lingo, then share your story.

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Presenter Bio
Eric James Stephens, PhD is an award-winning, nationally recognized researcher and educator. After graduating from Clemson University with a PhD in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design, he taught university writing. Due to the COVID pandemic, however, he and his wife lost their university jobs, packed everything into a storage unit, and moved their family (them and three kids) across the country to live in his parents' basement where he used his childhood bedroom turned storage unit turned make-shift office to make some plans. From those dark moments of frustration, Eric founded #HireHigherEd, an initiative dedicated to helping other academics transition into industry roles. To his core, Eric believes we are here to help each other. We are pulled into existence in order to help-we have an obligation to do so. His goal is more than a goal-it's an ethical obligation to help people.

REGISTER NOW: Upcoming Workshops with the Centre for Teaching and Learning

Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are invited to register for upcoming workshops from the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

Each of the 90-minute workshops is designed to introduce emerging issues in higher education and to give you practice with essential skills that will serve you in your future professions, both within the university and beyond. You can choose to sign up for just one, or for as many as you like.

Participation in any of these workshops can be counted towards the Western Certificate in University Teaching and Learning. 

Registration for all workshops is available through Western Connect. 

Online Workshops

• The TA’s Role in Responding to Disclosures of Gender-Based Violence Tuesday, October 19, 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon
• Teaching for Inclusion: Trans and Non-Binary* Thursday, October 28, 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon

* This workshop is part of the “Teaching for Inclusion” series, and welcomes staff, faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. Click HERE for more information about Teaching for Inclusion, including registration instructions.

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In-Person Workshops

• Leadership in Wellness Part 1: Cultivating student mental health** Tuesday, October 26, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Leadership in Wellness Part 2: Initiating mental health conversations with your students** Tuesday, October 26, 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
• Rubric Design Wednesday, October 27, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• Alternative Assessment Wednesday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Putting Inclusive Pedagogy into Action** Thursday, October 28,  1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

** Registration for these workshops closes 1 week before the event to allow time for participants to complete pre-work online prior to attending.  

To register, visit our Future Prof Series webpage. 

Equitable Futures: Advancing Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization (EDI-D) in Canadian Academic Life | Friday October 22, 2021

As part of our commitment to advance the conversation on promising practices of EDI-D, both at Western and at universities across Canada, we are hosting a webinar discussion on the urgent need to embed principles, policies, and processes of equity and decolonization to achieve a more inclusive campus culture.

We have invited three dynamic experts to reflect on their experience of leading change at Western:

• Dr. Candace Brunette-Debassige, the former Special Advisor to the Provost on Indigenous Initiatives, was a leader in the development and implementation of Western’s Indigenous Strategic Plan (2017-18) as well as the creation of the Office of Indigenous Initiatives.
• Dr. Nicole Kaniki, the former Special Advisor to the President on Anti-Racism, spearheaded several EDI initiatives at Western and helped to create the new Office of the Associate Vice-President of EDI.
• Dr. Mark Daley, the Special Advisor to the President on Data Strategy, helped to design the data governance policy for the Western Equity Census, the university’s first-ever comprehensive demographic survey.

We have invited all three experts to reflect on their roles as special advisors at Western, and to consider how we can identify and challenge systematic barriers to full participation in our university life. With the launch of the Western Equity Census this month, we will also explore how Western and universities across Canada can use demographic data to transform our institutions for the benefit of students, faculty, and staff.

REGISTER NOW ON ZOOM

An Afternoon with Dr. Christy Bressette | Wednesday, October 20, 2021

As part of our commitment to advance the conversation on promising practices of equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization (EDI-D), Western’s Anti-Racism Webinar Series will welcome a national leader in Indigenous education, Dr. Christy Bressette, who will talk about her vision for advancing Indigenous initiatives at Western and in the Canadian higher education system.

Drawing upon her own lived experience and knowledge as an educator, Dr. Bressette will address the value and importance of creating Indigenous-centred spaces on campus and enhancing education outcomes for learners in the areas of policy, curriculum, and governance.

