Dr. Aydin Behnad wins Postdoctoral Fellow of the Year Award

Electrical and Computer Engineering’s (ECE), Dr. Aydin Behnad, is the recipient of the 2015 Postdoctoral Fellow of the Year Award.

The Postdoctoral Fellow of the Year Award is presented to a postdoctoral fellow who has shown exceptional commitment and potential as an emerging scientist. Recipients should stand out among their peers for excellence displayed in research, leadership, service, outreach and teaching.

The award was presented at the Postdoctoral Research Forum held at Western on May 7.

Congratulations, Aydin!

3MT Canada’s Choice - Please Vote for Western’s own, Jenna Butler!

Western’s own, Jenna Butler, PhD candidate in the Faculty of Science, has progressed to the 2015 national 3MT (Three-Minute Thesis) competition with her presentation Computing a Cure for Cancer.

She is one of the top five participants from Ontario, and one of the top 11 participants competing for the top prize from across Canada.

We invite you to please take just three minutes to watch Jenna’s presentation, and cast your People’s Choice vote for her to win this honour. Anyone can vote, so please share this link with your family and friends.

Voting closes at 12 noon on Monday, May 25, so don’t delay!

I’m Ready to Vote for Jenna!

Natural Resources Canada launches NEW Postdoctoral Research Program

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is excited to announce the launch of the new Postdoctoral Research Program (PRP)!

The PRP marks a brand new career opportunity for scientists who have recently obtained or are pursuing a doctoral degree in a field of natural sciences.

Western University’s graduate students and alumni can apply to work with NRCan, an established leader in science and technology. As innovators in the fields of energy, forests, minerals and metals, and earth sciences, NRCan proudly conducts research in state-of-the-art facilities and laboratories across the nation.

With positions located across Canada, the PRP makes it possible for your students and alumni to learn from federal research scientists within these facilities! In turn, the Government of Canada benefits from new and emerging talent.

NRCan is creating an inventory of candidates that can be accessed by several organizations over the next few years to staff one-year term positions.

I Want to Apply to this Pilot Program

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Registration for Teaching Support Centre programming in June now open!

Join the TA Training Program on June 15-17

TATP is a free, two-and-a-half day workshop open to all graduate students that offers both instruction and practical training on effective teaching. We cover building lessons, providing feedback, best practices for marking, leading discussions, dealing with challenging situations, and more.

Participants have the opportunity to practice teaching and receive feedback on their lessons.

I Want to Register for TA Training

Register for the Advanced Teaching Program (June 5, 12, 19 & 26)

ATP is a free, 18-hour workshop spread over four days that supports graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in developing the practical skills necessary to teaching their own courses. Participants must have at least two semesters of teaching experience (as TAs or course instructors).

In ATP, we explore lesson design, student engagement, and student assessment in-depth. Participants deliver mini-lessons, receive feedback on their teaching, and prepare workshop proposals that meet teaching and learning gaps in their home disciplines.

I Want to Register for the Advanced Teaching Program

Celebrating the Postdoctoral Research Forum

The 2015 Postdoctoral Research Forum was held in the Great Hall, Somerville House, on May 7. The event was hosted by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) and the Postdoctoral Association at Western (PAW).

Over 60 postdoctoral scholars took part in a day-long agenda that covered a wide range of topics:

• Research Integrity Workshop with Theresa Russelo and Grace Kelly from Research Western
• Leadership Skills for Postdocs Workshop with Dr. Mary Crossan from the Ivey Business School
• A Keynote Address by Dr. Damian Cruse from the Department of Psychology
• Strategies for Effective Grant Writing with Dr. Gregory Kopp (Associate Dean, Engineering); Dr. Margaret McGlynn (Assistant Dean, Social Science); Dr. Andrew Watson (Associate Dean Research, Schulich); adn Laura Moxey, Western Grants Officer.

The forum also included the 3 Minute Research (3MR) Competition that saw 15 postdocs compete for cash prizes.

