All posts by jenny chik

UBC PDA Socials for July!

June 18, 2016Events, Socialsjenny chik

It’s summer! The UBC PDA has a variety of socials coming up – from lunch meet up on campus to public swim at Kits beach – join one today!

If you’re nervous about finding us, or have any other questions about our socials, please e-mail Justin Hart, at justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca.

Canada Day Fireworks social
When: July 1 at 7.30 pm
Where: 9 O’clock Gun at Stanley Park (map). Note: Location changed!
Details: Join your fellow postdocs to see the Canada Day fireworks from Stanley Park! Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on and a covered dish dessert or snack to share. Stanley Park is very busy during fireworks displays, so please RSVP in advance so we know to expect you. Come early and help us stake out a spot or meet Justin at 7:30pm sharp at the 9 O’Clock Gun. RSVP to justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca.

Lunch Meetup at AMS Student Nest
When: The first Thursday of every month at noon
Next date: July 7, 2016
Where: AMS Student Nest (map) – Meet in first floor near the entryway
Details: Join your fellow postdocs for a casual lunch in the AMS Student Nest food court. Reconnect with your colleagues across campus or make a new friend! If you’re nervous about finding us, drop the VP Social an email at justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca. No RSVP required.

Poutine & Bar Hopping on Granville St
When: July 8, 2016 at 6:30 pm, poutine at 7:15 pm, followed by bar hopping
Where: Start from Smoke’s Poutinerie – 942 Granville St, Vancouver, BC (map).
Details: It’s summer, so the bars on Granville St are a popular spot in Vancouver. We’ll start by grabbing some classic Canadian fare at Smoke’s Poutinerie, then do drinks at the bars on Granville St. If you’d like to do only drinks, meet us at Smoke’s at 7:15 pm. We’ll go to The Speakeasy, then see where our interests take us. Granville St is busy during the Summer, so you won’t find us unless you RSVP. RSVP to justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca.

Public Swim at Kits Pool
When: July 23, 2016 at 2:00 pm, drinks at 6:30 pm
Where: Kits Pool, 2305 Cornwall Ave, Vancouver, BC V6K 1B6 (map)
Details: Join us for a day at Kits Pool. Sit in the sun or swim to your heart’s content. Cost of admission is $5.86 per person. At 6:00 pm we’ll change out of our swim trunks and have dinner and a beer at Local on Cornwall. RSVP to justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca.

See you there!

The 3 Minute Postdoc Slam of 2016 – Event Review!

June 11, 2016Events, Professional Developmentjenny chik

This year’s 3 Minute Postdoc Slam was a great success! Over 40 postdocs, faculty, staff, and students gathered in the LSC3 lecture theatre in the Life Sciences Institute to hear 7 postdocs, from 7 different departments, present their research in only 3 minutes with the aid of a single PowerPoint slide.

This year we started out the event with a special guest talk from Craig Jones, winner of the UBC 3 Minute Thesis competition and a finalist in the Canadian National 3MT competition. He gave a fantastic and engaging talk titled “The War Lawyers”, and set the stage for a great afternoon of presentations.

Our first contestant in the competition was Dr. Elisa Wong from Pharmaceutical Sciences, who presented her talk “The story of a powerful mutant population”. Next up was Dr. Kais Dridi from Electrical and Computer Engineering with a talk on “How Can Nanotechnology and Nanostructured Materials Revolutionize Solar Energy Conversion Systems?”. Dr. Noushin Nabavi from the department of Urologic Sciences then presented her work “Understanding Mesothelioma: inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity”. The last talk of our first half was “Reward cues and decision-making” by Dr. Mariya Cherkasova from the Faculty of Medicine. Following a short coffee break, Dr. Amir Sharafian from Mechanical Engineering spoke on “Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): A Green Transportation Fuel”. Dr. Jennifer Rowland from Michael Smith Labs spoke on “Remote control: Bacteria modify epigenetics to take over your cells”, and our final contestant of the day was Dr. Carly Priebe from the department of Kinesiology who gave a presentation titled “Run to Quit”.

All our postdoc presenters were judged by our 3 judges: Dr. Cara Haney from Michael Smith Labs, Dr. Jonas Beaudry from the Allard School of Law, and Dr. Tara L Klassen from Pharmaceutical Sciences. The judges evaluated each presentation on comprehension, communication and engagement, and made numerous comments about each presentation, which were given to the presenters following the competition. Prizes were awarded to the top three presentations as scored by our judges, as well as to the “People’s Choice” presenter, which was determined by the audience.

