Highlights for this issue

• REMINDER — Mapping the New Knowledges Graduate Student Research Conference: Brock showcases the research and scholarship of graduate students on Monday, April 7, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Plaza Building and Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex. The conference features oral and poster presentations, the finals of the Three Minute Thesis® contest and the presentation of the Graduate Mentorship Awards and Youth University Research Prizes. Everyone is welcome. Program details to be posted soon on the conference website.

• SAVE the DATE! Thursday, May 1, SHIFT' Graduate Student Professional Skills Conference: This is a skill-sharpening event to provide Brock graduate students with an armload of practical skills for employment search and job creation. The conference opens at 12 noon and runs to 5:15 p.m., Plaza Building, and features a series of micro-training sessions such as resume clinics, mock interviews, professional coffee connects.
All conference attendees receive an invitation to the post-conference exclusive professional mixer for graduate students — meet some of the most influential thinkers from the University, Niagara and beyond.
Go online to find out more.

• NEXT ISSUE: Thursday, April 10, 2014

Scholarships/Awards/Grants

• NEW — Student international funding opportunities: Working with the researchers and students, Brock International will prepare and submit applications for interested candidates in the following:
          Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP): The Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP) scholarships are facilitated through institutional collaborations and student exchange agreements between Canadian and Latin American or Caribbean institutions. These agreements are created between colleges, technical or vocational institutions and universities. Students or researchers remain registered as full-time students in their home institution during this exchange.
Deadline: April 30, 2014
For more information go online
          Canada-CARICOM Leadership Scholarships Program: The Canada-CARICOM Leadership Scholarships Program provides students and researchers from the Caribbean Community with short-term exchange opportunities for study or research at the college, undergraduate and graduate levels.
Deadline: April 30, 2014
For more information go online
          Canada-Chile Leadership Exchange Scholarship: Canada-Chile Leadership Exchange Scholarships provide students and researchers from Chile with short-term exchange opportunities for study or research at the college, undergraduate and graduate levels.
Deadline: April 30, 2014
For more information go online
Go online to view Brock International's list of international funding opportunities

• SSHRC 2014 Impact Awards: The competition includes the Talent Award ($50,000) to recognize outstanding achievement by an individual who, at the nomination deadline, holds a SSHRC doctoral or postdoctoral fellowship or scholarship (including, but not limited to, a Canada Graduate Scholarship, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship or Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship). Find out more about the SSHRC Impact Awards.
If you are interested in nominating someone or being nominated for one of these awards, please contact Carolyn Paterson, Office of Research Services, at cpaterson2@brocku.ca or ext. 4291.

• 2014 Sangster Award: The Canadian National Committee for CODATA (CNC/CODATA) is accepting applications for The Sangster Award. This award, valued at Can. $3000, will enable a graduate student enrolled in a Canadian University, or a graduate who has completed his or her graduate degree within three years of the application deadline, to attend and present their work at the 24th International CODATA Conference (jointly organized with World Data System), SCIDataCon 2014, "Data Challenges for Global Sustainability /Future Earth", November 2 to 5, 2014, in New Delhi, India.
Deadline for Applications: March 31, 2014
For application guidelines and award details
For Conference details: and follow the posted links***

• The Henry Mandelbaum Graduate Fellowship: Established in 2011 by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations to honour their retired Executive Director, the fellowship is awarded to a full-time graduate student at a publicly assisted Ontario University who has demonstrated academic excellence, shows exceptional academic promise, and has provided significant community service in his/her university career. Financial needs of students may be a selection factor. The successful candidate will be expected to produce and deliver a paper within one year of receiving the award to the OCUFA Board on a topic related to or resulting from his/her thesis or dissertation research.
Deadline: April 4, 2014
Guidelines and Nomination Form are available online

• 2014 Canadian Transportation Research Forum (CTRF) Student Paper Competition: The primary focus of the paper must be directly related to a specific transportation practice or policy. Papers must be original work written by the student applicant only. Prizes may be awarded in each of the following categories: Past President's Award $250 (undergraduate); A.M. Stevens Award $500 (master's); Jim Davey Award $1,000 (doctoral).
There may be more than one award in any category depending on the quality of the papers.
Deadline: Saturday, May 31
Details online

