APPLY NOW: Introduction to Machine Learning for Black and Indigenous Students

Vector Institute is committed to developing programming for Black and Indigenous students to build research and expand career pathways in AI for historically underrepresented groups.

This year, Vector is pleased to announce the launch of a new machine learning course and AI internship to accelerate and expand access to knowledge of AI to Black and Indigenous students in Canada. The programming provides relevant, hands-on learning and work experience in machine learning and AI. It is designed to meet the criteria of Special Programs in line with the values of the Ontario Human Rights Code to assist underrepresented groups to achieve equal opportunity in the field of AI.

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To be eligible, a student must be:

• a self-identified Black or Indigenous student (Indigenous ancestry or heritage – First Nations (status or non-status), Métis or Inuit);
• in second year or higher, studying at a Canadian university or college;
• studying in a STEM program (Science, Technology/Computer Science, Engineering, Math) or adjacent disciplines such as Business, Economics or Life Sciences at the undergraduate, master’s or PhD level;
• have some coding experience, ideally with Python.
• have taken statistics and are comfortable with math; and
• commitment to completing coursework on a weekly basis and participating in class.

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The deadline is December 15, 2021 to apply for this course.

Have Someone to Help? Families and the Unmet Need for Help in Later Life

DATE: Friday, December 3, 2021
TIME: 11:00 a.m.
LOCATION: A virtual event on Zoom, please email socevent@uwo.ca for the Zoom link

Dr. Huijing Wu is a demographer and sociologist who studies important family trends among older adults. She is currently a postdoc in the Department of Sociology at Western.

Families are now increasingly diverse which can mean new challenges with caregiving in older adulthood. Since spouses and children are the primary caregivers supporting older adults, who will care for older adults without close kin? Dr. Wu’s current research examines how prevalent it is for older adults to lack help with personal care, and what predicts lacking help among those who need it. She is examining these questions using survey data from around the world.

Graduate students from all disciplines are welcome to join us for this virtual brown bag. We would love to see you all there! Please RSVP to socevent@uwo.ca.

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

REGISTER NOW: Building a Research Program in Indigenous Arthritis Conditions | December 2, 2021

Join us for this Workshop hosted by BJI’s Get Everyone Started – Indigenous Training Initiative (GEt’S-IT) Program featuring Dr. Cheryl Barnabe - University of Calgary.

Experiences and Learnings from Building a Research Program in Indigenous Arthritis Conditions

DATE: Thursday, December 2, 2021
TIME: 12 noon - 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Zoom, register for link

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Cheryl Barnabe is a Métis rheumatologist with a graduate degree in Clinical Epidemiology and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. She is the Chair of the Quality Care Committee for the Canadian Rheumatology Association and is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Indigenous Health Advisory Committee. 

During this workshop, Cheryl will share information about how to build an authentic Indigenous Research Program with meaningful research partnerships between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous collaborators. She will describe some of her research projects to highlight key principles, participatory and community-based research approaches, and the importance of knowledge translation for policy impact. Participants will be encouraged to reflect and share during facilitated breakout sessions focused on how individuals can Take Action as they explore their own personal research interest.

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Shalwar Kameez Walk Success!

Over 150 people attended the Shalwar Kameez Walk on Western main campus on November 12, 2021.

Powerful speeches were made by Dr. Fatimah Jackson-Best (Course Director and York University) and Dr. Opiyo Oloya (Associate Vice-President, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion). They shared words outlining the severity of islamophobia across Canada, and empowering Muslims and allies to stand together against a problem that "[Muslims] did not cause." - Dr. Oloya.

The walk began promptly following Drs. Jackson-Best and Oloya's speeches. Participants marched twice around campus, holding signs and chanting. Following the walk, participants heard from Sadaf Mehrabi (a PhD student in Engineering) and Zamir Fakirani (President of USC). Zamir ended the speaker series with a crucial call to action, urging politicians to pass the Our London Family act, which includes making changes to educational systems so children can better understand Islamophobia, dismantling white supremacist groups in the province by preventing them from registering as societies, forming a provincial hate-crimes accountability unit that would investigate failures in fighting hate incidents, and hiring more minorities in the public service.

LISTEN TO THE CBC COVERAGE

READ THE CBC STORY

READ THE WESTERN GAZETTE STORY

VIEW THE VIDEO COMPILATION

Opportunity for Graduate Students | Under the Tent

Under the Tent:
An Open Call to Graduate Students

CERC in Migration and Integration has launched a new project, Under the Tent, and is once again inviting graduate students from across Canada.

Under the Tent is a multimedia storytelling project that explores the sense of belonging or not belonging under the tent of Canadian multiculturalism – a 50-year legacy of government policy that was intended to recognize the nation’s racial and cultural diversity, and promote the inclusive and equal participation of all Canadians. Multiculturalism has brought enthusiasm as well as disappointment, equity and inequality, and community and exclusion, especially around Indigenous reconciliation and decolonization.

Under the Tent, the next iteration of the inaugural i am project, invites selected participants to reflect on individual and collective experiences with multiculturalism and to propose contributions towards its future possibilities. It is a multimedia space that invites participants to produce creative works that express criticisms and new thinking. Under the Tent is intended to unpack and reframe multiculturalism through a creative lens.

