In recent months CAGS has made a commitment to expanding its offering of virtual content, and to providing opportunities for engagement between our members and the higher education community at large.

Building on the success of our first virtual symposia held in November 2020, we are pleased to announce the 2nd CAGS Virtual Symposia, to be held from 26-30 April 2021. This free, week-long event will feature six unique webinars addressing various challenges, opportunities, and inflection points in Canadian graduate education, including student empowerment; the use of digital tools and technologies; strategies for collecting, preserving, and sharing data; equitable inclusion and the struggle against anti-black racism. Discussions on these topics will be led by a diverse group of presenters from across Canada, including deans of graduate studies, faculty members, administrators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career researchers. The goal of this virtual event is to provide a forum for sharing information and experiences, posing questions, and building strategies for adapting to our new environment.

The 2nd CAGS Virtual Symposia will be conducted using the Zoom video conference platform. The webinars are free of charge and registration is open to all deans, associate deans, faculty members, administrators, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. The webinars will be presented in English, and French interpretation will be provided simultaneously through the Zoom platform.

To register for one or more webinar, please click on the links below. Further information about the 2nd CAGS Virtual Symposia please continue reading or write to Ian.Wereley@cags.ca.

2nd CAGS Virtual Symposia – 2021

Webinar I:

Research Data Management (RDM) – The Ins and Outs for Grad Students, Postdocs, and Early Career Researchers 

Tuesday, 27 April

12:00 – 2:00 PM (EDT)

Zoom

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Research Data Management (RDM) is increasingly recognized as a key part of the research enterprise in all disciplines. With the recent release of the Tri-Agency Policy on Research Data Management, both researchers and the institutions and people who support them will soon need to implement RDM best practices in their work. This workshop will introduce graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and other early career researchers to the fundamentals of both the Tri-Agency Policy and RDM more broadly as it applies to their own research. Participants will be introduced to such essential RDM concepts as metadata, data management plans, data curation, data deposit, and more. Insights will be provided and experiences shared by representatives of the Tri-Agencies; by the Portage Network, a national network of experts dedicated to building RDM capacity and community in Canada; and by graduate students, postdocs, and early-career researchers who are working to implement good RDM practices in their own work.

Speakers:

• Jeffrey Moon [Moderator] is Director of NDRIO-Portage, a national, library-based network launched initially by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) in 2015 with the goal of building capacity and coordinating Research Data Management (RDM) activities in Canada, and joining NDRIO (New Digital Research Infrastructure Organization) in April 2021. Prior to his role with NDRIO-Portage, Jeff served as Data Librarian at Queen’s University Libraries, as Academic Director of the Queen’s Research Data Centre, and established and managed the Queen’s Research Data Management (RDM) Service.
• Jennifer Abel, Training Coordinator, Portage Network, NDRIO. Jennifer Abel works with the Portage’s Network of Experts to develop and deliver research data management training to students, researchers, librarians, data professionals and other stakeholders across Canada. She previously worked with Portage as the Project Officer, supporting data management planning, sensitive data, and research intelligence. Prior to joining Portage, she worked in the University of British Columbia’s Education Library and in the Research Commons, where she helped to develop a research data management workshop. She has taught at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal College, and the University of British Columbia.
• Matthew Lucas joined the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in September 2015 as the Executive Director, Corporate Strategy and Performance, and has a background in the area of science, technology and innovation policy. Prior to SSHRC, Matthew worked at Industry Canada where he held different positions, including Senior Policy Advisor to the Science, Technology and Innovation Council Secretariat, and the Departmental Advisor to the Minister of State for Science and Technology. Matthew received his PhD from the University of Toronto.

• A panel of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and Informational Professionals from across Canada working in various aspects of RDM.

Webinar II

Adapting Methodologies during the Pandemic using Digital and Arts-Informed Research in the PhD Dissertation: A Dialogue between Supervisor and Supervisees 

Wednesday, 28 April

12:00 – 1:30 PM (EDT)

Zoom

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In is sometime said, “The title of your thesis doesn’t matter. The subject doesn’t matter. All that matters is who your advisor is” (2001). The role of a doctoral supervisor is one of unique mentorship, and in the era of Covid-19, unprecedented creativity and adaptation, due to the constraints on traditional field work and data collection methods. Not only must observations be recontextualized (Angrosino, 2005), but digital technologies can substitute for face to face (F2F) interactions. Interviews may be conducted via Zoom, Teams, or Blackboard, as can thesis support groups and meetings. Document and artifact analysis can also be virtually shared, explored, and analyzed without F2F interactions. In this panel discussion, I introduce three of my doctoral supervisees, and their adaptations to research using digital and arts-informed methods (AIR). Jeffrey Thornborrow will share his journey of incorporating comic-based research (Kuttner, Sousanis, & Weaver-Hightower, 2008) as he investigates attachment theory between kindergarten pupils and educators, while Kari Janz explores existentialism and the integrity model of psychotherapy to address the pressing mental health crisis of millennials via fiction writing (Leavy, 2018). Dennis Barrow will chronical his evolving PhD journey during the pandemic, while negotiating ways to research and tell the stories of LGBTQ educational leaders via fictional writing (Leavy, 2018). Together, we seek to (i) re-conceptualize traditional models of graduate mentorship, including the digitalized rapport building between supervisor and supervisees, and (ii) reimagine the methodological role of the arts in doctoral research, during a global pandemic.

