REGISTER NOW: Dissertation Writers' Retreat In-Person or Online | July 10-11, 2023

Dissertation Writers' Retreats are designed to provide Western PhD candidates with dedicated time for intensive writing. Participating in the Retreat can help you make significant progress in writing your dissertation and help establish good writing habits.

DATE: July 10-11, 2023
TIME: 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: In-person and online. Please indicate how you will attend upon registration. (Lunch and refreshments for in-person attendees -- space is limited!)

The Retreat is an opportunity for participants to remove themselves from daily distractions and time demands to focus exclusively on dissertation writing. As well as dedicated writing time, there will be short check-in mini-seminars and support from expert writing advisors.

The Dissertation Writers' Retreat is specifically for writing your dissertation. Participants can register from the Own Your Future calendar on Western Connect.

REGISTER NOW!

Contact Doug Campbell [email protected] or Julie Jonkhans [email protected] if you have questions or need additional information.

INSPIRING MINDS | Jill Dombroski, PhD candidate, Faculty of Education

Inspiring Minds seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Students were challenged to describe their research, scholarship or creative activity in 150 or fewer words to share with our community.

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Jill Dombroski
PhD candidate, Faculty of Education

Good Grief – Supporting students’ losses in the classroom: Professional development of death and dying education

A teacher may notice a student’s behaviour change in their classroom before learning about a loss a student is experiencing. There are two losses to consider: death loss and non-death loss, and both may be similar in the emotion and demonstration of grief. Teachers could be first responders and the first to have those vulnerable conversations. Supporting students’ losses can be challenging in the classroom. Still, the necessity of learning and recognizing awareness of those losses will help create strategies for teachers and students within a positive learning environment. My research is to provide these educators with critical approaches to support students who experience loss, especially when grief presents differently to individuals.

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Show Your Pride | Western Campus Events - July 2023

This year's Pride activities will be held on campus and virtually, alongside the London Pride Festival scheduled from July 13-23, 2023.

Highlights:

July 5, 11 am - 2 pm
PRIDE - Out at the Beach (In-Person) - http://www.events.westernu.ca/events/edi/2023-07/pride-out-at-the-beach.html

July 12, 1 pm - 4 pm
Creating & Supporting Inclusive Spaces with The519 (Virtual) - http://www.events.westernu.ca/events/edi/2023-07/creating-supporting-inclusive-spaces.html 

July 14, 12 noon - 1:15 pm
Colourful Histories Exploring Local Queer & Trans Movements (Virtual) - http://www.events.westernu.ca/events/edi/2023-07/colourful-histories.html

July 19, 12 noon - 1 pm
Improving the Campus Climate for 2SLGBTQIA+ Individuals w/ Dr. Michael Godfrey (Virtual) - http://www.events.westernu.ca/events/edi/2023-07/improving-the-campus-climate.html

July 23, 12 noon start
London Pride Parade (In-Person) - http://www.events.westernu.ca/events/edi/2023-07/london-pride-parade.html 

July 26, 12 noon - 1 pm
Vibrant Workplaces: Empowering 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities (Virtual) - http://www.events.westernu.ca/events/edi/2023-07/vibrant-workplaces.html

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All activities and resources can be found here:  https://www.uwo.ca/faculty_staff/pride.html.

CBC | Western graduates look to the future

CBC
June 18, 2023

Graduates are excited to finally have their diploma but would like to find jobs in their respective industries.

Thousands of graduating student poured out of Alumni Hall on Western University campus on Friday after convocation celebrations concluded, seeking friends and family for pictures and heartfelt congratulations.

Featuring Western graduate student alumni Alexandria Ratzki-Leewing, PhD, Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Hector Hernandez-Landero, PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Purvish Acharya, MEng, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Alejandra Naranjo, MEng, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; and Andrew Bowman, MSc, Microbiology and Immunology.

READ THE STORY

INSPIRING MINDS | Varsha Vasudevan, MSc candidate, Faculty of Health Sciences

Inspiring Minds seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Students were challenged to describe their research, scholarship or creative activity in 150 or fewer words to share with our community.

