Campus Notices
精童欲女 graduate students and post-doctoral scholars are encouraged to register for the FREE virtual 2024 for graduate students and post-doctoral scholars, presented by the . REGISTRATION IS OPEN:
The career symposium, spanning Tuesday, November 19 to Thursday, November 21, is three half-days of virtual career content (workshops and panels) specifically for graduate students and post-doctoral scholars studying in Canada. The content is applicable to both research-focused and course-based scholars, with topics including the role of values in career decision-making, applying your research skills to career planning, networking strategies for graduate students, and more! View the .
The career symposium will feature PEI-based speakers:
- Sasha Nandlal, 精童欲女 PhD Ed candidate, a panelist on: "What I Learned from Serving on a Faculty Search Committee"
- Monic Vokey, Recruitment Consultant, PEI Public Service Commission, a panelist on: "Exploring Careers in the Public Sector"
gives access to attend the live-streamed virtual sessions from 2:00 to 5:00 pm each day and to access the recordings* for up to one year after the symposium. Attendees are welcome to attend all sessions, or join just those of special interest. (*Panels will be available only as live-streams.)
is free for 精童欲女 graduate students and post-doctoral scholars due to sponsorship and coordination support of the symposium by the 精童欲女 Faculty of Graduate Studies.
On November 4, 精童欲女 launched its first Employee Engagement Survey. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to complete this survey. It is greatly appreciated!
This is a reminder that there is one week left to complete the survey. Please visit my精童欲女 for more information about the Employee Engagement Survey: .
The survey will be open to faculty, staff, and student employees. If you do not receive an e-mail link and think you should have, please contact: hrengage@upei.ca
Each employee who completes a survey is eligible to enter into a draw for 精童欲女 swag. You can enter the draw by delivering your survey confirmation page in person to Human Resources at Kelley Memorial Building 143, or you can e-mail a screenshot to hrengage@upei.ca no later than November 22.
Should you need a quiet place to complete your survey, please feel welcome to attend a computer lab on one of the dates indicated below. 精童欲女鈥檚 Employee Engagement Officer will also be available to provide support if needed.
November 12: 10:00 am鈥2:00 pm, Duffy Science Centre, Room 202
November 13: 12鈥3:00 pm, Robertson Library, Room 264
Together, we will build a supportive community where everyone can thrive鈥擸our Voice, Our Future!
精童欲女 has a Working Alone Procedure to protect the health and safety of all 精童欲女 employees and students who work alone including after-hours and when working off-site. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure that their staff and students are safe when working alone.
- Working alone means an employee/student working at a workplace is the only employee/student at that workplace in circumstances where assistance is not readily available to the employee/student in the event of injury, ill health, or emergency.
- There are two categories of working alone plans:
- areas with low risk where a 精童欲女 Standard Working Alone Plan is used;
- areas with risk where a Site-specific Working Alone Plan is required.
- The 精童欲女 Safe App is an excellent tool to use when working alone. When the app is activated, Security Services monitors and responds if necessary.
- Please visit the for more information on the .
As always, feel free to contact Health, Safety, and Environment at hse@upei.ca with any questions or concerns.
The Robertson Library鈥檚 is accepting grant applications for the creation or adaptation of open educational resources (OERs). The grant types include:
- Open Educational Resource or Textbook Grant: up to $7000 for the development of a new open textbook on a topic that is currently not covered by an existing open textbook, or major adaptations of existing textbooks;
- Open Textbook Adaptation Grant: up to $4,500 for the adaptation of one or more open educational resources or open textbooks to create a new version or edition of a resource (i.e., a Canadian edition of an existing open textbook);
- Supplementary Resources Grant: up to $2,500 for the creation of ancillary materials for existing open textbooks, including, but not limited to test banks, slide decks, recordings, or interactive media, etc.
Applications that support first-year courses will be given priority as they reach the greatest number of students, but all applications will be reviewed and considered. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2025. For more information, or to apply, visit .
Questions about your grant idea? Don鈥檛 need a grant, but you鈥檇 like to make an OER? Contact Keri McCaffrey, One Health and Scholarly Communications Librarian, at knmccaffrey@upei.ca or Charlene VanLeeuwen, Teaching and Learning Centre, at cvanleeuwen@upei.ca.