Following the presentations from our contestants, we had an excellent and informative talk from Dr. Tara L Klassen on the topic of communication – “Car Salesman or Professor: Communicating your Message”. The event was finished off with a networking reception – good food, drink, and conversations!

Thanks to all that presented, and attended, in making the day such a success!

Congratulations to our award winners!

1^st place ($100): Dr. Carly Priebe

2^nd place ($75): Dr. Mariya Cherkasova

3^rd place ($50): Dr. Jennifer Rowland

Peoples’ choice ($25): Dr. Elisa Wong

PDA Socials for June

May 16, 2016Socialsjenny chik

The UBC PDA has a wide selection of socials in June!
Come and Join us!

If you’re nervous about finding us, or have any other questions about our socials, please e-mail Justin Hart, at justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca

Bar Night at Biercraft
When: June 3, 2016
Where: Biercraft in Wesbrook Village at 8pm (Map).
Details: Meet with your fellow postdocs for a drink at Biercraft in Wesbrook Village. Biercraft has a wide selection of beers and an excellent menu. Grab a casual beer. Make a new friend.

Lunch Meetup at AMS Student Nest
When: The first Thursday of every month at noon
Next date: June 2, 2016
Where: AMS Student Nest at UBC – Meet in first floor near the entryway (Map).
Details: Join your fellow postdocs for a casual lunch in the AMS Student Nest food court. Reconnect with your colleagues across campus or make a new friend!

Escape Room with Bar Night
When: June 18, 2016 at 5:30 pm for 6:00 pm start (RSVP by June 11, 2016)
Where: Go Find & Seek (official website and map).
Details: Come try your skills in one of Vancouver’s hottest escape rooms. Optionally, at 7:00pm, we will hike over to Steamworks Brewery in Gastown for a beer and a bite. Those who wish to do only the escape room or only the brewery are welcome to do so, but please RSVP to Justin Hart for either event and indicate your preference.

Special speaker: Bobbi Lambright

April 24, 2016Events, Professional Development, Seminarsjenny chik

Pathways To Success

DATE: Monday, May 2

TALK + Q&A: 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

MEET-AND-GREET: 2:00 – 2:30 PM

LOCATION: Room LSC3 (lecture theatre)

Please contact us if you have any questions!

In over three decades as a top leader in a wide range of business roles and environments, Bobbi Lambright has started companies, merged organizations and consistently delivered excellent customer service and shareowner results. A former journalist, Bobbi has followed an unconventional career path to success and learned some important lessons along the way. She has been recognized for her communication and leadership skills through national and international awards to companies under her direction.

Bobbi will join us on May 2^nd to share some insights from her journey, giving an insider’s view of what’s behind business trials and triumphs and offering ideas and suggestions on how to make opportunities out of challenges. She will share some of the lessons learned from mentors, customers and employees and looks forward to a lively discussion following the presentation.

Speaker Biography

Bobbi was appointed Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer for ATCO Australia in July 2015. She has held progressively senior positions since joining the ATCO Group of Companies in 1986, most recently as President, Distribution Division, ATCO Electric in Canada. She is also Chair of the ATCO Structures and Logistics Board in Australia and is involved across the full spectrum of ATCO’s Australia based businesses. With her extensive experience in regulated utility operations, Bobbi is responsible for leading and delivering strategic growth initiatives of ATCO’s utilities and energy businesses Australia-wide, through her sharp focus on customer service and her development of competitive, cost-effective products and services.

You can add this event to your Google Calendar by clicking on the button below. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the entire calendar, with all our events, here!

UBC 3 minute postdoc slam: Present your research in 3 minutes to win!

April 23, 2016Events, Professional Developmentjenny chik

DATE: Thursday, 26^th of May

PRESENTATIONS (4 – 6 PM): Room LSC3 (lecture theatre)
REFRESHMENTS AND NETWORKING (6 – 8 PM): Room 1510

Our annual 3MPS is back! Engage the audience and tell us about your research in exactly 3 minutes, using one static slide. Top 3 presenters to win $100, $75 and $50 in cash!

Tara L. Klassen, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, will join us to give a special guest presentation from 5:30 to 6:00 PM on communicating your research to the public.

Snacks and refreshments will be served from 6:00 PM in Room 1510.

If you would like to present at the event, please sign up by 19 May. Space is limited, so sign up soon! Check out the rules and additional details of the contest here!

If you do not want to present, please still join us as an audience member! To attend, please register online, or at the door. Please contact The UBC PDA if you have any questions.

You can add this event to your Google Calendar by clicking on the button below. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the entire calendar, with all our events, here!