The winners were:

• 1st Place: Lauren Solomon (Microbiology and Immunology)
• 2nd Place: Nina Weishaupt (Anatomy and Cell Biology)
• 3rd Place: Tobias Morat (Kinesiology)

The forum concluded with the granting of a number of awards:

• Supervisor of the Year Award: Dr. Daniel Ansari, Professor in Psychology and Brain and Mind Institute
• Administrative Excellence Award: Helen Kerr, School of Occupational Therapy’s Administrative Assistant
• Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year Award: Dr. Aydin Behnad, Electrical and Computer Engineering

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Workshops for International Postdocs: Summer 2015 Schedule

PLEASE NOTE: All sessions listed below fulfill credit requirements for the Western Certificate in Academic & Professional Communication.

Language of Advanced Discussions
May 19 – June 2
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Articulating your opinion successfully requires a familiarity with patterns of reasoning and persuasion in English. In this class, you will learn the language for debating, managing class discussions, and articulating your opinion.

Netiquette: Professional Communication
July 8
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Join us in this session to enhance your employability skills and learn to communicate effectively in the Canadian workplace. Particular attention will be paid to Canadian email-writing conventions through case studies.

Language of Teaching in STEM
July 13 – 22  
3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Designed for graduate students who lead tutorials and labs in engineering and the sciences, this workshop provides TAs with an opportunity to practice describing assignments, defining concepts, explaining lab activities, and answering student questions clearly and concisely. Participants will receive individual coaching and an opportunity to practice their communication skills in each class and receive a handout with commonly used phrases and sentence openers for each assignment.

Language of Difficult Conversations
August 11 – April 14
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
The skills required to engage in difficult discussions and resolve conflict are crucial to success in your academic and professional lives. In this workshop, you will learn how to articulate your position appropriately to achieve positive outcomes and enhance relationships.

Public Speaking: Giving Effective Presentations
August 24
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Whether it’s giving a research seminar in class, teaching a group of undergraduates, or presenting at a major conference in your field, mastering the art of public speaking is essential to your success as a graduate student. Join us in this session to learn strategies to effectively structure and deliver your message for academic audiences.

Graduate Law Students' Conference -- Law: Helping Hand or Iron Fist?

Law: Helping Hand or Iron Fist

Hosted by Western's Graduate Law Students' Association and the Faculty of Law
May 21-22, 2015

Panels include:

• Environment and the Law
• Gender and Reproductive Rights
• History and the Law
• Religious and Cultural Freedoms
• Exercise of State Power

I Want to Attend this Conference

Come to Ivey and Watch 3MT Ontario 2015 on Thursday, April 23

3MT Ontario 2015 is coming!

Everyone is invited to attend the third-annual 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) Provincial Competition held this year at the Ivey Business School.

Our own Jenna Butler, Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science, will be competing against her counterparts from 19 universities across Ontario for a top prize of $1,000.

DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2015
TIME: 3:00 p.m.
LOCATION: BMO Financial Group Auditorium, Ivey Business School

We hope you can join us!

Get Ready for unTIES: Western’s first eLearning unConference

Thursday, May 14, 2015, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
University Community Centre, Room 56

At this congenial half-day unconference, you decide the session topics based on your interests in research and teaching with educational technologies. unTIES is brought to you by the Western Network for Digital Education and Research (WNDER).

I Want to Attend

Spring Perspectives on Teaching Conference

Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Social Science Centre, Room 2050

KEYNOTE SESSION
Realizing the University of the Future: An Institution-wide Approach to Pedagogical Change
Dr. Mathew L. Ouellett, Associate Provost and Director of the Office for Teaching and Learning, Wayne State University

How do we create and sustain teaching and learning environments that meaningfully engage students and instructors at the course, department and institutional levels? Research and many of our personal experiences offer robust examples of the persistent gap between what we know works and what actually takes place in our university classrooms. This keynote will address what we know about how people learn, how higher education systems change, and how to engage colleagues in classroom and system-wide innovation practices that close such gaps.

OTHER SESSIONS:

• Social Justice in Higher Education: Perspectives from the Disciplines
• Innovative Assessments at Western
• Faculty-Librarian Collaboration: Past, Present, and Future
• Mental Health and Wellness in the Classroom: What Faculty Should Know

I Want To Register