The next public event at the Earl L. Wonnacott Observatory is scheduled for Thursday, November 7, 7:30-9:30 pm. The Department of Physics invites you to come look through our telescope at the moon, planets, stars, or nebulae. Meet us in room 417 of Memorial Hall. We鈥檒l have some astronomy activities and information for a variety of ages that you can peruse while you wait for your turn to go up to the observatory. You can take an elevator up to room 417, but it is necessary to climb stairs up one floor to the roof and into the observatory to reach the telescope.
This event is weather-dependent; in the event of cloudy weather, it will have to be cancelled. Visit our website () on Thursday morning to see the event status.
ITSS, including the helpdesk, will be closed for a departmental staff meeting on Friday, November 8, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. During this time, you can still submit a ticket by emailing helpdesk@upei.ca or calling 902-566-0465. We鈥檒l respond as soon as we return on Tuesday, November 12, at 8:00 am. Thank you for your understanding!
ITSS Team
精童欲女 graduate students are invited to join Dr. Wendy Rodgers (President and Vice-Chancellor) and Dr. Suzanne Kresta (Dean, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering), co-chairs of the University Strategic Plan Steering Committee, to discuss the University's strategic direction. The forward-thinking consultations are an opportunity to learn more about the priorities and goals of our graduate students as the University develops its roadmap for the future.
In collaboration with the 精童欲女 Graduate Student Association, a conversation with graduate students will be held on
Friday, November 8
12:00 noon to 1:00 pm
Room 142, Bill and Denise Andrew Hall, 精童欲女
Those who are unable to attend in person may join via this .
For more information about the strategic planning process at 精童欲女, visit /president/strategic-planning
The Bookmark and 精童欲女鈥檚 Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research, and Applied Studies (IKERAS) will host a book launch for Anishinaabe author Tanya Talaga鈥檚 new book, "The Knowing," on Thursday, November 7, at 7 pm, in the 精童欲女 Performing Arts Centre amphitheatre (Room 121S).
"The Knowing" is a riveting exploration of Talaga鈥檚 family鈥檚 story and a retelling of the history of the country now called Canada. For generations, Indigenous People have known that their family members disappeared, many of them after being sent to residential schools, 鈥淚ndian hospitals,鈥 and asylums through a coordinated system designed to destroy who the First Nations, M茅tis, and Inuit people are. Talaga retells the history of this country through an Indigenous lens, beginning with the life of her great-great-grandmother Annie Carpenter and her family as they experienced decades of government- and church-sanctioned enfranchisement and genocide.
This event is free and open to everyone, but tickets are required. To book tickets, go to or call the Bookmark at 902-566-4888.
Please note that challenging topics will be discussed at the event, including, but not limited to, historical traumas, the Residential School system, sexual abuse, and suicide.
The Animal Care Committee does not meet in December. The deadline for Animal Care protocol submissions--new, renewal, or amendment--is Friday, January 3, 2025, for the January meeting.
Please note that as of June 1, 2020, all animal user protocols must be submitted through 精童欲女 Researcher Portal at
For new protocols, select "applications" and for renewal or amendment protocols, select "events."
精童欲女 ACC SOPs and Codes of Practice can be accessed through my精童欲女 at .
Those protocols received after the deadline will be reviewed the following month. The committee requires at least one month for processing applications.
The Centre for Veterinary Epidemiological Research (CVER) will present a seminar titled "The use of Generative AI tools in research" on December 4 at noon in AVC 205N (Lecture B). The presenters are Keri McCaffrey, One Health and Scholarly Communications Librarian, and Katelyn Browne, Instructional Services Librarian.
As academics, the draw of a time-saving tool is always of interest. When are the current Generative AI tools available truly useful, and when might they be distractions or time wasters? Join us for a review of the types of Gen AI tools that are being marketed to researchers with an open discussion on potential uses and relevant concerns. We are interested in your questions as well as your own experiences and recommendations.
Pizza will be provided by CVER. Please join us. All are welcome.
