Celebrate the end of year with the GSS

Whether you’ve finished classes for the summer or just want a chance to let your hair down, join the GSS for an evening of fun and food on May 11th

GET YOUR TICKETS

2018 BC Science and Policy Conference

The GSS is partnering up with SPIN, for this special event on May 11^th. Meet your future employer, connect with other like-minded professionals and help us bridge the gap between science and policy-making.   Students and Postdocs get in for $20! We hope to see you there.

RSVP HERE

GSS Student Satisfaction Survey

Thanks to everyone who has filled in the GSS Student Survey. Thanks to everyone who has filled in the GSS Student Survey. If you haven’t, there’s still time to voice your opinion on your graduate school experience. We want to hear your views!

complete the survey

Summer Sports League

This summer the GSS is hosting leagues in soccer, softball and beach volleyball. The perfect chance for some friendly competition. Registration for teams opens on Monday April 30th.

Visit the website for registration, rules and information

How does an academic discovery turn into a commercial idea?

With the help of entrepreneurship@UBC graduate student Negar Roghanian is developing a new coating to prevent the pipes that crisscross our cities from corroding.

If you know someone who is doing interesting things away from campus and would like to be profiled, let us know.

contact us

GSS Takes on Curling

Get your slide on…

Come learn one of the most popular sports in Canada: curling! We’ll have private instructors, exclusively for UBC graduate students, to teach you to sweep your way to success.

RSVP HERE

Community Announcements

Exploring Graduate Supervisory Excellence on a Global Campus

10 May 2018 (Thursday)

Please join us at this half-day symposium to explore the role of intercultural difference on an increasingly global and diverse campus and help us to frame further questions around which we can work together to effectively navigate conflict, power differentials, research goals and resource issues that can arise in the graduate supervisory relationship.”

UBC Graduate students are organizing a donation drive for Delta Community Animal Shelter. Breeding season is a time when the animals specially need support. Items like pet food and toys, clean towels, animal cages as well as monetary donations can make a huge difference. All are used for medical and behavioral support for homeless animals and are greatly appreciated by the Shelter.

Find out more about how you can donate

The 2018 edition of The Geneva Challenge – Advancing Development Goals international Contest for graduate students is looking for participants. This year, students are invited to develop analysis-based proposals on “The Challenges of Climate Change”. The 2018 edition of the Geneva Challenge is aims to encourage interdisciplinary problem solving analysis among master students on advancing human development within the scope of a relevant topic

 

 

Please consider registering for PLAN 548Z – Food Systems Policy, People and Planet course running May 3 to June 14 if your schedule allows. We’re very excited to be able to offer this course and would like to see it go ahead.

Additional information about the course is below.  

Food System Policy, People and Planet

PLAN 548Z | May 3 thru June 14

Credit hours (2)

Thursdays 

Advancing food systems planning and policy is an essential tool for achieving sustainable development at local and global levels. This course is open to UBC students interested in exploring how ecology, agriculture, community engagement, and sustainability interact with practical food system plans and policies.  While the field of food systems planning is quickly emerging as an important urban and regional specialization, the field is still in its infancy. This  class will provide basic understanding of the various policies and programs related to food system organization across multiple levels of government. Classes will take place at UBC Botanical Garden where students will explore how understanding local food systems from the ground up can provide foundational knowledge for global change. Class time will be spent both in and out doors where natural systems will guide and shape our learning.

 

Instructor:
Dr. Tara Moreau is the Associate Director of Sustainability and Community Programs at UBC Botanical Garden. Tara has over 15 years of experience working to advance local and global food systems. She is a long-standing member of the Vancouver Food Policy Council and has been a board member at SPEC a Vancouver-based environmental NGO for over 10 years.

She has worked internationally as a consultant with the UN-Food and Agriculture Organization and her publications, presentations and educational programs relate to climate change, food systems, sustainability education, agriculture, biodiversity, pest management and food policy.  Tara holds a PhD in Plant Science from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (UBC, 2010), an MSc in Agriculture (Dalhousie University, 2004) and a BSc in Biology & Environmental Science (Bishops University, 2000). She completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions where she evaluated BC’s climate change and agriculture policies.   

See the following page for a full course description:

https://scarp.ubc.ca/courses-1  

Detailed description of course time meeting time and dates is available on the SCARP Courses Page. Class held in the UBC Botanical Garden Pavilion.  

Kind regards,

Laura 

Laura Keith | Graduate Administrator

School of Community & Regional Planning

#433 – 6333 Memorial Road

Vancouver, BC   V6T 1Z2

604.822.4422| grad.scarp@ubc.ca 

www.scarp.ubc.ca

Want to get out of the lab?

We’re looking for volunteers!

