Unique Base Camp program developed for graduate students
To be a successful researcher and teacher, graduate students must develop advanced writing, critical reading and effective communication skills while simultaneously navigating the world of supervisors, theses and funding.
Concordia’s GradProSkills program, launched in August 2011, aims to ease this pressure by giving graduate and post-doctoral students the opportunity to partake in a series of workshops during their studies and up to six months following convocation.
In its second year, GradProSkills is introducing a comprehensive, three-day Base Camp program from Tuesday, August 28 to Thursday August 30, 2012. The Camp features a series of information sessions and workshops to give new students some of the basic strategies necessary for success in the often overwhelming world of graduate-level studies.
“The Base Camp program is part of the Phase Two development of the GradProSkills initiative,” explains Laurie Lamoureux Scholes, director of GradProSkills and Concordia PhD candidate. “The camp aims to enrich the skill sets of participants and to help graduate students develop professionally for extended endeavours in the academic world and in other sectors.”
Specifically, Base Camp gives new students an early understanding of what will be expected of them through seminars, interactions with professors and in their original research.
“Concordia attracts many international students at the graduate level, as well as individuals who are coming back to university after many years away,” Lamoureux Scholes says. “Also, some students may do an undergraduate degree in one discipline, and change fields for grad school. Base Camp is a great option for these individuals.”
Divided into morning information sessions and afternoon workshops, Base Camp will give graduate students basic strategies to map out, balance and achieve academic, professional and personal goals.
Critical reading for knowledge extraction, understanding the rights and responsibilities of graduate students within a university environment, and mastering the research resources available to students at Concordia are some of the central themes upon which the Base Camp will focus.
Students are encouraged to register using the GradProSkills website. For students interested in but unable to attend Base Camp, the GradProSkills team will offer similar workshops during the fall and winter terms.
Overall, GradProSkills has had an overwhelmingly successful first year with more than 6,000 registrations to more than 220 workshops. “We’ve completely blown out of the water the myth that grad students aren’t interested in on-campus activities,” asserts Lamoureux Scholes.
On Friday, September 7 a Graduate Student Orientation will be held in the Henry F. Hall Building. The orientation session will be followed by a GradProSkills luncheon and four afternoon workshops for which students are invited to register for online.
When: Friday, September 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: Alumni Auditorium, Room H-110, Henry F. Hall Building (1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.), Sir George Williams Campus
Related links:
• Graduate Student Orientation and Workshops
• Base Camp - Option 1 Read/Write - Extraction
• Base Camp - Option 2 Read/Write - Generation
• MyConcordia Portal (registration)
• GradProSkills