Dr. Bressette's talk will coincide with the launch of the Western Equity Census, a voluntary campus-wide survey that aims to collect data that can be used to help understand the demographics of the university and to enhance the diversity and equity of the community.  Dr. Bressette will also address how the Census provides the university a means of measuring the effectiveness of EDI-D strategies and to close the gap between policies and practice.

REGISTER NOW ON ZOOM

REGISTER NOW: Mitacs New Curriculum | November/December 2021

Mitacs is launching its new curriculum through its learning management system, EDGE, and would like to invite graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to attend the following online virtual facilitated sessions that will be offered in November and December 2021.

These virtual sessions are free of charge for students.

Our courses are organized in bundles and students must complete the online self-paced e-learning portion of each course before registering for a facilitated session.

For each session, there are 24 seats available.

VIEW THE NEW CURRICULUM

To register, students need to create an account or log in on EDGE.

REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

For any questions, please contact us at training@mitacs.ca.

Western's Graduate and Professional School Fair | October 13-14, 2021

Are you considering continuing your education after graduation? Western's virtual Graduate & Professional School Fair provides an opportunity to explore different educational opportunities, and the chance to speak with recruiters from Canada and abroad.

These institutions represent different programs such as business, finance, engineering, law, medicine, education...and many more!

This event is being held on Wednesday, October 13 & Thursday, October 14, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. EST.

See who’s coming and register NOW!

APPLY NOW: $40,000 Graduate Student Hugh Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship

The Hugh C. Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship, valued at $40,000 (CAD), is open to any graduate student studying in Canada who is working in a field related to earth, geosciences, environment, alternative energy, water, climate change, sustainability, or to the social impact, social sciences or design sciences related to these areas, and is designed to provide a unique experiential travel program designed by the student.

Full details of the Fellowship opportunity can be found at the Kimberley Foundation website at https://kimberley-foundation.org/hugh-morris-fellowship/.

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An information Webinar about the Fellowship will be held on Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 9:00 am PST. Registration for the webinar is available at: https://kimberley-foundation.org/hugh-morris-fellowship/webinar-registration/

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Fellowship application forms are available on our website. The deadline for receipt of online applications is 11:59 pm PST on February 15, 2022.

You can also learn about the amazing fellowship journeys currently unfolded and previously supported on our website at https://kimberley-foundation.org/hugh-morris-fellowship/recipients-2/.

The Kimberley Foundation is a national charitable not-for-profit organization registered in the Province of British Columbia whose aim to is to support unique, self-directed learning experiences that will help change the world.

For more information, please contact info@kimberley-foundation.org.

SOCIOLOGY COLLOQUIUM: Black-White Differences in the Link Between Offspring Social Mobility and Parents' Cognitive Health

DATE: Friday, October 29, 2021
TIME: 11:00 a.m. - 12 noon
LOCATION: Please email socevent@uwo.ca for the Zoom link

Jenjira J. Yahirun is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Bowling Green State University. Her work examines how the family, as an institution, contributes to social inequality. This work investigates three major themes: 1) how families shape individual health outcomes, 2) how increasing family complexity and diversity challenge the kinship safety net, and 3) how migration affects ties to kin. A cross-cutting theme in this work is that gender, race/ethnicity, and social class stratify access to a variety of resources, with implications for how the “linked lives” of family members contributes to disparities in health and well-being.

In this presentation, Dr. Yahirun will discuss her research into whether offspring educational mobility is tied to parents’ dementia onset and whether these associations vary for Black vs. White parents in the United States. Research documents the positive health benefits that stem from having highly-educated adult children. Yet we know less about whether the effects of offspring education vary by the process through which that education is attained and whether these associations vary across racial groups. Using data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (2000-2012), this research examines generationally advantaged/disadvantaged parents and their risk of dementia onset, as well how this is connected to a racial gap in dementia onset.

We would love to see you all there! All disciplines welcome.

Contact socevent@uwo.ca if you require information in an alternate format, or if any other arrangements can make these events accessible to you.

Overwhelmed with your graduate studies? We can help!

If you’re a graduate student, during fall 2021, you can drop in every week to get some support in planning your upcoming tasks or ask your learning-related questions.

Sessions take place on Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 pm (excluding November 5).

Click HERE to enter the grad drop-in sessions.

Find out more about us at Learning Development & Success.