Under the Tent is led by Cyrus Sundar Singh and Anna Triandafyllidou, from the CERC Migration lab. The project begins in January 2022 and will end in June 2022.

For more information about this opportunity, please visit the following event page.

Opportunity for PhD graduates to contribute to science policy in Canada

Help solve public policy challenges in Canada.

The Canadian Science Policy Fellowship (CSPF) is now accepting applications from prospective fellows interested in undertaking a year-long policy position with a Canadian government host office beginning in September 2022.

Eligible applicants must:

• Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident*
• Hold a PhD in any academic discipline at the start of the fellowship
• Participate full-time in a 12-month fellowship with the host office
• Secure accommodation in the host city, and relocate to their host office as needed
• Negotiate a leave of absence from their current employer, as applicable
• Meet any additional requirements of their hosts, including (but not limited to) security clearance requirements

The 2022 cohort of fellowships will begin in September 2022. Approved fellows receive remuneration from their host offices as well as professional development training and networking events facilitated by Mitacs.

Applications will be accepted until February 2, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. PT.

At this time, the intention is that the CSPF program will be carried out in person, but COVID-19 restrictions could result in a virtual placement. For more information, please visit the Canadian Science Policy Fellowship page or contact policyfellowship@mitacs.ca.

SCHOLARS TO LEADERS SPEAKER SERIES | "Writing and Well-being" | November 24, 2021

Professor Helen Sword, from The University of Auckland, New Zealand, will be speaking next Wednesday, November 24, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. with a talk entitled Writing and Well-being.

DATE: Wednesday, November 24, 2021
TIME: 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Zoom

REGISTER NOW ON ZOOM

About the Talk
Are the pressures of productivity, perfectionism, and the pandemic taking a toll on your health and well-being? In this one-hour workshop, international writing expert Helen Sword will draw on findings from her current book project – a study of the social, physical, aesthetic, creative, and emotional dimensions of academic writing – to show how you can write your way into a more pleasurable, fulfilling, and life-affirming “SPACE of Writing.”

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Presenter Bio
Professor Helen Sword is scholar, poet and master teacher whose books on writing and writers include Stylish Academic Writing (Harvard 2012), The Writer's Diet (Chicago 2016), Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write (Harvard 2017) and Writing with Pleasure (forthcoming from Princeton UP in 2022). She is a Professor of Humanities at the University of Auckland and the recipient of several major research and teaching awards.  Professor Sword has facilitated writing workshops at more than 100 universities, conferences, and research institutes on every continent except Antarctica. See her website (www.helensword.com) for links to resources including books, workshops, retreats, free videos, innovative editing tools and the WriteSPACE, an international writing community with members in 30+ countries.

PhDs: Launch your career at full speed with an internship

If you’re a current a doctoral student or doctoral candidate, consider exploring challenges beyond your degree program by enrolling in the Graduate Student Internship Program (GSIP).

Your advanced skills in communication, collaboration, and problem solving are incredibly valuable to employers looking to hire Western graduate students. Internships are meaningful, full-time, paid work experiences, where you can connect theory with practice, build your network, and lay the foundation to launch your career at full speed!

The Graduate Student Internship Program is for all Western doctoral students in programs that do not include a mandatory internship, co-op, practicum, or placement component. Internships are four, eight, or 12 months long, and ideally start at the beginning of any academic term.

To be eligible to participate, you must be registered as a part- or full-time PhD student at the time of application. You must also be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. International students are not eligible to participate at this time.  Finally, we ask that you confirm with your thesis supervisor or graduate chair that you are in good academic standing and meet the graduate program conditions for progression toward your degree. Support from supervisors is essential as you’ll be required to take a leave of absence from your studies.

Learn more about the program: http://hirephd.uwo.ca/students

Sign up for the program through Western Connect: https://connect.uwo.ca/

Questions? Send us a note to hirewesternu@uwo.ca.

SURVIVING and THRIVING in Graduate School

Do you find yourself constantly doing research or coursework? Or when you're not, are you thinking that you should be doing research or coursework? Do you have difficulty with work-life balance? Do you feel isolated and lonely during your graduate school experience?

If any of these experiences sound familiar then come and join us for an hour-long workshop about surviving and thriving in graduate school.

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Register on Western Connect:

• December 1 from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
• December 2 from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.  

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APPLY NOW: Weston Family Awards in Northern Research

We are pleased to announce the launch of the 2022-2023 competition for the Weston Family Awards in Northern Research.

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Funded by the Weston Family Foundation, this prestigious awards program supports outstanding students pursuing research in Canada’s North as part of a master’s degree, doctoral degree or postdoctoral fellowship.

This year, the Weston Family Foundation will be supporting:

• Up to 15 awards for master’s students valued at $15,000 over one year
• Up to 10 awards for doctoral students valued at $50,000 over two years
• Up to 4 awards for postdoctoral fellows valued at $100,000 over two years, in addition to up to $10,000 per year for travel and conference expenses

APPLY NOW
The deadline to apply is January 27, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. ET.