Executive

New President’s Message

April 10, 2016Executivealexander smith

I am incredibly honoured to be writing this message as the new President of the UBC Postdoctoral Association (PDA). I have to start off by giving a huge thanks to our outgoing President, Dr. Miranda Kirby. Her dedication and enthusiasm have greatly strengthened the PDA, particularly in the areas of peer networking and research communication. Under her leadership, the PDA developed the “Postdoc Talks” Seminar series, an opportunity for postdocs from diverse fields to present their research to non-specialist audiences. Her actions have increased the profile and reach of the PDA within UBC and the surrounding community. She now joins the ranks of the many fantastic PDA past-Presidents, and I am ecstatic that she has agreed to remain involved in the PDA and will continue to contribute her knowledge and experience during my term.

Over the past year, I have served as a member of the PDA executive committee. In this role, together with the PDA officers and other members of the PDA executive, I was involved with planning and executing a number of events, including the 3 minute postdoc slam (May 21, 2015), the 2015 Postdoc Research Day (September 22, 2015), and our Annual General meeting (March 30, 2016). I have also been involved with the PDFO, assisting with new postdoc orientation and sitting on an award adjudication panel. I have also been an active participant in the PDA’s social events, and have had the good fortune to be able to attend nearly all of the events, affording me the opportunity to meet other postdocs from a number of different faculties across UBC. I hope that during my term we will be able to ensure that other UBC postdocs are able to have the same great experiences I have had with the association.

On behalf of all UBC postdoctoral fellows, I would like to extend many thanks to the other outgoing PDA officers. It has been an honour and a pleasure working with each of you over this past year. Yun Zhang (VP Operations) – thank you for all your efforts in helping to ensure the smooth functioning of the PDA, Farzam Fotovat (VP External) – for your leadership with the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS), Galen Wright (VP Communications) – for your efforts to increase the PDA’s social media presence and better reach out to UBC postdocs, Britt Drögemöller (VP Social) – for your tireless efforts to put on many great social events, and work with the new Google calendar to make it easier for people to see when and what events were coming up, and last, but certainly not least, Nima Mohtaram (VP Finance) – for keeping us on track with finances, booking rooms, and ensuring that all our events ran smoothly and on-budget. I’d also like to thank all the other members of the executive committee. Their input and assistance with putting on the PDA events was invaluable.

Now I would like to welcome our new officers! Zoe Riches will take over VP-Operations, Stefanie Vogt for VP-External, Jenny Chik for VP-Communications, Justin Hart for VP-Social, and Houra Loghmani Khouzani for VP-Finance. I would also like to extend a big thank you to all the people who have already expressed interest in joining the PDA executive team. I am excited to work with everyone, and I anticipate a fun and productive year ahead!

Finally, I would like to invite and encourage all of you to join the PDA executive committee as a volunteer. Membership in the PDA is open to all UBC fellows and associates, and all members of the executive team are invited to attend the PDA officers’ meetings, share ideas, get involved in planning and organizing our events, and advocate for postdoctoral fellows and associates at UBC. Please contact us if you want to be involved!

Cheers,
Alexander Smith, PhD
President, UBC Postdoctoral Association

UBC PDA Annual General Meeting 2016 (March 30th)

March 9, 2016Events, Executive, SocialsGalen Wright

Your vote counts! Join us as we elect the new PDA Executive Committee for the upcoming year on Wednesday 30 March at 5:00 pm at the Life Sciences Institute (LSI), Room 1330. No RSVP required.

The event will commence with reports from the past PDA Executive Committee members followed by short introductions of the new nominees, after which you can place your vote. We will end the evening with a reception with snacks and refreshments to welcome the new committee members.

Please contact contacting us 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!

Call for Nominations: 2016/2017 PDA Executive

March 9, 2016Events, Executive, Professional DevelopmentGalen Wright

We are excited to announce the call for nominations for candidates to be part of the UBC Postdoctoral Association’s 2016/2017 Executive Team.

This is a great opportunity to:

Gain leadership experience
Represent the postdoc community
Organize professional development, research and networking events

The PDA Executive Team consists of 6 Volunteer Officers (i.e. President and 5 VPs) whose position will be voted on at our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, March 30th in the Life Sciences Institute (LSI) room 1330 (5 pm). For a detailed list of our open Officer Positions and a description of their role below.

We encourage all postdocs to attend the AGM on March 30th.
Light snacks and refreshments will be served!

