Registration for Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition Open

Registration is now open for Western’s 3MT 2018 competition. Students from FIMS, Law and Music will compete with students from Arts & Humanities, Education, and Ivey,  on Friday, March 2.

The final day to register will be Friday, February 23.

3MT (Three Minute Thesis) is a research communication competition where graduate students have 3 minutes or less to present their research and its impact to a panel of non-specialist judges and peers. The exercise develops academic, presentation, and research communication skills and supports the development of research students’ capacity to effectively explain their research in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience.

Full details are available on the 3MT website.

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SSHRC Storytellers Challenge

SSHRC has recently launched its annual Storytellers contest, challenging postsecondary students to creatively show Canadians how social sciences and humanities research has an impact on our lives and on our communities.

The contest is open to all students—graduate and undergraduate—enrolled at Canadian postsecondary institutions. Their task is to tell the story, in 3 minutes or 300 words, of a SSHRC-funded research project—their own or a professor’s—taking place at their institution. SSHRC will select 25 finalists to receive a $3000 cash prize and specialized training in research communications. For details on this year’s Storytellers contest, please follow SSHRC on Twitter, watch the #SSHRCStorytellers hashtag, and visit the SSHRC website.

Don’t hesitate to contact SSHRC should you have any questions. Participant questions should be addressed to Storytellers@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca

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Mitacs Globalink Research Award

Mitacs, a non-profit organization, is accepting applications for competitive international research opportunities for student travel from Canada. It is recommended that students apply by May 2018 for travel planned in Fall 2018.

The Globalink Research Award provides $6,000 for senior undergraduate and graduate students to undertake research projects abroad. Projects last 12–24 weeks and all disciplines are eligible.

New destinations include:

The full list of destinations is available on the Mitacs websitehttps://www.mitacs.ca/en/programs/globalink/globalink-research-award?utm_source=Mitacs Calls for Proposals&utm_campaign=d9d81ccb9a-Mitacs-GRA-Call-ENG-Jan172018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4fbc5a07d9-d9d81ccb9a-121944549, along with resources for finding a professor abroad, suggested application timelines, and other program information.

To learn more about these initiatives, visit the Globalink web page or contact Mitacs Business Development Specialist (at Western), Erin Azzopardi at eazzopard@mitacs.ca. Note that, to apply, the student’s faculty supervisor must be involved.

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Submission Call: Queen’s Policy Review 2017-2018

Queen’s University School of Policy Studies’ graduate publication, the Queen’s Policy Review (QPR) is announces its 9th Annual Graduate Publication centered on the theme of, “Security and Insecurity: Balancing Innovation in an Uncertain World”.

Graduate students across multiple disciplines are invited to present their research and/or submit papers addressing Canada’s future with innovation policy, or how innovation can provide solutions or challenges to public policy issues.The deadline for papers and proposals to be considered is 11:59pm (EST) February 9th, 2018.

Detailed submission criteria can be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/sps/qpr/call-papers.

Please do not hesitate to contact the QPR editorial team at qpr@queensu.ca for any questions or information.

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Envirocon 2018 Call for Abstracts

How can we improve community engagement in topics related to the environment and sustainability?

EnviroCon is a full-day conference hosted by Western’s Centre for Environment and Sustainability and is organized by graduate students in the collaborative program. Organizers aim to bring together the knowledge and research of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and community members involved in environment and sustainability.

Participation in this annual conference is free of charge, and all members of the community are welcome to participate/attend.

Please see the attached Call for Abstracts. Deadline for submissions is February 9.

Electronic Submissions and questions: ces.envirocon@gmail.com
Website: https://www.uwo.ca/enviro/envirocon/

Posters and paper presentations on topics related to environment and sustainability are welcome.

EnviroCon
March 16, 2018
(IGAB) International and Graduate Affairs Building
Western University

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Ethics Updates to WREM system

Western Research Ethics Management (WREM) updates

Over the Christmas holidays the Office of Human Research Ethics updated a series of forms within WREM, which will become active on January 24, 2017. They include Non-Medical Research Ethics Board (NMREB) initial and amendment forms, continuing ethics review and study closure forms.

When you log in to WREM you will notice the following message appear in the Work Area at the top of your screen: “Warning: The project owner must update your project in order to submit this form.”

The message appears only when there has been an update to the application form(s). The form owner will need to accept the update prior to a) submitting an application and/or b) completing an application you have been working on when the message appeared.

Are there any implications to updating the form(s)?
Consider these three scenarios:
1) The form has not been submitted, and is still unlocked – Updating the project will have no effect, except any changes in the form you are completing will be updated.
2) The form has not been submitted, but the form has been locked (either by a signature request, or by a signature being completed) – Updating the project will break these signatures or signature requests. Any requests will need to be remade, and any existing signatures will need to be re-given, because they will have been applied to an old version of the form.
3) The form has been signed and submitted – Updating the project will have no effect on any submitted forms.