• Brock Library Open Access Publishing Fund: Open to Brock faculty, graduate students and postdocs. The purpose of this grant is to assist researchers in disseminating their research broadly via an Open Access (OA) journal. A minimum of four awards will be granted, to a maximum of $2,500 each [Total funds = $10,000]. This Grant is intended to support researchers with limited or no funding. If an alternate funding source is available that permits payment of submission fees (e.g. a research grant), that source must be used before applying to the OA Publishing Fund.
For more information contact: Barbara McDonald, Ext. 3949

Other Opportunities

• Graduate Students' Association announces the following: 

          NEW — Relay for Life: The GSA is very excited about participating in this year's Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life. The event will be held at Brock on June 20 to June 21. Join the GSA in the fight against cancer by supporting its team.
For more information go online

          GSA Bursary and Conference Funding Deadline: The deadline for applications for the Winter 2014 GSA Bursary and Conference Funding Assistance Awards, is Monday, April 7, at 4 p.m. You can
view the requirements and application forms . If office is closed, you can put your application under the office door.

           GSA Spring Social: Come out to Isaac's Bar & Grill on Monday, April 7 from 5 to 7 p.m., following the Mapping the New Knowledges Graduate Conference. Enjoy a free pasta bar (vegetarian options too) and fun. All graduate students are welcome.

• Prometeo Project: The government of Ecuador is funding this new initiative that aims to
strengthen research and teaching capacities in Ecuador. It targets Ecuadorian and foreign professionals with a wide, well-known experience in their area of study. The opportunity allows researchers to conduct academic and scientific projects in several host institutions across Ecuador.
Details online.

• Call for nominations — Recognition Awards for Theses and Dissertations on Teacher Education Canadian Association for Teacher Education (CATE)
The Canadian Association for Teacher Education is pleased to inform the scientific community that, as part of its mandate to promote research on pre-service and in-service teacher education
as well as staff development, it will once again recognize dissertations and theses in the field of teacher education.
See details about CATE Dissertation Award and Master’s Thesis Award
To be considered for a CATE award your thesis/dissertation must be completed or defended between January 1, 2013 and May 31, 2014.
Deadline for submission: Monday, March 31, 2014
Contact: Dr. Lynn Thomas, Professor, Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, University of
Sherbrooke, Lynn.Thomas@USherbrooke.ca

• Publishing Springer Science Review: The Springer Science Review invites submissions of thesis literature reviews from PhD students in the research area of biomedical sciences, earth sciences, geography, energy, environmental sciences and life sciences. More information is available on the Springer Review website

Academic and Professional Development

Academic and professional development program for graduate students provided in partnership with nine campus units.

• NEW — “Coffee Connect” Call for Volunteers: Graduate students have an opportunity to tap into an extensive professional network during their time on campus. We are looking for faculty and staff interested in sharing 20 minutes over coffee with a Brock graduate student? As part of the SHIFT Conference (May 1, 2014) we are coordinating “mentoring moments” or a “Coffee Connect.”  The idea is to donate time in the form of a conversation to share wisdom and insights on your career trajectory, or critical conversations that changed the course of your life? This could make a meaningful difference in a graduate students life. Deadline is April 10. Please visit the web form here.

 • NEW — Congress 2014 features Career Corner: Career Corner is a professional development workshop series where everyone from graduate students to established faculty members can learn how to advance their academic careers, publish and market their research, improve their lesson planning and teaching skills, and find out about careers outside of academia. The workshops are free and open to all Congress attendees. Please visit website for complete schedule.

• Promote your workshops to graduate students with us: If you are hosting a workshop or event related to graduate student professional development that may interest graduate students from within or outside of your faculty, please send us notice to have your event posted on our calendar OR submit the event directly by simply uploading the details into the online form.
The number of participants can be monitored and capped through our online registry. Specific learning outcomes and the competencies that align with your workshop or information session can also be tracked.

• REMINDER — Call for Visual art-works (of all kinds): Are you a graduate student and visual artist looking to express your creative talents? In your investigation of life, do you have images that capture your research interests? The Academic + Professional Development partners are looking for visual art works that convey the concepts of curiosity, intrigue and innovation or simply reflect the graduate student experience.

