Adding SPICES to the graduate student experience

Studentz

Thanks to a new initiative from the School of Graduate Studies known as 'SPICES,' graduate students can apply for $5,000 to fund a project, with a focus on fostering intellectual communities.


A new funding initiative from the School of Graduate Studies will help graduate students develop new and innovative projects, engage individuals with diverse backgrounds and build a stronger graduate student experience.

Known as the Student-proposed Projects for Intellectual Community and Engaged Scholarship, or SPICES, the program provides funding for initiatives that will impact graduate student life at McMaster and beyond traditional university boundaries. Each approved project will receive a maximum of $5,000, and 7-10 initiatives will be funded, depending on project budgets.

SPICES will support new activities that engage, challenge and stimulate intellectual communities across campus, and can be developed and delivered within 12 months of being awarded. This program is a pilot funding opportunity, and programs will not be funded more than once. Projects should be standalone initiatives, or contribute to a more lasting or sustainable legacy.

Allison Sekuler, AVP and dean of the School of Graduate Studies, is the driving force behind the SPICES program.

“One of the most exciting aspects of our work is hearing the creative ideas graduate students have to take control of their own intellectual communities and enhance the graduate student experience here at McMaster,” says Sekuler. “We’ve seen numerous examples of initiatives developed and led by our own students, growing into significant intellectual communities. SPICES is intended to foster that sort of student creativity, and help fund initiatives that reflect the ideals behind Forward with Integrity and show real potential to enhance the graduate student experience at McMaster.”

Sekuler points to the recent conference “Indigeneity and the University: Activism, Scholarship and Pedagogy” as an initiative that would meet the criteria of the new SPICES program.

The conference, coordinated by the McMaster Indigenous Graduate Students (MIGS) group, highlighted the value of indigenous knowledge in the academy. Graduate students from many disciplines (whose studies have an indigenous focus) came together to share experiences and discuss their research. The conference also provided a venue for University leaders to learn more about issues of importance to indigenous students. Close to 50 graduate students, undergraduates, postdoctoral fellows, elders from indigenous communities, members of the Hamilton community and faculty from across Ontario attended the full-day event.

SPICES applications will be adjudicated upon receipt, until funding is exhausted. If funding is still available, the final deadline for applications is March 31.