What updates have been done?
1. Administrative updates (i.e., revising, addition and removal of questions, addition of help text, etc.)

To access WREM training material and FAQs please visit the website and WREM (click Western University’s REB to access the WREM site).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of the Research Ethics team.

WREM-Memo-updated application Jan 19 2018.pdf

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SSHRC Launches Talent Achievement Report

SSHRC has launched the Talent Achievement Report, a new, more user-friendly end-of-award electronic report that replaces the existing final report used by SSHRC fellowship and scholarship award holders. Similar to the Insight, Connection and Partnership Achievement Reports, this new report will improve SSHRC’s capacity to collect and measure outcomes and impacts of funded activities and reduce the administrative burden for award recipients. The information provided in these reports is of great value to SSHRC as it is a vital input to planning and strategy setting.

The new Talent Achievement Report is currently available to all doctoral and postdoctoral award recipients on SSHRC’s website. It is in a survey format on Fluidsurveys, a secure web platform, and must be submitted within six months of the end of the scholarship/fellowship period. More detailed information related to the Talent Achievement Report is available on SSHRC’s website.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca.

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Human Research Ethics – New Educational Resources for Participants

The Panel on Research Ethics has announced a new set of educational resources to assist people who are participating in research or are considering joining a research study. This material offers information about how the ethics guidance in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans (TCPS) provides protection for research participants. It is intended for a broad audience.

The brochure “Taking Part in Research” provides basic information online and in print about participation in research.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Participants” provides more specific information on topics such as privacy, risks and benefits, and consent, based on TCPS guidance.

These new resources are available online for the general public. Researchers are encouraged to use them to enhance their communication when recruiting participants, or during the course of study. Research ethics boards and institutions can use the resources in their educational efforts and in raising public awareness about the ethics of research involving humans.

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Statistical Assistant Position

Western’s Statistics Canada Research Data Centre is looking to hire a part-time statistical assistant.

Salary: approximately $20/hour; fixed schedule 9 hours per week and variable schedule as needed
Language requirement: English essential
Job description
– Maintaining the integrity of the security systems
– Preparation and review of contracts
– Maintenance of administrative databases
– Administrative duties (preparing reports, correspondence with users, ordering supplies, etc.)
– Provide basic assistance on the use of the computer network and statistical software
– Other computer and administrative tasks as assigned
Qualifications
– Completed Bachelor’s degree in social sciences or sciences (such as business, economics, demography, geography, psychology, sociology, statistics, epidemiology, biostatistics or a related field)
– Experience using Word and Excel
– Experience in the use of statistical software packages: SAS, SPSS, and STATA
– Ability to be detail-oriented
– Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing
Assets
-Masters or PhD
-Experience in the processing and analysis of microdata from Statistics Canada social surveys
-Experience with Windows operating system (Windows 7 or newer), MS Access
-Knowledge of the major social surveys or administrative data sources maintained by Statistics Canada, or comparable surveys or administrative data.
Personal suitability: Client Service Orientation, Initiative, Reliability, Thoroughness, Judgement
Security clearance: Enhanced Reliability Check is a condition for employment
Preference given to Canadian citizens and Permanent residents of Canada. Please indicate your citizenship status on your cover letter and/or resume.
Please submit your resume and a cover letter outlining how your education and experience relate to the position to rdc@uwo.ca by December 15, 2017.
Successful candidates will be contacted for an interview.
For any further questions contact Nathalie Goodwin at nathalie.goodwin@uwo.ca or Glenda Babe at gbabe@uwo.ca.

Federal Government Positions

The federal government is seeking to create a pool of qualified candidates for positions of Analyst / Research Advisor / Economist (at two levels, EC04 and EC05) for vacancies that may arise in Gatineau, Québec and other locations across Canada. While successful candidates may be hired to work in labour market research, managers from other directorates within ESDC may draw from the pool for other research or analysis positions.

Qualification required: Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable specialization in economics, sociology or statistics.

Closing Date: December 15, 2017

Links to more information:
EC04 https://emploisfp-psjobs.cfp-psc.gc.ca/psrs-srfp/applicant/page1800?poster=1106147&toggleLanguage=en

EC05 https://emploisfp-psjobs.cfp-psc.gc.ca/psrs-srfp/applicant/page1800?poster=1106139&toggleLanguage=en

René Maillet is available to discuss the processes and potential jobs at: Tel: 819-654-3433 or Email: NC-RECRUTEMENT_IMT-LMI_RECRUITMENT-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

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