Campus Notices
Welcome to the new school year!
The UPEI Health Research Network is looking for full/part-time undergraduate students for the Connections program starting the last week of September 2023!
Would you like to meet new friends and be involved in an inclusive and non-judgmental environment to learn about food, health, stress, coping, and physical activity?
The staff at the Health Research Network is offering a free eight-session program to help connect undergraduate students to provide an environment for learning on a variety of topics around health and well-being and connecting to the student community. Snacks will be provided at each session!
This free program will include a total of eight weekly group education sessions which include 1 hour with a registered dietitian and 1-2 hours of exercise sessions with a kinesiologist (plus open gym times) located in the lower level of the Steel Building. These sessions will be student-centered so we welcome any level of knowledge and ability.
If you are interested in registering, please email Gemma and Laurie at connections@upei.ca for more information or to register. We look forward to seeing you there!
The UPEI Biology Department invites the campus community to a research seminar on Monday, September 18, 2023, at 4:00 pm in Duffy Science Centre, Room 204.
Dr. Suzanne Gray, Associate Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, will present “Using sensory ecology to understand how fish respond to anthropogenic environmental change.”
Dr. Gray is a candidate for a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Biology.
Overview: All Canadians are called to learn about Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples and how we can move forward in reconciliation and restitution. In the Indigenous Cultural Awareness course, facilitator Julie Pellissier-Lush will highlight and explain in-depth the traditional knowledge of the Mi’kmaq (the Indigenous peoples of Mi’kma’ki, and specifically Epetwitk), their life before contact with Europeans, the role of colonization on the Mi’kmaq, and how all Canadians move forward positively with Indigenous peoples. This will be done in a fun way that will focus on participants feeling safe in the learning circle provided and ensure all taking part in the course will leave with a greater knowledge of traditional Mi’kmaq teachings, history and how to engage and grow through truth, reconciliation, and restitution.
Designed for: Anybody, from employees to executives, to managers and entrepreneurs, who wish to learn about the traditional ways and knowledge of Indigenous – specifically Mi’kmaq – people, their journey, and how all Canadians can move forward positively in terms of truth, reconciliation, and restitution with Indigenous peoples
Duration: Six (6) hours over two (2) afternoons.
Facilitator: Julie Pellissier-Lush
The excitement for this Saturday's Gold Rush draw is growing as big as the pot! With no winners in the last FOUR draws, the total pot has grown to more than $10,275, with half going to the winner of the draw.
Gold Rush is a virtual fundraising initiative that raises funds for UPEI’s athletic and recreation programs. You can now select a specific team, club, or program to direct your proceeds from each of your tickets.
Play today and every week for a chance to win! Download the UPEI Panthers app from the App Store or on Google Play, or play from your computer. The weekly draw is held at 8:00 pm every Saturday.
Hosted in the Mawi’omi Indigenous Student Centre (515 Dalton Hall), this program is meant to introduce students, new staff, and faculty to Elder Judy Clark, UPEI Elder in Residence. The session will take place from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on September 19. The Centre will offer a smudge, snacks and a chance for people to ask Elder Judy questions and hear about what she has been up to this summer. All are welcome.
OCII is pleased to invite you to our info sessions on Intellectual Property for Researchers, presented by André Gallant, IP Advisor for Atlantic Canada from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). Learn more about intellectual property (IP) as it relates to your research innovations, inventions, and entrepreneurial activities.
All faculty, students, and staff are welcome to attend!
They are taking place today, Thursday, September 14, in Don and Marion McDougall Hall 329:
Session 1: 9:30--10:15 am, Patents, Trade Secrets & Industrial Designs
Session 2: 10:30--11:15 am, Copyrights & Trademarks
Please come to both or either, based on your research and commercialization interests.
We hope to see you there!
-- Office of Commercialization, Industry & Innovation Team
Any questions, reach out at ocii@upei.ca or follow us on LinkedIn
The first meeting of the UPEI Senate will take place on Friday, September 15, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in Room 128B of the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering building.
All meetings of Senate are open to members of the University community, although for certain in-camera items (e.g., granting of degrees), only Senators may be present.
While Senate is an in-person meeting, to facilitate inclusion, under special circumstances members of the University community may request a Zoom connection when they are unable to attend in-person. Only members of Senate are permitted to address the Senate, unless otherwise recognized by the Chair.
For more information, visit https://www.upei.ca/about-upei/governance/senate or email senate@upei.ca.
Are you a chief warden, floor warden, or guardian for your building? Do you know what to do if there is a building evacuation? Do you have questions about your role as a warden or guardian or the evacuation procedures for your building?