Speakers:

• Douglas Gosse [Moderator] is the former Chair, Graduate Studies in Education, and current Director (Interim) of Social Work and Associate Dean of Education and Professional Studies at Nipissing University. He is a published novelist and uses arts-based research (ABR), particularly fiction writing, as a research methodology.
• Jeffery Thornborrow, PhD (ABD), Nipissing University. Jeffery is utilizing comics as a method of data collection in his arts-informed Appreciative Inquiry doctoral research that investigates attachment formation between teachers and kindergarten students.
• Kari Janz, PhD (ABD), Nipissing University. Kari is writing a Bildungsroman as inquiry for her doctoral dissertation. Her work investigates the use of narrative as both inquiry and praxis for a widespread mental health crisis.
• Dennis Barrow, PhD student, Nipissing University. Dennis is interested in using arts-based inquiry to explore the experiences of LGBTQ2+ educational leaders in the Newfoundland and Labrador education system.

 Webinar III:

The Good and the Bad of Black Grad – Episode 2

“Recruit, Retain, and Represent!”

Wednesday, 28 April

12:00 – 1:30 PM (EDT)

Zoom

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In this episode, we’ll ask our panelists who were the key figures who inspired them along their path. Through our discussion we will define characteristics of leaders in our communities and discuss the importance of diversity in positions of power. We will talk about the necessity of Black representation and how institutions begin to think about recruitment of talented Black scholars to Canadian campuses.

This live webinar and its recording will be preserved and shared with current students and scholars who may be searching for guidance, support, and community on this particular topic.

Speakers:

• Alexandra Davis, Postdoctoral Fellow, Western University, is a marine ecologist that uses quantitative and experimental approaches to directly contribute to the management of vulnerable marine ecosystems. My approach integrates behavioural, community, and spatial ecology, which I believe is essential for understanding how ecosystems work and ultimately for managing them. Examining systems from multiple perspectives is a key element behind many of the questions in my research.  Overall, my work has shown that the integration of traditional ecology, spatial-temporal analyses, and collaborative citizen-based science is fundamental for establishing conservation goals such designing marine protected areas, conserving native coral-reef and marine ecosystems, and targeted removal plans for invasive species. More personally, I am a multi-racial woman, and belong to multiple marginalized groups, especially within the field of conservation science. I am often the only black person in my department and at conferences I attend. Because of this I have made it a priority to seek out and create spaces for marginalized groups within my institutions. Another major goal of mine is to expand from my background in traditional ecological and conservation research and integrate research on equity, justice, and inclusion within conservation sciences. Explicitly, I am interested in who is receiving funds and conducting research and whether these demographics match with the communities most impacted by the conservation issue of interest.
• Peter Soroye is a PhD Student in Biology working with Prof Jeremy Kerr at the University of Ottawa. Peter is a conservation biologist and ecologist studying the impacts of climate change and land use change on pollinators like bumblebees and butterflies, with the goal of informing conservation management and policy to find more effective ways of protecting species and reversing declines of biodiversity. Peter is a passionate science communicator, regularly volunteering with programs like Let’s Talk Science, Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants, and more. Throughout his graduate school, he has remained committed towards increasing equity, inclusion, and representation in science, from various leadership positions on university committees and student associations, national societies (most prominently the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution), and volunteer organizations. For more info on Peter, visit his website: www.petersoroye.com.
• Olivia Ghosh-Swaby, originally from Mississauga ON, is currently completing her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry (SSMD), Western University. Her research interests include the impact of diet and metabolism on memory in obesity and whether exercise and anti-diabetic drugs can boost neural stem cell growth. She is an advocate and public speaker for equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in STEM and university athletics, speaking on the topic in over 15 news articles and 10 major speaking events. She is an executive member of the BrainsCAN and Schulich EDI Committees and is a graduate representative for the Neuroscience Graduate Program and the Robarts Association of Trainees. Outside of academia, she manages and operates the Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Football Association and sits on Football Canada’s Diversity Task Force for women and BIPOC athletes. She has a unique student-athlete perspective that has allowed her to champion various initiatives on the student and athlete life for underrepresented groups.

