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June 26, 2013

GSA News & ViewsUniversity of Calgary Graduate Students' Association

IMPORTANT DATES   

  

Summer Time
 
GSA News & Views will be sent out every two weeks for the summer. Next newsletter, June 25th.
IN THIS ISSUE
IMPORTANT DATES
Graduate Research at U of C Photo Contest
Champagne Celebration
International Strategy Representatives
Discounted Festival Tickets
RouteAhead
Desire2Learn to Replace Blackboard
Why We Must Fight Stigma to Promote Mental Health
LDL Renovations
The Last Defence Lounge Prepares for a Makeover
IN THE FIELD: GRADUATE RESEARCH AT U OF C PHOTO CONTEST
Do you have a photo that captures your graduate research?
 
GSA LogoEnter the FGS/GSA photo contest for a cash prize and a chance to have your photo permanently displayed in the new FGS/GSA offices in the MacKimmie Library Tower.

 

CONTEST PRIZES

The top three placings will recieve a monetary price. There will also be three Honourable Mentions with no monetary prizes. Prize-winning and Honourable Mention photos will also be professionally framed and displayed in the new GSA and Faculty of Graduate Studies spaces in the MacKimmie Library Tower.

 

CONTEST RULES AND REGULATIONS

The contest is open to all U of C Graduate Students. To be considered in the contest, all submissions must be original, unpublished photographs. All submissions are to be digital, high-resolution photographs which meet the following guidelines: 350 dpi for halftones (i.e. black and white photographs, greyscale mode), 350-400 dpi for color photographs and submissions are to be saved in JPEG format.

 

In addition to your photo submission, please supply your name, degree sought, program and a brief abstract about how your image captures your research project. Please provide this abstract in .docx or .pdf format and ensure that it does not exceed 250 words. Judges will base their decisions on image quality, originality, and relationship to the project.

Waiver: While you have copyright to use your photo for your own research, the submission of photo in the contest permits FGS and GSA to display your images in other media (e.g. website).

 

Deadline for submission: August 31, 2013.

Please send your submissions to vpsl@gsa.ucalgary.ca 

  
Champagne Celebration
Available when lounge re-opens
  
Yes, it's true - the GSA buys a bottle of champagne or non-alcoholic sparkling wine for all students who successfully complete their oral defense (thesis-based grad students).

 

If you're in a course-based MBA, the GSA will receive a list of those of you who have successfully completed your program from your department, and will use this to ensure you can still receive a bottle of celebratory champagne.

 

If you're in another course-based program, please email the GSA Executive Assistant ( ea@gsa.ucalgary.ca ) to ask about how to receive your congratulatory bottle.

 

Successful thesis defence students can have their champagne once the lounge is re-opened in the Fall.
International Strategy Representatives
The GSA needs graduate students to assist with the university's International Strategy. We are looking for Canadian students who have studied or worked in one of the six countries/regions of emphasis:
  • USA
  • Mexico
  • Germany
  • Tanzania
  • Middle East
  • China

Canadian citizenship is not required, but Canadian high school and/or undergraduate education is preferred.

 

If you are interested, please send a CV and cover letter to vpsl@ucalgary.ca by Friday, July 12, 2013.

GSA Logo
Discounted Festival Tickets for UofC International Students 
July 25-28
 

The Calgary Folk Music Festival is an amazing cultural event held at Prince's Island Park in downtown Calgary, every summer.

  

This year, the festival (http://www.calgaryfolkfest.com) will be held on July 25-28. The Chair of International Students worked out a deal together with the festival's producers to sell discounted festival tickets for either Saturday or Sunday night to UofC international students.

 

Tickets cost $45 each ($20 discount on a $65 full price!), and will be sold on a first come-first served basis. There aren't too many so don't delay... If you are interested, please contact Ofer Berenstein at int@gsa.ucalgary.ca to finalize the details.

 

Don't miss this great opportunity!

 

RouteAhead
Study of the NW-HUB

Calgary Transit has launched a study in the northwest area of the city between Lions Park and Brentwood LRT stations because, through RouteAhead, Calgarians told us that the transit service and access in this area of the city could be improved.

The Northwest "Hub" (NW-HUB) is the part of Calgary around Brentwood, the University of Calgary, Alberta Children's Hospital, Foothills Medical Centre, and Market Mall. Efficient transit service in the area is challenged by a meandering road network, steep hills, disjointed cycling routes, and long walking distances between local destinations.

 

The NW-HUB is growing. In the Calgary Municipal Development Plan, this area is identified as a Major Activity Centre where it is planned to have the highest concentration of jobs and population outside the Centre City. It is already the second largest employment area in all of Calgary.

 

Click here for the study...

Desire2Learn to Replace Blackboard 
 

Desire2Learn has been selected as the platform for online and blended learning at the University of Calgary. 

 

Desire2Learn is a leading-edge and robust learning management system, produced by a Canadian company. It is designed to work well on any modern web browser, on any computer operating system. The interface is also optimized for use on mobile devices. We will be using a cloud-hosted instance of Desire2Learn in the company's data centre in Ontario, and the vendor will be managing the software and server infrastructure. This means that off-campus users of Desire2Learn will not be constrained by a commercial internet connection to campus, and that all users should experience high quality and responsive interaction with the software, regardless of their location or technology choice.

 

Blackboard will continue to be available for use until the end of the Winter 2014 semester. 

"Why We Must Fight Stigma to Promote Mental Health"
Dr. Heather Stewart
 
Wellness Banner 
The University of Calgary's SU Wellness Centre is very excited to announce that we are welcoming Dr. Heather Stewart, Professor and Bell Canada Mental Health and Anti-stigma Research Chair, Queen's University; Senior Consultant, Opening Minds Anti-stigma Initiative, Mental Health Commission of Canada on Thursday, June 27th at 7:00pm to the Alberta Room, Dining Centre at theUniversity of Calgary

 

For people who experience a mental illness, many experience the associated stigma as worse than the illness itself. Because of stigma, people who have a mental illness will avoid seeking care, avoid social contact, and in so doing, jeopardize their recovery.  This presentation will provide an orientation to stigma and its consequences, and describe the importance of stigma reduction as a key strategy for promoting mental health. The presentation will close with some examples of successful stigma reduction strategies aimed at youth. 

  
   
As seen in UToday, May 3
  

Due to the enormous financial success of The Last Defence Lounge (LDL) over the past year, the long-standing MacEwan Student Centre establishment will be getting an exciting makeover this summer.

 

 "The prosperity of the LDL has been very encouraging," says outgoing Graduate Students' Association president, Franco Rizzuti. "I'm pleased to be leaving the new executive with the lounge in such good shape."

 

The LDL closed its doors on Friday, May 3 to begin extensive renovations. The revamping will focus on an expansion of the kitchen, which will help to accommodate the large amount of regular patrons to the restaurant. The kitchen will also be updating much of their equipment.

  

Click here for the full article...

Previous Newsletters

 

May 28, 2013 

 

May 22, 2013

 

May 14, 2013

 

May 8, 2013

 

Resources

Alberta Graduate Council
UofC Teaching and Learning Centre
Faculty of Graduate Studies
SU Wellness Centre
 
About Us

The University of Calgary Graduate Students' Association represents the collective interests, but not individual opinions, of graduate students to governing bodies of the university, all levels of government and the surrounding community of Calgary. The University of Calgary GSA is a member of the Alberta Graduate Council.

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Contact Us
University of Calgary Graduate Students' Association
214 MLT
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
403 220-8609
  
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