UPEI Health, Safety, and Environment will hold a building emergency plan session for chief wardens, floor wardens, and guardians on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at 1:30 pm in Duffy Science Centre (DSC) Room 135.
Please let hse@upei.ca know if you are interested in attending.
UPEI Research Services is relaunching Research on Tap, and we'd like your help.
Research on Tap provides an opportunity to talk about research and network with the public in a casual setting. The first session will take place at the Fox and Crow on Wednesday, October 11, at 7:00 pm for an evening of informal discussion and dialogue.
Each session is led by one or two faculty researchers from UPEI who present the central theme/topic in about 10-15 minutes in a way that is accessible, insightful, and exciting to the lay audience. The rest of the time is for questions and discussion. The conversation is interesting, engaging, and lively.
A second Research on Tap session is planned for Wednesday, November 15 (location TBD, likely off campus).
Are you and/or a colleague interested in leading one of these discussions? If so, please provide a short abstract to Research Services (researchservices@upei.ca) describing your topic and emphasizing how it would be of interest now to the PEI public. Please also indicate your preferred session (October or November). The deadline for expressions of interest for both fall sessions of Research on Tap is September 25, 2023.
For questions, please contact Maria Steele, Manager, Research Services, at mlsteele@upei.ca or 902-566-6479.
As new schedules become routine, the Chaplaincy Centre is resuming weekly prayer times. Our mandate responds to the need for religious harmony and spiritual well-being. #foodforbodyandsoul
Thursdays, 12:05--12:30 pm, Liturgy of the Word and Communion led by Sister Sue
Fridays, 1:00 pm, Jummah Prayer led by the Muslim Student Association
Sundays, 6:00 pm, Catholic Mass, Father Chris Sherren presiding
Welcome back, everyone!
The UPEI Writing Centre is again ready to support writers with assignments from all faculties at all stages of the writing and research process. Appointments with our friendly, knowledgeable tutors are one-on-one and up to an hour long, hosted in-person in RL 274, and also available online.
Book your appointment at https://upei.mywconline.com/
Staff and faculty should contact Jarmo Puiras at jjpuiras@upei.ca for more information or to arrange a short class visit from Writing Centre staff to introduce the service to your class.
Best wishes for a rewarding, storm-free fall term.
Are you trying to find some dedicated time to finish a writing project that needs focused attention? Time to Write retreats offer concentrated time to support your writing efforts and can be instrumental in the initiation or completion of scholarly work such as an article, book or book chapter, grant proposal, curriculum or OER development, conference presentations, or other scholarly creative projects.
Time to work on writing projects away from home and campus for a few days can be incredibly productive. Participation in a writing retreat with colleagues at various stages of their careers not only provides quiet, focused writing time away from teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities, but it also offers mentorship and networking opportunities with colleagues from a range of disciplines. The retreat provides an opportunity to develop a supportive writing group with colleagues from across campus and join group discussions on writing and publishing.
A Time to Write retreat will be offered from Tuesday, October 10, to Friday, October 13, 2023, at the North Rustico Cottages in North Rustico.
Participants must have a project (e.g., grant application, research publication) at a stage where sustained writing time makes sense with background research and/or data collection and analysis completed to the point that they are ready to write. Participants must be prepared to commit to the full program, a total of three days focused on writing, and contribute $300. The retreat is open to faculty (term and sessional faculty are encouraged to apply) and librarians in any academic unit at UPEI. Interested participants will email an expression of interest consisting of a summary of the project they plan to work on and their writing goals for the retreat to TLC@upei.ca by 12:00 noon on Monday, September 25, 2023. Six to eight participants will be accepted for this Time to Write fall retreat.
Interested in learning about High Performance Computing, Linux, or programming with Python? ACENET's fall training is starting soon. These sessions are online and are free of charge. Our fall training offerings are listed below, with more to be announced.
If you have any questions about upcoming training or ACENET services at UPEI, contact Kaitlin Newson.
Basics of Computers
15 September, 1300-1500hrs Atlantic
Most of us have experience using a computer, whether for school, work, or entertainment, but how many of us have actually had an expert teach us how to use it? It doesn't need to be (quite) this way. This talk won't teach you how to troubleshoot everything, but will give you insight into how media, programs, and data are encoded and used by computers, so you can make more sense of why computers behave the ways they do, and solve some of your problems with greater efficiency and less frustration. We will provide an approachable overview of how a computer works, by both looking at their history and breaking one down to explain individual components, before highlighting some of the trade-offs to consider when buying a computer. We will provide practical, simple, and actionable advice on digital security and show you a few "pro tips" on how to make the most of your workstation, phone, or whatever device you happen to use. Whether you have a lot or a little experience using your digital technology, if you want to learn how to use your devices more effectively, this workshop is for you!
DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-of-computers-tickets-710253065037
Introduction to High Performance Computing (HPC)
19 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic
What is High Performance Computing (HPC) and what can it do for me? How can ACENET help? Used by researchers across many disciplines to tackle analyses too large or complex for a desktop, or to achieve improved efficiency over a desktop, this session takes participants through the preliminary stages of learning about high performance computing (HPC) and computing clusters, and how to get started with this type of computing. It then reviews software packages available for applications, data analysis, software development, and compiling code. Finally, participants will be introduced to the concept of parallel computing to achieve much faster results in analysis. This session is designed for those with no prior experience in HPC, and are looking for an introduction and overview.
DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-hpc-tickets-710253867437
Introduction to Linux
20 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic
Linux is the terminal interface used to enable you to use supercomputing clusters from your desktop. It's the tool you need to get your data on the clusters, run your programs, and get your data back. In this session, learn how to create and navigate directories for your data, load files, manage your storage, run programs on the compute clusters, and set file permissions. This workshop is designed for those with no prior experience in working with a terminal interface.
DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-linux-tickets-710254178367
Introduction to Shell Scripting
21 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic
Shell scripting helps you save time, automate file management tasks, and better use the power of Linux. You’ll learn how to use the command line to carry out repetitive tasks, extract information from files quickly, combine commands in powerful ways, learn about job scripts, shell variables, and looping commands, and capture a workflow so you can re-use it easily. Save time, reduce errors, and use Linux more effectively. This workshop is designed for either new High Performance Computing (HPC) users who are familiar with working in a Linux environment, or for experienced users seeking to get more out of shell scripting. It is one of the core courses to help users get up and running on ACENET and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada systems.
Prerequisite: ACENET Basic Series Introduction to Linux, or previous experience with Linux.
DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-shell-scripting-tickets-710254399027
Job Scheduling with Slurm
22 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic
The national systems use a job scheduler called “Slurm”. In this session you will learn how Slurm works and how it allocates jobs, helping you to: minimize wait time by framing reasonable requests; ask for only the resources you need to improve efficiency; increase throughput; run more jobs simultaneously; and troubleshoot and address crashes. This workshop is designed for new HPC users, or for experienced users either transitioning to Slurm or seeking to improve efficiency with the scheduler.
Prerequisites: Completion of Introduction to Linux and Introduction to Shell Scripting, or prior experience with both.
DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-job-scheduling-with-slurm-tickets-710254629717
Introductory Programming: Unix Shell, Version Control, and Python
27 September, 4 October, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic
This is a beginner-level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of Python. This includes data types, conditional statements, loops and functions, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging and using Python in everyday tasks. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented or previous programming experience but intermediate level experience with a computer is highly recommended.
DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-with-python-tickets-711238041127
Cloud from A to Z
17, 19, 24, 26 October, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic
Cloud computing provides great flexibility, allowing complete control of the computing environment. In addition, the environment can be copied, backed up, created and recreated in an automated way. In these lessons, we will start you on the path toward making use of the great flexibility and power of cloud computing. We will be using the popular static website generator Jekyll.
Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Linux, Software Carpentry's Unix Shell, or similar experience.
DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-cloud-from-a-to-z-tickets-710265482177
Introductory Programming with R
18, 25 October, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic
This is a beginner-level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of R. This includes data types, functions, importing, manipulating and analyzing data, and data visualization, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging, and using R in everyday tasks. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented or previous programming experience but intermediate level experience with a computer is highly recommended.
DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-with-r-tickets-711430436587
The first meeting of the UPEI Senate will take place on Friday, September 15, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in Room 128B of the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering building.
All meetings of Senate are open to members of the University community, although for certain in-camera items (e.g., granting of degrees), only Senators may be present.
While Senate is an in-person meeting, to facilitate inclusion, under special circumstances members of the University community may request a Zoom connection when they are unable to attend in-person. Only members of Senate are permitted to address the Senate, unless otherwise recognized by the Chair.
For more information, visit https://www.upei.ca/about-upei/governance/senate or email senate@upei.ca.
Are you a chief warden, floor warden, or guardian for your building? Do you know what to do if there is a building evacuation? Do you have questions about your role as a warden or guardian or the evacuation procedures for your building?
