Grad Student Week promises a whole lotta fairs, friends, food and fun
Fun for everyone! Being a part of Grad Student Week is a great way to meet new friends and potential colleagues from across campus, as well as learn more about the broader Hamilton community. Events will run from Wednesday, Sept. 2 to Friday, Sept. 11.
McMaster’s current graduate students are about to welcome nearly 1,500 new faces this fall, including Master’s and PhD students who will join labs, become teaching assistants, head out to the field, walk hospital corridors and stake out a comfy corner of a campus library.
Grad Student Week 2015 offers many events and activities to introduce, or reintroduce, students to the Graduate School, the Graduate Students Association (GSA), MIIETL and other campus services and supports. Use the hashtag #MacGradW2015 to stay informed on social media.
Being a part of Grad Student Week is also a great way to meet new friends and potential colleagues from across campus, as well as learn more about the broader Hamilton community.
To kick off the events, several hundred new grad students will come together over a tasty breakfast at the third annual Welcome Breakfast for New Grad Students. As always, the morning fun is expected to rise to “interstellar” levels.
But that’s just the beginning. Here’s a full schedule of the upcoming activities:
Wednesday, Sept. 2:
Welcome Breakfast for New Grad Students
New students should watch their email for more info and all the registration details.
Graduate Resource Fair
Time: 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: Tent B in front of JHE
More than 45 groups and services from McMaster and beyond will be on hand to share information with the graduate community. Learn more about the university libraries, research ethics, McMaster’s alumni, sustainability on campus, student wellness and so much more!
Job Search in 10 Minutes a Day
Time: Sessions run from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m.
Location: Tent A in front of JHE
Register online: https://jobsearchin10.eventbrite.ca
New and returning graduate students are invited to Job Search in 10 Minutes a Day with Catherine Maybrey. Catherine is the Graduate Career Strategist in the School of Graduate Studies. In a ten-minute presentation, Catherine will show graduate students how to maximize their job search on only 10 minutes a day. Four identical sessions will be offered from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m.
GSA Wine and Cheese
Time: 4 to 6 p.m.
Location: Phoenix Bar and Grill
Thursday, Sept. 3:
Teaching and Learning Forum
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Register online: https://tlf2015.eventbrite.ca
Workshops, information sessions and peer networking opportunities for graduate students, graduate student TA’s and undergraduate TA’s. The McMaster Institute for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (MIIETL) offers a half-day of concurrent sessions covering a wide range of topics. Sessions include:
- Creating Safe and Open Tutorial Environments
- What I Wish I Knew Before I Began TAing
- Inclusion in the Classroom @ McMaster: Accessibility and Accommodation in Teaching
- Visual Teaching and Learning: Techniques for Cracking Writing Blocks and Tutorial Chokes
- Marking Labs and Assigned Problems
- And more!
Disability, Madness, and Wellness in Grad School: A Peer Support Hang Out!
Time: 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Email hamilton.mad.students@gmail.com for the top-secret confidential location on campus
Graduate students who personally experience invisible and visible disabilities, chronic illness, madness, mental illness, mental health or substance use concerns, trauma, distress, and/or interact with counselling/substance use/mental health/medical/disability accommodation service systems are invited to this hangout.
In Conversation with … Author Kim Fu
Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: MDCL 1305/1307
The Common Reading Program 2015 features For Today I Am A Boy by Kim Fu. Author Kim Fu will be on hand to answer questions through a facilitated discussion. The public is welcome to attend this free event.
Register online: https://conversationwithkimfu.eventbrite.ca
Wednesday, Sept. 9:
International Grad Student Fair
Featuring the Welcome Buddies!
Time: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Location: CIBC Hall (Room 308) in the McMaster University Student Centre #51 on Campus
Learn more about graduate school at McMaster – and life beyond the campus gates – from fellow international students! Returning grad students offer great advice and tips to help you with the ins-and-outs of your new locale. Learn more about:
- Cell phones
- Housing and furniture
- Food and drink
- Social community and sport
- Language
- Organization (on-campus)
- Banking
- Transportation
Meet new friends and enjoy some free snacks. The Fair is organized by the Graduate Students Association (GSA) and the School of Graduate Studies.
Register online: https://internationalgradfair.eventbrite.ca
Thursday, Sept. 10:
Graduate Wellness Initiative (GWI) Kick-off
Time: Noon to 2 p.m.
Location: Phoenix Bar and Grill
Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are invited to a free barbecue on the Phoenix patio for the GWI Kick-Off. On the menu: grilled chicken, pork, vegetarian kabobs, three kinds of salad, all made fresh and prepared as ordered. Register online to attend, then drop by anytime between 12-2 p.m. to meet GWI grad students and to learn more about an upcoming series of free, interactive workshops that aim to enhance the mental and physical health and well-being of McMaster graduate students.
Register online: http://goo.gl/81Jqwj
Planting Roots
Time: 5 to 7 p.m.
Location: Fitzhenry Studio and Atrium, attached to Togo Salmon Hall (TSH)
Planting Roots is a welcome event for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, two-spirit, intersex, queer and questioning communities and allies at McMaster. Enjoy live entertainment and refreshments among LGBTTTIQQ friends!
Register online: https://plantingroots.eventbrite.ca
Friday, Sept. 11
Graduate Student Recognition Awards
Time: 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Location: CIBC Hall, McMaster University Student Centre, 3rd Floor
Join us for this year’s celebration of McMaster graduate student community! A full list of award nominees will be available on the School of Graduate Studies website.
To attend, register online: https://gradawards2015.eventbrite.ca
Graduate Student Association Free Barbecue
Time: Noon to 5 p.m.
Location: The Phoenix Bar and Grill
Inside the Professor’s Studio: A conversation about creativity with an engineer and a biologist
Time: 1 to 2 p.m.
Location: Robinson Memorial Theatre – Chester New Hall (CNH)
A conversation about creativity, (graduate) life and learning with two winners of McMaster’s President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning: Robert Fleisig, assistant professor, W. Booth School of Engineering Practice, and Kim Dej, assistant professor, biology.
Register online: http://insideprofstudio.eventbrite.ca