Eligibility: All candidates must be UBC Postdoctoral Fellows.

Service on the Executive Committee: Candidates should be able to attend the majority of the Executive Committee meetings held bimonthly either on or off-campus, as well as the PDA events. Executive Committee member terms are 1-year beginning April 2016-March 2017.

Self-Nomination: Download the UBC PDA nomination form here. Please fill out this form and return it to ubc.postdoc@gmail.com along with: a recent photo and a short Letter of Interest (100-200 words) detailing your interest in serving on the PDA Executive and any relevant experience.

Nomination deadline: Wednesday March 23rd, 2016.

Commitment: On average, the President attends 2 meetings a month (5-10 hours a month), while the VP attends 1-2 meetings a month (2-7 hours a month)

Executive positions open for election (click to read role descriptions):

President
VP-Operations
VP-External
VP-Communications
VP-Social
VP-Finance
Executive-Committee-Members

The UBC PDA President shall:

Act as the public face of the PDA to:

speak on behalf of the PDA at orientation and wherever appropriate
understand the needs of PDA members and ensure equal representation across departments

Be responsible for meetings of the PDA Executive members to:

chair and set the agenda for meetings
ensure proper operation of the meetings
take minutes at meetings, or designate a member to do so
manage copies of the minutes, agendas, and any other materials

Be responsible for the execution of decisions by the PDA Executives

Lead the Annual General Meeting and PDA Elections

Work together with the VP-Communications to:

direct content for communication to members of the UBC postdoc community
manage and update the website
respond to emails
direct the advertisement of PDA events.

Work together with the VP-External to:

collaborate and communicate with the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars
raise awareness of postdoctoral issues and find avenues of support

Work together with the VP-Social to create a calendar of social events and ensure a broad outreach.

Work together with the VP-Operations to:

ensure liaising with the UBC Postdoctoral Fellows office and Deans office
representing the PDA during meetings with UBC faculty, staff and administrators
coordinate the Executive Members of the PDA

Work together with the VP-Finance to:

ensure responsible stewardship over the annual budget when planning events
being aware of outflow and inflow

**President and/or VP-External has the chance to attend the annual CAPA/CAPS Meeting

The UBC PDA VP-Operations shall:

Organize professional development activities for postdocs.
Set up regular PDA meetings via doodle polls and arrange suitable venues on/off campus
Organize non-social UBC-PDA events
Attend and participate in meetings of the PDA executive members
Assist in all PDA executive members plan.
Perform duties of the President, in the event of absence or illness of the President

The UBC PDA VP-External shall:

Raise the voice of UBC postdoctoral fellows at regional and national platforms through participation and dialogues with the Canadian Association for Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS-ACSP)
Build and promote alliance with various BC industrial sectors to create opportunities for researchers outside academia
Work with CAPS-ACSP to create and sustain dialogue with legislators to acknowledge the role of postdoctoral fellows and research associates to Canadian economy
Address or raise awareness for issues relevant to postdoctoral fellows and research associates
Work with the UBC PDA executive team to ensure smooth running of the organization and liaise with its partners

**President and/or VP-External has the chance to attend the annual CAPA/CAPS Meeting

The UBC PDA VP-Communications shall:

Be responsible for the development of the communication strategy
Manage communication activities that promote, enhance, and protect the PDA’s brand reputation
Responsible for disseminating news items relevant to UBC postdocs, in the form of a monthly newsletter
Work with the President in planning content for the PDA newsletters
Work with the President to recognize internal and external communications opportunities
Work with the President in managing communications on the PDA’s Facebook page and Twitter
Exercise judgment to prioritize media opportunities, and prepare presentations and other supporting material as needed during events
Work with the team to maintain and continuously improve the PDA website
Promote events
Support the communications needs of the PDA and the Postdoctoral Fellows Office

The UBC PDA VP-Social shall:

Attend and participate in the biannual PDA orientations
Advertise the PDA to the new postdocs
Deliver the “Getting to Know Vancouver” talk
Organize a social for postdocs after the orientation
Plan, advertise and execute regular social and networking events for postdocs, including the annual:
Whistler trip (organize to/from Whistler and reserve accommodation at the UBC lodge)
“3 Minute Postdoc Slam” competition (assist all PDA executive members plan)
“UBC Postdoc Research Day” (assist all PDA executive members plan)
Holiday party (venue reservation and run games e.g. “white elephant”)
Organize monthly social events for the PDA community
Attend and participate in meetings of the PDA executive members, which include booking public venues on/off UBC campus