UPEI Health, Safety, and Environment will hold a building emergency plan session for chief wardens, floor wardens, and guardians on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at 1:30 pm in Duffy Science Centre (DSC) Room 135.
Please let hse@upei.ca know if you are interested in attending.
UPEI Research Services is relaunching Research on Tap, and we'd like your help.
Research on Tap provides an opportunity to talk about research and network with the public in a casual setting. The first session will take place at the Fox and Crow on Wednesday, October 11, at 7:00 pm for an evening of informal discussion and dialogue.
Each session is led by one or two faculty researchers from UPEI who present the central theme/topic in about 10-15 minutes in a way that is accessible, insightful, and exciting to the lay audience. The rest of the time is for questions and discussion. The conversation is interesting, engaging, and lively.
A second Research on Tap session is planned for Wednesday, November 15 (location TBD, likely off campus).
Are you and/or a colleague interested in leading one of these discussions? If so, please provide a short abstract to Research Services (researchservices@upei.ca) describing your topic and emphasizing how it would be of interest now to the PEI public. Please also indicate your preferred session (October or November). The deadline for expressions of interest for both fall sessions of Research on Tap is September 25, 2023.
For questions, please contact Maria Steele, Manager, Research Services, at mlsteele@upei.ca or 902-566-6479.
As new schedules become routine, the Chaplaincy Centre is resuming weekly prayer times. Our mandate responds to the need for religious harmony and spiritual well-being. #foodforbodyandsoul
Thursdays, 12:05--12:30 pm, Liturgy of the Word and Communion led by Sister Sue
Fridays, 1:00 pm, Jummah Prayer led by the Muslim Student Association
Sundays, 6:00 pm, Catholic Mass, Father Chris Sherren presiding
Are you trying to find some dedicated time to finish a writing project that needs focused attention? Time to Write retreats offer concentrated time to support your writing efforts and can be instrumental in the initiation or completion of scholarly work such as an article, book or book chapter, grant proposal, curriculum or OER development, conference presentations, or other scholarly creative projects.
Time to work on writing projects away from home and campus for a few days can be incredibly productive. Participation in a writing retreat with colleagues at various stages of their careers not only provides quiet, focused writing time away from teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities, but it also offers mentorship and networking opportunities with colleagues from a range of disciplines. The retreat provides an opportunity to develop a supportive writing group with colleagues from across campus and join group discussions on writing and publishing.
A Time to Write retreat will be offered from Tuesday, October 10, to Friday, October 13, 2023, at the North Rustico Cottages in North Rustico.
Participants must have a project (e.g., grant application, research publication) at a stage where sustained writing time makes sense with background research and/or data collection and analysis completed to the point that they are ready to write. Participants must be prepared to commit to the full program, a total of three days focused on writing, and contribute $300. The retreat is open to faculty (term and sessional faculty are encouraged to apply) and librarians in any academic unit at UPEI. Interested participants will email an expression of interest consisting of a summary of the project they plan to work on and their writing goals for the retreat to TLC@upei.ca by 12:00 noon on Monday, September 25, 2023. Six to eight participants will be accepted for this Time to Write fall retreat.
When conducting assessments, clear communication of expectations can help your students perform their work with a clear understanding of what academic integrity means in your course. This session will cover some approaches for setting up clear and concise honour agreements and building the requirements into your Moodle assessments. The session will take place in the Teaching and Learning Centre (located in the Robertson Library Annex) on September 19 from 10:00 to 11:00 am. Register here.
With the release of the UPEI Review Report, the University has coordinated two confidential processes to support faculty and staff who have experienced harm from harassment, sexual violence, or discrimination at UPEI.
Confidential third-party personal counselling:
The UPEI Health and Wellness Centre has engaged a psychologist to meet individually with faculty and staff, by appointment. Employees may email Caylin Jenkins at cbjenkins@upei.ca, indicating “Appointment required” in the subject line. Caylin will coordinate with the psychologist and confirm the time and location of the appointment with the employee.
Making a confidential disclosure:
People have asked about the process for making disclosures of incidents of harassment or discrimination by senior executive members of the University. The University has established an independent third-party process to address any such issues with Resonance Inc., a multidisciplinary human resources firm, based in Saint John, NB, that specializes in workplace assessments. The contact person at Resonance is Trisha Perry, who may be reached at tperry@resonanceinc.ca or (506)799-0412.
For more information, go to https://www.upei.ca/response-to-independent-review/community-support