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Varsha Vasudevan
MSc candidate, Faculty of Health Sciences

MindMAP: The Influences of the Mindfulness Ambassador Program on Graduate Students

Canada’s graduate students face numerous demands. The Mindfulness Ambassador Program (MAP) uses an evidence-based, holistic curriculum that teaches mindfulness strategies to promote well-being. Stress is often central to graduate students’ experiences, which can negatively impact their well-being, self-awareness, and interpersonal relationships. However, to date, no formal research has been conducted using the MAP for graduate students. My research will: 1) qualitatively explore graduate students’ perspectives of the MAP’s influence on their experiences of stress and their relationships with themselves and meaningful others; and 2) quantitatively assess if MAP participation elicits changes in graduate students’ levels of stress, self awareness, and/or interpersonal skills. Twelve graduate students will participate in a Zoom-based, six-week MAP. I will be collecting data at two time points (baseline and immediate post-intervention), and then use thematic analysis and paired t-tests to evaluate the data. Findings will help determine the applicability and potential of the MAP for graduate students.

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JOB POSTING: Manager, AI Hub | Durham College

Durham College is seeking applications for the position of Manager, AI Hub, from qualified individuals with related industry experience to lead the growth and expansion of applied research for the AI Hub.

Salary: $77,520 - $96,900
Location: Oshawa
Position type: Full-Time/Regular

Reporting to dean of the Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE) and working in collaboration with academic and research leaders, the incumbent will be responsible for management, business development, stakeholder relationship management, supervision of core staff, and reporting to external funders. The AI Hub Manager will be responsible for developing annual marketing and outreach plans based on trend analysis and data. The AI Hub manager will be accountable for monitoring and achieving key metrics as required by the college and external funders.

LEARN MORE AND APPLY NOW!
Deadline:  June 22, 2023

INSPIRING MINDS | Amala Poli, PhD candidate, Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Inspiring Minds seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Students were challenged to describe their research, scholarship or creative activity in 150 or fewer words to share with our community.

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Amala Poli
PhD candidate, Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Confounding Sleep: Narrative as Evidence in Sleep Paralysis

Just as you are about to fall asleep, a menacing presence enters your room.
You try to scream, but no sound escapes you.
You are stuck in terror, unable to move a muscle. Your eyes are locked, watching as it edges closer.
You muster a final surge of energy to escape — now free, you’re unsure if you were just dreaming.

This experience of vivid, realistic hallucinations that occur in the twilight state between waking and sleeping is called sleep paralysis. Roughly one in three people experience a form of sleep paralysis at some point in their lives. Scientific description of this phenomenon remains elusive. However, we can begin to decipher the traumatic and gripping affect through literary and visual culture. By proposing a health humanities model that illustrates narrative as a necessary form of evidence, I examine how science and literature are mutually transformative in investigating and demystifying sleep paralysis.

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INSPIRING MINDS | Yilong Li, MSc candidate, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry

Inspiring Minds seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Students were challenged to describe their research, scholarship or creative activity in 150 or fewer words to share with our community. 

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Yilong Li
MSc candidate, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry

How do the kidneys repair themselves?

Kidneys are among the most complex organs in the human body. Each kidney is made up of a million tube-like filters called nephrons that filter over 150 liters of blood per day! The complex architecture of the kidney enables most of the filtered water and substances to be recycled while excreting those in excess as urine. However, the kidneys are injured commonly, and this can be extremely messy. Imagine having millions of USB cables tangled up in your wallet, and you have to find the one that is broken. Luckily, kidney cells have a remarkable capacity to repair themselves by quickly removing any damaged cells. To study this important function, we simulated the injury state and identified signalling switches that can potentially regulate this process in kidney cells. Our knowledge will help you better understand the self-repairing function of the kidneys and potentially lead to novel therapeutics for kidney injuries.

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APPLY NOW! Black Education Fund Scholarship 2023

The Black Education Fund is ow accepting applications for scholarships.

Thanks to a supportive partnership with Kindred Foundation and other generous donors, this year we are pleased to announce the addition of six NEW Roster Scholarship awards!

Of those scholarships, two will be given to Black students who identify as members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and four will be awarded specifically to students studying in the area(s) of mental health, health sciences, or sciences.

There will also be five (5) one-time bursaries awarded to selected applicants.

LEARN MORE AND APPLY NOW!

JOB POSTING: Commercialization Specialist | Durham College - Extended Deadline

WORLDiscoveries' collaborator, The Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE) at Durham College, is seeking a qualified individual to take on the role of piloting commercialization services for applied research clients within a college environment.

This is a temporary administrative contract that end in March 2024.

As the commercialization services pilot lead, you will work closely with the Dean of Research Services to provide IP education, client advising, and harness publicly funded IP for the benefit of Ontario. This position offers a unique opportunity to drive innovation and facilitate the successful transition of applied research into commercial ventures.

LEARN MORE AND APPLY NOW!