What: The Marine Connections project is one of the most fun events we have! We work with Dr. Sigal Balshine from McMaster University (https://abel.mcmaster.ca/) to teach Surrey high schoolers how to do real biological assessments on the Midshipman Fish right here in Delta! Together with her team, you’ll get to spend the day out on the beach with these amazing fish, getting to know Sigal and change the life of some super keen kids. 

Marine Connections 2018

Project Details: The high school students (60 in total) will be taken to an active scientific research site (Crescent Beach, White Rock), to do marine ecology activities.This beach is a spawning ground of the fish, plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus). At low tide nesting males are easily accessible for study and observation.

These fun, interesting and engaging activities that will not only excite the students, but also teach them about evolution, ecology, conservation in BC and how real science research is conducted.

This event is completely free for the participating schools and their students.

Why: to show these kids how fantastic science is. We want to demonstrate that science is much more than just sitting in a lab with a white coat and a pipette and that scientists are awesome people like you!!  We want them to learn how valuable the natural environment around them is and why science is so important and relevant to understanding and conserving it – and maybe even encourage them to pursue science themselves after high school!

Most high school kids have no idea what being a biologist is like, we want to show them!

Who: We’re looking for volunteers with an interest in biology and science outreach! Zoology experience is great, but not necessary.

Where: We will start from the two Secondary Schools in Surrey, and bus out to Crescent Beach in Delta, then head back to the schools. There is an optional additional day in the secondary school as well. Transport and food will be covered!

When: Training will be May 22 in the afternoon at the Aquarium. The day on the beach is May 30^th 9am to 4pm, and the optional school day is May 29^th 9am to 4pm.

 

Sign up at: https://tinyurl.com/ybd7k8dr

Please email volunteer@ubclts.com if you have any questions

Hello from your colleagues at the University of Guelph!

We are proud to announce the inaugural Arrell Food Summit, May 22-24, and are excited to invite you to attend. https://arrellfoodinstitute.ca/food-summit/

The theme is “innovation,” and the summit offers an extremely diverse series of sessions and speakers to explore how innovative people, practices, and products will help to sustainably, equitably and nutritiously feed the world’s growing population. The two main days of conference content will be in Guelph, while a third day will be hosted in Toronto.

As the Education Coordinator for the Arrell Food Institute, I’m most excited about the opportunities this Summit offers to students in ag & food (LFS undergrad and grad students!)

• We worked hard to ensure there’s a big representation of student voices
• As a result, student registration is deeply discounted: only $75 for each of the two Guelph days! (food incl.)
• Our cohort of grad students has developed an exciting student-specific session, as well as a networking dinner night only for students
• They/we see this summit as a key opportunity for food/ag graduate students across Canada (and beyond) to really build their networks with one another, as future leaders. So we’ve been very intentional about designing the program to maximize those opportunities – and that’s why we were firm on setting a low cost ticket-price for students. 

I hope to get to see some of you here!

Please feel free to pass this along to your friends and colleagues.

Let me know if you have questions at all

Warmly,

Kelly Hodgins
Education Coordinator  | Feeding 9 Billion

Arrell Food Institute of the University of Guelph
519-824-4120 Ext. 53836 | hodginsk@uoguelph.ca

Attention: research students (MSc and PhD)

INTERNAL deadline – May 11, 2018

Please let me know by May 4^th  if you plan on applying for the Spring Graduate Awards Competition (MSc and PhD) in order for me to prepare certified true copies of your previous transcripts and/or print UBC Academic History from the system.

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Spring Graduate Awards Competition

A number of criteria-based awards for the 2018/19 academic year are available to current and incoming graduate students. Applicants will apply via their graduate programs with a single application that may be considered for as many of the awards as they are eligible for, taking note of the following important considerations:

• Eligibility: To be eligible to receive funding, applicants must meet all the criteria for each award they apply for. Applicants must clearly address their eligibility as specifically to the award criteria as possible.
• Selection: While award recipients will be selected based on academic merits, priority will be given to eligible candidates who do not already hold significant scholarship funding (e.g., external, 4YF, Affiliated Fellowship, etc.).

Deadline for nominations to G+PS: 4 p.m. on Friday, 25 May 2018. (Applicants: Please check with your graduate program for your internal deadline.)

Please see the G+PS Awards site for the eligibility criteria and application materials: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/spring-graduate-awards-competition.

Kind regards,

Lia

Lia Maria Dragan
Graduate Programs Office
Faculty of Land and Food Systems The University of British Columbia
344-2357 Main Mall | Vancouver BC Canada V6T 1Z4
Phone 604.822.8373 | Fax 604.822.4400
Lia.maria@ubc.ca / lfs.gradapp@ubc.ca www.landfood.ubc.ca