The UBC PDA VP-Finance shall:

Be a Postdoctoral fellow residing in the Life Sciences Institute (due to budget restrictions)
Oversee correct use and spending of the UBC PDA budget and liaise with Life Science Institute (LSI) admin staff
Help organize events (3-Minute Postdoc Slam, Postdoctoral Research Day, seminars in general)
Serve as the LSI Postdoc representative on the Life Sciences Institute Steering Committee (meets once a month)

Executive Committee Members:

These volunteers are non-elected and serve as helpers.

New President’s First Message

April 8, 2015ExecutiveGrace Lee

Miranda 250px Dear colleagues and friends,

I am so honored to begin my term as President of the UBC-Postdoctoral Association (PDA). First and foremost, I would like to thank our outgoing President, Grace Lee, for her commitment, passion and enthusiasm over this last year. Under her leadership, the PDA has made some leaps and bounds, especially with regards to increasing professional development opportunities for postdoctoral fellows and research associates, and increasing the visibility and reach of the PDA within UBC and beyond. She will join the ranks of many wonderful past-Presidents, and I am so grateful that many of them still reside in Vancouver and will allow me to count on their counsel during my term.

As preparation for my term as President, I served the PDA executive committee as co-VP-Social this past year. Through this position, I have been involved in planning, advertising and executing our annual research and academic events, in addition to numerous networking events to foster interaction and collaboration among postdoctoral fellows and associates. Specifically, together with the PDA, we planned and organized the annual “3 Minute Postdoc Slam” and “UBC Postdoc Research Day”, as well as a Whistler ski trip, kayaking trip, hike in North Vancouver and many other fun socials on and off campus. This has provided me firsthand experience with all of the successful events the PDA organizes annually. However, just because the PDA was successful this past year doesn’t mean we should rest on our laurels. In the upcoming year I plan to introduce several new initiatives to contribute to the UBC PDA’s mission to foster community and networking for postdoctoral fellows, provide a forum to discuss important issues and provide a voice to communicate those issues to the UBC Postdoctoral Fellow’s Office, and provide more professional development opportunities. I am looking forward to creating an exciting calendar of events with the PDA executive team in the coming weeks!

In closing, on behalf of all UBC postdoctoral fellows, I would like to extend many thanks to the outgoing PDA officers. It has been a pleasure working with each of you this past year. Libin Abraham – thank you for your efforts in providing more teaching opportunities for postdoctoral fellows, Raj Kannan – for your leadership with the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS), Kelly Sakaki – for your efforts in increasing our readership with the PDA newsletter, Gesa Volkers – for keeping us all on track with the finances and for ensuring PDA events ran smoothly, and Elisa Wong – my partner in crime as co-VP-Social this past year – I have had a great time planning and attending PDA events with you. Lucky for all of us, many of our outgoing PDA officers will remain part of the executive team this term.

I would also like to welcome our new PDA leaders! Yun Zhang will take over VP-Operations, Farzam Fotovat for VP-External, Galen Wright for VP-Communications, Nima Mohtaram for VP-Finance, and Britt Drögemöller for VP-Social. I would also like to welcome all of the individuals who have already expressed interest in joining the PDA executive team. I have heard so many great ideas from each of you already, and I look forward to a productive and fun year ahead!

Finally, I would like invite all of you to join the PDA executive committee as a volunteer. PDA membership is open to all UBC fellows and associates. All members of the PDA executive team are invited to attend meetings with the PDA officers, share their ideas and get involved in planning and organizing our events, and advocate for postdoctoral fellows and associates at UBC. Please contact us if you want to be involved!

kindest regards,
Miranda Kirby, PhD
President, UBC Postdoctoral Association

Join us for our AGM and vote!

March 24, 2015ExecutiveGrace Lee

Express your voice and vote for your new leaders! Nominations for executives positions are now closed, and we are delighted to have a shortlist of bright and talented candidates. Read about our candidates by clicking the names below.

Meet our candidates on April 1st, 2015 and cast your vote to elect our new leaders!

Location: UBC Life Sciences Institute, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Room 1330

We will then discuss:

results from the on-site vote
social and educational events
preliminary calendar of events for 2015 – 2016
communications, outreach, and advocacy

Everyone welcome. Please come and meet your new executive team!

