Genius Support Program: Growing the Researchers of Tomorrow
ÉTS-EERS Research Chair for In-Ear Technology (CRITIAS)
École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)
The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) is pleased to announce that the Genius Support Program at the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) has been selected as the winner of the 2024-2025 CAGS Award for Excellence and Innovation in Enhancing the Graduate Student Experience (GSE Award).
Led by Professor Jérémie Voix, holder of the ÉTS-EERS Research Chair for In-Ear Technologies (CRITIAS), the Genius Support Program fosters academic excellence while addressing the serious challenges faced by ÉTS graduate students, staff, and faculty through innovative and holistic support.
“The Genius Support Program at CRITIAS has significantly improved my efficacy and productivity, boosted my self-confidence, enabled me to take a much-needed step back in my research and helped me manage my mental health.” Former Doctoral Student, ÉTS
“On a personal level, the workshops have helped me to better understand what I expect from my professional choices in my personal life. They have enabled me to identify the areas in which I can flourish, while building my self-confidence. After each meeting, you feel a little boost of motivation that helps you refocus on your goals.” – Former Master’s Student, ÉTS
The Genius Support Program provides a wide range of wrap-around supports for CRITIAS graduate students throughout all stages of their degree program. Students have easy access to individual coaching services on various aspects of their research project, such as time management and project design and execution, as well as targeted trainings for developing professional skills and positive mental health and wellness. The Genius Support Program offers technical and methodological support to graduate students through its Trajectory Program, which uses tailored goal-setting to boost self-confidence and reduce stress. A number of graduate student services focussed on research development and career planning are also available, including the prototyping of new product ideas and, where appropriate, the commercialization of graduate student research projects. The Genius Support Program and its activities are underpinned by a strong commitment to the principles and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Frequently-held group activities and training sessions promote a strong sense of community within graduate student cohorts, and provide an essential peer network that can be relied upon to celebrate achievements and provide support during challenging moments. Seminars on social inclusion, fostering mutual respect, and the realities of women in engineering provide ÉTS graduate students with timely, relevant training designed to enhance their academic relationships and research endeavours.
It is clear that ÉTS graduate students benefit from and appreciate the Genius Support Program, with 90% reporting they valued their experience and would recommend the program to others. A former ÉTS graduate student and postdoc, now a research associate at CRITIAS, described the Genius Support Program as a space where students could develop essentials skills but also new perspectives on themselves and the world around them. “When I joined CRITIAS, it was clear that Professor Jérémie Voix cared about graduate students, saw them as human beings in a complex ecosystem, and above all tried to develop a sense of belonging so that everyone was at the right place, at the right time, and ready to express their full potential….These skills and the tools acquired in that period still resonate strongly in my current professional life.” These and other student testimonials demonstrate that their investments of time, energy, and creativity into the program led to measurable improvements in their graduate student experience. The program contributes to the training of a large number of graduate students at ÉTS, and its success has inspired other units, both within ÉTS and at partner institutions abroad, to pursue similar initiatives to support their students.
The Graduate Student Experience Award is presented annually by CAGS to a member institution. Its purpose is to encourage, recognize, and reward administrative or programmatic excellence and innovation in enhancing the experience of graduate students from recruitment through degree completion. The Genius Support Program at ÉTS will receive a certificate of achievement, and an invitation to showcase their onboarding program in a workshop at the 63rd Annual CAGS Conference in Ottawa, 2025. CAGS congratulates Professor Voix and the ÉTS community for their success and contribution to enhancing the graduate student experience.
“As Dean of Graduate Studies, I recognize the challenges of offering graduate students a rich, positive and stimulating student experience. It is therefore with pride that I note the positive impact of the project led by Professor Voix and CRITIAS since 2017. The Chair contributes to the training of a large number of graduate students at ÉTS, and its work shines internationally. It is an inspiring project for other research groups and teams at ÉTS and elsewhere. It is also an inspiration for our institution, which is currently working on a number of initiatives to enhance the student experience.”