Webinar IV:

Building Paths of Self-Discovery & Development: Empowering Graduate Students Through a Digital Platform 

Thursday, 29 April

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (EDT)

Zoom

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A graduate program is an advanced education that trains students in their abilities to acquire, interpret, produce, and analyze research at an advanced level (Boland, 2002). The demographic of graduate students within higher education have shifted (Polson, 2003), moving away from the traditional full-time, young, cis-white male, to a more heterogeneous graduate student population. As such, the needs of graduate students have shifted (Poison 1999), as well as the requisite value graduate students bring to their respective institutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a heterotopia, halting progress, and allowing the re-examination and imagination of graduate student engagement. The College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies at the University of Saskatchewan embraced this time to pivot how we engage and view graduate students from entry to completion. In stark comparison to previous generations, graduate students seek information that is not only programmatic in nature, but also how to manage competing responsibilities, navigating non-traditional career frameworks, harmonizing family commitments, and building meaningful professional and personal connections. To complicate matters further, faculty members’ also face increased obligations that often conflict with student supervisory responsibilities. Faculty must balance robust research programs, teaching and academy engagement with the individual development each graduate student.

USask’s Grad HUB reinvents the graduate student’s path taking a holistic approach to our relationships with graduate students, while reimagining the value and role that graduate students play within our institution. By design, the Grad HUB is an online self-directed website (Britto & Rush, 2013) that empowers student agency to take control of their graduate journey. As an informational focal point for both new and returning students, the Grad HUB is a centralized location of synthesized information presented through a student lens. In a thematic approach, the Grad HUB leads students on a path of self-discovery from transition, arrival, and navigation of the academy, to developing their unique blueprint for success. Along the way we create thoughtful connections and thought-provoking content that students would otherwise need to ‘experience’. As examples: how one may wish to dress for cold weather, an introduction of colloquialisms, how to successfully manage competing deadlines, how to engage in a critical conversation and more. The HUB also introduces students to the institution’s learning management system allowing students to take a deeper dive into HUB content while also facilitating predevelopment of soft skills graduate students rely on throughout their program.

Our approach embraces the complexity of graduate students’ roles within the institution by introducing development opportunities during the student life cycle, not only as students, but as influencers and as champions of graduate education. Our innovative platform leads students to self-discover their own unique independent learning plan while introducing academy norms. We match institutional preparatory activities and professional development with tools and pathways that lead to skillset development for various roles to which they will engage throughout their graduate student experience.

Incoming graduate students are introduced to the HUB from the point of receiving an admission letter and at a variety of pre-designed intersecting points throughout their program. The objective of our digital platform, The Grad Hub, is to onboard graduate students in a way that is iterative, collaborative, inventive and evolutional; underpinned by institutional framework.

This presentation shares the story of the value we place on graduate education and the students that pursue it. We share what led us to create an innovative platform that places an emphasis on graduate students. We will talk about the importance of collaboration, opening to change and knowing when to adapt.

Speakers:

• Andrew Hartman (They/Them), PhD Candidate, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, is a proud queer, Métis individual born and raised here on Treaty Six Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. Andrew is the proud zaza to their forever kitten, Luna. Before starting their Ph.D., Andrew worked for five years in Student Affairs providing holistic care and mentorship to undergraduate students, all while completing their master’s in leadership in higher education. Andrew’s thesis aimed at understanding the role of shame in undergraduate students’ persistence and help-seeking behaviour. Presently, Andrew is pursuing their Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology with their dissertation focusing on understanding the psychological processes of shame and disenfranchised grief in 2SLGBTQ survivors of traumatic gender-based violence. As a program evaluator, Andrew is currently evaluating OUTSaskatoon’s queer housing program (i.e., Pride Home), OUTSaskatoon’s gender-based violence prevention initiative. Andrew ambitiously takes on other projects which contribute directly to their PhD program outcomes, one of which is a lead role in the research and design of the CGPS’ grad student onboarding platform (the grad hub). In addition to Andrew’s program evaluation work, they sit on the Saskatchewan chapter for the Canadian Evaluation Society as the Secretary.
• Lori Lisitza, CMGR, PMGR, MCIM, Executive Assistant, College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, University of Saskatchewan. A self-declared life-long learner, being surrounded by students on an academic journey was a natural fit for Lori. Fast forward from coding in MS-DOS, Lori found that she has a knack for project management and paired that with media brokerage and indie music album design. Lori went on to study business administration at Memorial University and USask with a particular interest in management earning chartered management credentials in both Canada and the UK. Lori wears ‘several hats’ within the College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies from being the Dean’s central support person and as a member of the Dean’s leadership team bringing leadership, development and oversight to a variety of special projects. When not at work you will find Lori at the barn, with a pair of skates in the trunk and a yellow ribbon on the bumper in support of Canada’s troops.