Message from the President: “It has been an honor and a privilege. But this is not goodbye.”

March 12, 2015Executive, NewsletterGrace Lee

I want to begin by saying it has been a pleasure to have served as president of the UBC PDA over the last year, and I am proud to have done so with such a dedicated executive team with a deep commitment to this association. This is my last The Buzz message to you as the PDA President. At the AGM that announces the results of our election on April 1st, 2015, I will hand over my role to the named successor, who will then serve the next year in leadership. For this last message, I want to communicate my thoughts about my time as President and tell you about some important accomplishments during my tenure.

I have faced some challenges, but overall, the PDA is heading into a very exciting and transformative period in its history. As an organization, the PDA has undergone tremendous growth this past year. Our current subscription to our newsletter stands at 191; up from 56 at this time in 2014. Our Facebook page following has experienced a 124% growth, and postdoctoral associations or societies from other institutions have begun to notice us and reach out to us.

We have offered many new benefits for our members, including professional development seminars on pursuing careers in academia and industry with a bend towards personal branding, and two workshops on financial literacy to learn how to make the most of what we earn as postdocs. We have expanded the content of our website with useful slides and audio or video recordings of our professional and educational events, and an option to sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Perhaps one of our greatest milestones was adopting a clear mandate to reach out to and engage with postdocs in the arts and humanities, engineering, and other non life science departments. The UBC PDA represents all UBC postdocs and research associates. Our advocacy work and events should include everyone in this broad community.

This past year also saw a terrible tragedy, with the loss of our colleagues and friends, Stephanie Grothe and Neil Mackenzie. As members of the UBC Varsity Outdoor Club, a fundraising campaign was set up for them where the proceeds went to the Search and Rescue community in British Columbia.

In the coming weeks we will see new faces among the PDA Executive Team, as the election comes to a close at the end of the month. I am confident that our new leaders will provide outstanding leadership in their roles for external relations, marketing and communications, and advocacy.

In closing this farewell message, I want to say that it has been a privilege and pleasure to have served as the UBC PDA President from 2014-2015. I wish to publicly thank my executive team members for their willingness to serve this association, and for the postdoc volunteers who undertook important work to ensure the smooth running of our academic events.

My appreciation goes to the devoted leaders from the Postdoctoral Fellows Office. Rachel Fernandez is our Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, whose enthusiasm and keen sense of humor brought a personalized meaning to faculty relations. Hourik Khanlian is ever enduring as Manager of Human Resources and Postdoctoral Affairs, not to mention one of the most compassionate HR managers I know. Jen Tooley, our past HR and Postdoctoral Affairs Assistant, has been a blessing to us, and as she moved on to new adventures, she has been thoroughly missed. We welcomed Sarah Henderson in her position, who is an amazing example of organizational talent. I appreciate all the work these individuals have done in support of postdocs and our association.

For providing knowledge and leadership at our various events and workshops, I want to acknowledge Michael Gold, Brian Duff, Nilly McCaffery, Ryan Howe, Alphil Guilaran, and the team at the Financial Literacy Counsel.

Finally, I want to thank all of you for supporting the UBC PDA and me during my term of office. I am proud of having served such a great community of young professionals. This is not goodbye – I feel I still have unfinished work, and will be providing leadership for hands-on workshops in entrepreneurship. For the immediate future, I will serve as Past-President and look forward to supporting the new leadership team. I give you my best, and wish you all tremendous success in whichever way you define it.

With warmest regards,

Grace Lee
www.drgracelee.ca

Elections 2015: Call for Nominations!

March 2, 2015Events, ExecutiveGrace Lee

The UBC Postdoctoral Associations is now accepting nominations for the 2015-2016 Executive Committee.

Run for the PDA Postdoc Executive and grow as a leader!

Benefits of leadership as a PDA Executive:

Develop leadership and management skills
Gain experience running an organization
Enrich your postdoctoral experience
Improve your networking and communication skills
Serve your postdoctoral community
Gain valuable professional and personal development

Download the UBC PDA nomination form here. Complete and return to ubc.postdoc@gmail.com along with a recent photo of yourself and a 100-200 word profile statement about yourself and your visions and goals for this position.

Nomination deadline: Monday March 23rd, 2015.
Online voting: Tuesday March 24 to Tuesday March 31, 2015.
Results announced: Wednesday April 1st, 2015