The Robertson Library鈥檚 is accepting grant applications for the creation or adaptation of open educational resources (OERs). The grant types include:
- Open Educational Resource or Textbook Grant: up to $7000 for the development of a new open textbook on a topic that is currently not covered by an existing open textbook, or major adaptations of existing textbooks;
- Open Textbook Adaptation Grant: up to $4,500 for the adaptation of one or more open educational resources or open textbooks to create a new version or edition of a resource (i.e., a Canadian edition of an existing open textbook);
- Supplementary Resources Grant: up to $2,500 for the creation of ancillary materials for existing open textbooks, including, but not limited to test banks, slide decks, recordings, or interactive media, etc.
Applications that support first-year courses will be given priority as they reach the greatest number of students, but all applications will be reviewed and considered. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2025. For more information, or to apply, visit .
Questions about your grant idea? Don鈥檛 need a grant, but you鈥檇 like to make an OER? Contact Keri McCaffrey, One Health and Scholarly Communications Librarian, at knmccaffrey@upei.ca or Charlene VanLeeuwen, Teaching and Learning Centre, at cvanleeuwen@upei.ca.
The next public event at the Earl L. Wonnacott Observatory is scheduled for Thursday, November 7, 7:30-9:30 pm. The Department of Physics invites you to come look through our telescope at the moon, planets, stars, or nebulae. Meet us in room 417 of Memorial Hall. We鈥檒l have some astronomy activities and information for a variety of ages that you can peruse while you wait for your turn to go up to the observatory. You can take an elevator up to room 417, but it is necessary to climb stairs up one floor to the roof and into the observatory to reach the telescope.
This event is weather-dependent; in the event of cloudy weather, it will have to be cancelled. Visit our website () on Thursday morning to see the event status.
IT Systems and Services, in collaboration with the Robertson Library, now offers extended hours of technical support to cover evening classes. Extended support hours will run from 4:30 to 8:00 pm Mondays through Thursdays, and 4:00 to 8:00 pm on Fridays.
This service will be delivered by the Robertson Library Service Desk (reference@upei.ca, 902-566-0583).
Support areas include password resets, account locks, wifi, and basic computer/podium troubleshooting.
ITSS, including the helpdesk, will be closed for a departmental staff meeting on Friday, November 8, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. During this time, you can still submit a ticket by emailing helpdesk@upei.ca or calling 902-566-0465. We鈥檒l respond as soon as we return on Tuesday, November 12, at 8:00 am. Thank you for your understanding!
ITSS Team
精童欲女 graduate students are invited to join Dr. Wendy Rodgers (President and Vice-Chancellor) and Dr. Suzanne Kresta (Dean, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering), co-chairs of the University Strategic Plan Steering Committee, to discuss the University's strategic direction. The forward-thinking consultations are an opportunity to learn more about the priorities and goals of our graduate students as the University develops its roadmap for the future.
In collaboration with the 精童欲女 Graduate Student Association, a conversation with graduate students will be held on
Friday, November 8
12:00 noon to 1:00 pm
Room 142, Bill and Denise Andrew Hall, 精童欲女
Those who are unable to attend in person may join via this .
For more information about the strategic planning process at 精童欲女, visit /president/strategic-planning
ACENET has the following upcoming training available to researchers and students. There are no fees.
Registration is available on our new training portal:
REGISTRATION
https://www.acenet.training/courses
Desktops in the Cloud
November 5, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic / 1330-1630hrs NL
The Cloud provides access to hardware resources beyond those available on your laptop or desktop, though you may still want to interact with that hardware as if it were your laptop using a graphical user interface (GUI) desktop. In this workshop we will install a GUI desktop on a remote virtual machine and connect to it from our laptop, allowing us to use this remote desktop almost as if it were our local machine.
Introduction to Python & Coding for HSS - Parts I and II in the HSS Python Series
November 6 and 13, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic | 1330-1630hrs NL (online)
This is a beginner-level 4-part series for humanities and social sciences researchers (HSS) and librarians. Introduction to Python and Coding for HSS - Parts I and II focus on introducing participants to basic coding concepts and fundamentals to help them confidently participate in high-level conceptual discussions with computer programmers or technical team members. We will use Python due to its vast popularity, easy syntax, and powerful extensions while working in the user-friendly and convenient JupyterLab environment. These general concepts will be reinforced and illustrated with the hands-on development of simple programs that can help with text-based research and analysis immediately.