• CALENDAR OF EVENTS — Please continue to visit our website for updates on academic and 
professional skills training workshops and events. 
Contact: Karin Perry 
Program Coordinator 
Academic + Professional Development X 6129, or gradplus@brocku.ca

Conferences

• NEW — CONNECT 2014: The Centre for Pedagogical Innovation (CPI) is sponsoring registrations for Brock graduate students and TAs to attend CONNECT 2014 Canada's National Learning and Technology Conference on May 8 to 9 at the Scotiabank Convention Centre, Niagara Falls.  This conference will CONNECT 2,000 attendees with the goal of exploring how technology can be used to enhance teaching and learning.   Sponsorships are limited and do not include food.
For information contact CPI at cpi@brocku.ca or call x 3933.

• Call for Papers and Artistic Work, Fifth International Conference on the Image, Oct. 29 and 30, 2014, Freie University, Berlin, Germany: Artistic submissions to the conference exhibition and proposals for paper presentations, poster sessions, workshops, roundtables, or colloquia are invited. Submissions from a variety of disciplines and perspectives are welcome and faculty and students are encouraged to jointly submit proposals, discussing The Image through one of the following themes: The Form of the Image, Image Work, The Image in Society and, The Representation of Possibility: Understanding Change and Continuity through the Image.
Go online for more information.
Deadline: April 3, 2014

• Call for Papers, 2nd Annual International Interdisciplinary Conference, AIIC 2014, July 8 to 12, 2014, Azores Islands, Portugal: The conference will be a kind of academic bridge between different cultures, scientific attitudes, academic stages and is aimed at gathering researchers from all around the world, thus contributing for a global flow of the newest scientific thoughts and promotion of the interdisciplinary concept.
Full paper submission deadline: June 10
Email: contact@aiiconference.net
More Information available online

• Call for Papers to the International Educational Technology Conference (IETC 2014), CHICAGO, September 3 to 5, 2014: IETC 2014 seeks a diverse and comprehensive program covering all areas of educational technology. The program includes a wide range of activities designed to facilitate the exchange of expertise, experience, and resources with colleagues. These include keynote and invited talks, full and brief paper presentations, panels and round table discussion sessions.
Abstract Deadline: Saturday, July 5
Full Article Deadline: Sunday, July 20
Registration Fee Deadline: Tuesday, August 5
More information available online

• Fifth International Conference On New Horizons in Education INTE 2014, Paris, France, June 25 to 27, 2014: The conference provides a multinational platform where the latest trends in education can be presented and discussed in a friendly environment with the aim to learn from each other. Prospective presenters are encouraged to submit proposals for papers and posters/demonstrations that offer new research or theoretical contributions.
Abstract Deadline: June 13, 2014
Full Article Deadline: June 16, 2014
Registration Fee Deadline: June 16, 2014
More Information available online

Upcoming Thesis Defences

All are welcome to attend but seating is limited.

• Courtney Keogh, MA student in Applied Health Sciences, will defend her thesis on Friday, March 28, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in South Block 361. Title: "Greener Golf Operations: A comparative case study of Ontario golf courses engaged in environmental sustainability initiatives"

• Joyce Penner, MA student Social Justice and Equity Studies, will defend her thesis on Wednesday, April 9, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., WH147.
Title: " Anachronistic Me: An autoethnographic account of recovery through volunteerism"

• NEW — Melissa Nichol, MA student in Child and Youth Studies, will present her thesis on Tuesday, April 15, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., CRN 336.
Title: "Task-dependent oscillatory brain activity during oculomotor delayed response tasks"

• NEW — Shawn Eckford, MA student in Applied Health Sciences (Sport Management), will defend his thesis on Thursday, April 17, 1 to 4 p.m., in South Block 361.
Title: "An analysis of minor hockey officials and perceived organizational support"

Please check department program websites to confirm dates, times and locations in the event of changes to the information.

News & Events

• NEW — Geography Department MA Speaker Series: Dr. Rachel Hirsch, Project Facilitator, Social Justice Research Institute (SJRI), Brock University. Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES), York University, will speak on "A message from Nunavut: Local research, country food security, and epistemic justice," Friday March 28, 2 to 4 p.m., at MC C405. The presentation is open to all members of the Brock community and the general public.

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