Webinar V:

Town Hall with Dr. Ted Hewitt – President of SSHRC

Friday, 30 April

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (EDT)

Zoom

REGISTER HERE

In this one-hour virtual Town Hall event, participants will have an opportunity to meet and converse with Dr. Ted Hewitt, President of SSHRC. Dr. Hewitt will provide an update and overview of what is new at SSHRC, and field questions from the audience through a moderated Q&A session.

Dr. Hewitt is eager to interact with CAGS members, to learn how the pandemic has affected their research, and to gain a sense of their priorities and challenges going forward. The event is open to all, but faculty members, administrators, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows are especially encouraged to attend. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and share their perspectives.

Speakers:

• Ted Hewitt was appointed president of SSHRC in March 2015. Ted was vice-president, research and international relations, at Western University in London, Ontario, from 2004 to 2011, where he had been a professor of sociology since 1989. A leading authority on Brazil, Ted has published in monographs, edited works and a range of academic journals. He is co-chair of the Canada-Brazil Joint Committee for Cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation, and a member of the board of the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce.

Webinar VI:

Innovation in Research Creation in Art and Design – A Showcase of Graduate Students from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECUAD)

Friday, 30 April

1:00 – 3:00 PM (EDT)

Zoom

REGISTER HERE

This online event will be hosted by CAGS and chaired by Steven Lam, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, and feature six graduate student panelists. Each panelist will be asked to present for 8 minutes on their research process and creative practice in connection to innovation and research-creation, defined as “an approach to research that combines creative and academic research practices, and supports the development of knowledge and innovation through artistic expression, scholarly investigation, and experimentation.” Panelists will be students of the MDes and MFA programs at Emily Carr.

The panel will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with the attendees, who will include graduate faculty, students, administrators and staff from across Canada. This will be a great opportunity to share your work with a broad audience and provide insight into graduate research at Emily Carr. 

Speakers:

• Steven Lam [Moderator] is an educator, curator, and Associate Vice President of Research and Dean of the Jake Kerr Faculty of Graduate Studies at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, Canada. As an independent curator, Lam has produced curatorial projects that address a diverse range of questions, such as the legacy of AIDS activism in contemporary art, the relationship between financialization and abstraction within the rural American landscape, the politics and forms of secrecy, cultural and social research that counters extractionist modes of being and multi-species and ecological encounters. His artistic and curatorial work has been featured in the New York Times, Brooklyn Rail, Art Forum, Flash Art, ThirdText, and various other international and academic publications.  Initially trained as an artist, Steven Lam received his MFA from the University of California, Irvine and was a Helena Rubinstein fellow in curatorial studies at the Whitney Museum Independent Study program.
• Gemma Crowe is an interdisciplinary artist focusing on the mediated human image and community through embodiment and discursive practices. Crowe is a trained contemporary dancer and filmmaker currently exploring the illusory potential of spatial sound and vibration. Her MFA research considers how we distinguish the world visually, by listening and generating a felt sense of the body in space.
• Xinwei Che is an installation artist who looks at the residue of time through familiar, domestic materials and the phenomenology of space. She grew up in Singapore, and graduated with a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. In her current MFA program at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, she is developing temporal works underpinned by slowness and attention to question the commodification of time in our everyday lives.
  
• Avi Farber is a transdisciplinary designer and multimedia artist working with wildfires, ceramics, documentary photography, 3D printing, and new media/sound, based in New Mexico, U.S.A.  He holds a BA in Philosophy from Bates College, ME, and is completing a Masters degree in Interdisciplinary Design from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, BC.  His background working as both a wildland firefighter and a woodfire production potter, informs his unique relational design practice. His research focuses on material culture, industrial design, and our relationship to the land— working on a range of projects that explore human relationships with the ecological phenomenon of our changing climate, and alternative modes of production. Avi’s ceramic work has been exhibited internationally, and his documentary photography of wildfires has been recognized by National Geographic magazine.
• Olúwáṣọlá Kẹ́hi ndé Olówó-Aké is a Nigerian of the Yorùbá ethnic group, born in Lagos State. She studied Fashion Design in the UK and is currently a Master of Interdisciplinary Design candidate at Emily Carr University. Her practice focuses on using Yorùbá storytelling methods to speak into issues regarding the black race in her environment and additionally depict narratives that are befitting of black bodies- through dance, song, ways of wearing and poetry.
• Hamed Rashtian is a Master of Fine Arts candidate at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Prior to moving to Canada, he received his Federal Diploma in Higher Education from F+F School of Art and Design in Zurich. His current research involves creating a topography of anti-colonial movements and forces with a focus on historical archives.
• Julie Van Oyen is a designer and researcher whose work involves embodied design research, more-than-human interactions, and public sector digital service design. She has an educational background in interaction design and kinesiology, and is currently a candidate for a Master of Design in Interaction Design. She is also an educator and mentor in the areas of UX/UI, interaction, and service design.