Command the Cloud
November 7, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic / 1330-1630hrs NL
In 鈥業ntroduction to Cloud鈥, we used the OpenStack web interface to create our first virtual machine. With this web interface many common tasks can be performed, however, some important tasks cannot be completed using only the web interface; instead a command line interface (CLI) is needed. The CLI also allows access to some additional and very useful tasks, such as downloading virtual machine images, and provides access to information not shown in the web interface. In this workshop, we will show how to setup and use the OpenStack CLI and perform some common tasks when managing virtual machines.
Using Git Tools Part I: Version Control
November 19, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic / 1330-1700hrs NL
Version control is the practice of managing and sharing changes to documents, programming code, websites or any other files to keep track of what鈥檚 been changed, by whom, when, and why. All previous versions of files are saved and you can even revert to a previous version. Git is a version control software. Git-portal sites, like GitHub or GitLab, offer many useful features to facilitate collaborative development. This is the first workshop of a two-part series. The first session focuses on version control. The second explores using Git for collaborative development. This beginner-level session will introduce you to Git. We will show you how to create a repository, record changes to files, explore and restore from the recorded history, and resolve conflicts (when one member overwrites another鈥檚 changes).
Introduction to API Querying for HSS -- Part III in the HSS Python Series
November 20, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic / 1330-1630hrs NL
This is a beginner-level 4-part series for humanities and social sciences (HSS) researchers (HSS) and librarians. API Querying and Textual Analysis - Parts III and IV focus on allowing participants to apply basic coding concepts to API querying and text-based analysis. API stands for application programming interface. It acts as a communication interface so different computers/systems can talk to the application hosting the API. Querying APIs in HSS research is useful because data changes rapidly and it is a way to capture a small piece of a much larger set of data.
Using Git Tools Part II: Collaboration Platforms
26 November, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic / 1330-1700hrs NL
Version control is the practice of managing and sharing changes to documents, programming code, websites or any other files to keep track of what鈥檚 been changed, by whom, when, and why. All previous versions of files are saved and you can even revert to a previous version. Git is a version control software. Git-portal sites, like GitHub or GitLab, offer many useful features to facilitate collaborative development. This is the second workshop of a two-part series. The first session focuses on version control. This session will focus on collaborative development workflows using Git-collaboration sites like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. It will demonstrate how to work with branches, issue tracking, contribute to projects using pull-/merge-requests, code-review, run CI/CD-pipelines, and use other common features of these platforms.
Textual Analysis using Python for HSS - Part IV in the HSS Python Series
November 27, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic / 1330-1630hrs NL
This is a beginner-level 4-part series for humanities and social sciences (HSS) researchers (HSS) and librarians. API Querying and Textual Analysis - Parts III and IV focus on allowing participants to apply basic coding concepts to API querying and text-based analysis. We will use a Python library to analyze textual data and learn about common natural language processing (NLP) tasks such as part-of-speech tagging, noun phrase extraction, sentiment analysis, classification, and more to explore meaningful trends in language patterns.
Visualization with R
November 27, 1300-1500hrs Atlantic / 1330-1530hrs NL
While working with large sets of numbers, it is often quite useful to display the information graphically. Often, we use basic graph types such as histograms, scatter plots, bar charts, boxplots etc. In this session, we will use the programming language R to create visualizations of large datasets. Basic knowledge of R is recommended, although not mandatory. By the end of this session, participants will be able to create simple scatterplots, histograms, and box plots; compare the plotting features of base R and ggplot2 package; plot with ggplot2; plot time series data; and arrange and export plots.
Registration is available on our new training portal.
REGISTRATION:
The Bookmark and 精童欲女鈥檚 Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research, and Applied Studies (IKERAS) will host a book launch for Anishinaabe author Tanya Talaga鈥檚 new book, "The Knowing," on Thursday, November 7, at 7 pm, in the 精童欲女 Performing Arts Centre amphitheatre (Room 121S).
"The Knowing" is a riveting exploration of Talaga鈥檚 family鈥檚 story and a retelling of the history of the country now called Canada. For generations, Indigenous People have known that their family members disappeared, many of them after being sent to residential schools, 鈥淚ndian hospitals,鈥 and asylums through a coordinated system designed to destroy who the First Nations, M茅tis, and Inuit people are. Talaga retells the history of this country through an Indigenous lens, beginning with the life of her great-great-grandmother Annie Carpenter and her family as they experienced decades of government- and church-sanctioned enfranchisement and genocide.
This event is free and open to everyone, but tickets are required. To book tickets, go to or call the Bookmark at 902-566-4888.
Please note that challenging topics will be discussed at the event, including, but not limited to, historical traumas, the Residential School system, sexual abuse, and suicide.
The Institute of Island Studies, 精童欲女 Faculty of Science (Foods and Nutrition program in Applied Human Sciences), the Campus Food Bank, and the 精童欲女 Student Union invite our campus community to attend the 2024 Harry Baglole Memorial Public Symposium in Island Studies: 鈥淗omelessness and Food Insecurity on Canada鈥檚 Food Island.鈥 This symposium is a collaborative initiative with the Native Council of PEI, Meals on Wheels, the John Howard Society of PEI, the Adventure Group, and the Upper Room Hospitality Ministry.
The event will be held on Thursday, November 7, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium, Don and Marion McDougall Hall. Prior to the symposium, between 4:00 and 6:00 pm, information booths in the Schurman Market Square will provide an opportunity to learn more about a few not-for-profit organizations doing work related to the themes that we are talking about later in the evening. Please drop by to chat with people from the Community Outreach Centre, John Howard Society of PEI, Meals on Wheels, the PEI Food Exchange, ResourceAbilities, and PEI Family Violence Prevention Services, and help us support their efforts.
The symposium will include opening presentations by Dr. Jennifer Taylor, Professor of Foods and Nutrition and food insecurity researcher, and Jacinta Brown, a 精童欲女 alumna and Program Manager of the Community Outreach Centre with The Adventure Group. We will also hear about a new research project on food insecurity in rural PEI by Oliver Batchilder, an Islander studying at Mount Allison University. We will then share some related research and resources followed by a short break. The second part of the evening features a panel discussion in which we will hear from Chris Clay (Reaching Home Coordinator, Native Council of Prince Edward Island), Josh Constantinou (Coordinated Access Coordinator, John Howard Society of PEI), Haley Zavo (Executive Director, Meals on Wheels PEI), and Mike MacDonald (Executive Director, Upper Room Hospitality Ministry).
The final segment of the symposium is focused on audience participation. Our aim is to gather ideas and thoughts about how best we can all work together, in different ways, to continue, support, and strengthen meaningful work to better Prince Edward Island. S茅bastien Parker, Assistant Professor, cross-appointed with 精童欲女's departments of Political Science and Sociology, will wrap up the evening by providing closing thoughts. S茅bastien joined 精童欲女 in 2024, and is also affiliated with the Cleantech Academy here and the Social Change Lab at the University of Toronto.
Seating at the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium is limited, and we request that you RSVP to iis@upei.ca if you would like to ensure that you will be able to attend in person. We will also provide the option to watch the event online through a link on and the Institute of Island Studies social media. If you are driving, we encourage parking in 精童欲女鈥檚 general lots (parking in the general lots is free in the evenings). All are welcome.
Students interested in learning more about Study Abroad opportunities available to them while they are attending 精童欲女 are invited to an information session on November 6, 2:00 to 3:00 pm, Robertson Library, Room 210. Please RSVP at
The Animal Care Committee does not meet in December. The deadline for Animal Care protocol submissions--new, renewal, or amendment--is Friday, January 3, 2025, for the January meeting.
Please note that as of June 1, 2020, all animal user protocols must be submitted through 精童欲女 Researcher Portal at
For new protocols, select "applications" and for renewal or amendment protocols, select "events."
精童欲女 ACC SOPs and Codes of Practice can be accessed through my精童欲女 at .
Those protocols received after the deadline will be reviewed the following month. The committee requires at least one month for processing applications.