The Graduate@Carleton newsletter is typically distributed every Thursday morning. The next newsletter will be available on March 18. If you have any questions, please email us at: fgpa_newsletter@carleton.ca.

To access FAQs about how Carleton is coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, click here. For questions concerning current graduate students, click here. To view FAQs for prospective graduate students, click here. International graduate students, please check out FAQs on the ISSO website.

Carleton’s COVID-19 Reporting System for all students and employees was updated in mid-February. Click here for more information.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, there are lots of resources that can help you. Click here for more information. There is also a virtual café for graduate students every Monday morning from 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. EST. For registration, please email: magdageorgescu@cunet.carleton.ca

And there is a new online chat service for sexual violence support called CUSASC CHAT. This service is staffed by peer supporters and offers confidential, free support via text or web chat. Survivors of sexual violence can chat virtually or text 613-209-1142. CUSASC CHAT is open:

• Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Friday, 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.

The Office of the Vice-President (Students and Enrolment) wants to hear your opinions, ideas and experiences related to topics such as mental health, accessibility, exams, career readiness and more. Your feedback will be used to inform changes to enhance and strengthen the services that shape the student experience at Carleton. The next consultations are on March 17 and 18. All students who participate in the consultations will be entered into a draw to win a free item from Rodney’s House.

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This year, FGPA is hosting a research competition for graduate students called GradFlix. It is replacing our participation in the Three Minute Thesis competition. The submission deadline is Tuesday, March 30. Updated information is available on this page.

Brightspace by D2L is now available for all Carleton students, staff and instructors. This new learning management system will replace cuLearn in May 2021, coinciding with the launch of the summer term.

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Fees for the Summer 2021 term will be available by the end of March. Fees for the Fall 2021-Winter 2022 academic year will be available by May 2021. For more information, please go to this website.

Graduate students will be informed of their scholarship status by the following:

• OGS:  Beginning of March. If you are successful, and you originally filled in a paper submission, you need to fill in this acceptance form and return to leslie.main@carleton.ca asap. If you submitted your application online and received a successful result, the acceptance form will be located in your Carleton Central application.
• NSERC PhD:  End of March
• SSHRC PhD:  End of April
• CIHR PhD:  End of April
• CGS Master’s (all):  April 1 through the portal. If you are successful, you need to fill out this acceptance form and send to leslie.main@carleton.ca asap.

Apply by April 9 for the new Carleton University Student Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Research Award, which provides funding (from $10,000 to $15,000) to participate in research projects that use EDI-informed considerations and reflect upon diversity and identity in substantial or significant ways. In collaboration with a faculty member, recipients of this award will participate in an EDI-related research project from May 1 to August 30, 2021. The establishment of this award responds to a recommendation in Carleton’s new EDI Action Plan, which outlines Carleton’s commitment to support, fund and disseminate research that advances EDI.

If you are doing research in the area of career development and/or related fields, check out this opportunity from CERIC. The deadline to apply is March 31.

Check out these professional development opportunities that are taking place in March. For those working as TAs this term, these workshop hours can count toward paid pedagogical training hours. All such pedagogical training hours must be completed by March 30.

March 19: Design Your Research With NVivo
March 25: Introduction to Research Data Management
March 26: Approaches to Coding (NVivo)

You can view other upcoming events by clicking here.

And don’t forget that FGPA is continuing to offer one-on-one writing consultations to assist you with writing-related challenges, or to discuss the effectiveness of your research and writing strategies. To request a consultation, fill out and submit this web form.

Please check out updates on the ISSO website:

• Events
• Quarantine Planning Support
• FAQs
• News

The University Health insurance plan (UHIP) is mandatory medical health insurance for international students. However, if you are taking online Carleton classes from outside of Canada during the 2020/21 academic year due to Covid-19, UHIP is not required. Apply for  a refund by completing the UHIP Opt-Out Form. Deadline to opt out is March 31.

Also, are you hoping to remain in Canada after graduating? Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) Program is a great opportunity available to recent graduates. It’s important to know what makes you eligible for a PGWP, especially in light of frequent COVID-19 updates to the program rules since March 2020. The ISSO’s newly updated Post-Graduation Work Permit Guide includes information about eligibility requirements, authorized work during the transition from study permit to work permit, and how to apply. If you still have questions, register here for the ISSO’s next All About Post-Graduation Work Permits session on March 30 from 2 – 3:00 p.m.

PhD students and faculty have lots of opportunities to write for The Conversation. Click here to see what topics the editors are looking for.

Check out the latest information from the Canada Revenue Agency about what expenses you can claim due to the pandemic.

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You are invited to the formal launch of Carleton University’s new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan on March 23 at 11:00 a.m. The comprehensive action plan outlines ways to reimagine curricular and pedagogical practices, and makes recommendations about how to further enhance student supports, research infrastructure, leadership development for academic and non-academic staff, organizational culture, and more. Please click here to register.

The Carleton University Thursday Night Live – Athletics Town Hall will be held later today, March 11. This is the first in a monthly virtual series of events featuring guest speakers and discussions on topics related to Carleton Athletics and Recreation. You can register by clicking here.

You are invited to attend the 27th Annual Underhill Graduate Colloquium on March 12 and 13. More information is available by clicking here.

Meet other TAs and discuss your TAships at our TA Cafés. Contact Helen Roumeliotis for the Zoom Links or check the announcements in the TA Central Hub (TAs can self-enroll). Coming up: Wednesday, March 17: 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and Monday, March 29: 12 – 1:30 p.m.

Check out the annual Communication Graduate Caucus Conference taking place from March 22-23.

The annual EURUS Graduate Research Conference will be held from March 24-25.

Check out where and how to register for the annual Data Day event being held March 30. This year’s theme is AI: What’s Next? and Everything Smart. Click here for more information.

The Faculty of Science will host its fourth annual Life Sciences Day on April 6. This year’s event themes focus on mental health and the pandemic, and medical devices and diagnostics. You can register by going to this web page.

The Carleton Senate is calling for nominations for students to serve on a variety of Senate Standing Committees. The term of office is one year and will begin on July 1, 2021. Students may serve on Senate committees without having been previously elected to a governance position. There are currently eight committees with graduate student vacancies. To learn more, please review the Call for Nominations. Applications need to be submitted on the Senate website by March 31. If you have any questions, please contact Assistant University Secretary, Kathy McKinley.

Recently Campus Safety Services has received an increase in the number of calls regarding the impaired operation of motor vehicles on the Carleton campus. Driving under the influence of alcohol, cannabis, or other intoxicating substances poses significant risks to the whole community. Pursuant to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, Cannabis Control Act of Ontario, and other applicable laws you are reminded not to smoke or vape cannabis on campus.

The campus is monitored 24/7 and there are supports available if you or someone you know is struggling with substance use. Due to current local and provincial health guidelines students living off-campus are strongly advised to not come to campus unless it is essential.

Carleton is launching a newly established Women in Engineering & Information Technology Program. Led by the Faculty of Engineering and Design, with financial support from a wide array of industry and government partners, the program will provide key learning and development opportunities for undergraduate and graduate level women students within Carleton’s engineering and information technology programs. Starting in fall 2021, the program will include events to foster relationship-building and mentorship, a network of ambassadors and volunteers and a special fund to support the work of allies in meeting their equity, diversity and inclusion goals.

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When Richard Yu publishes a paper, he garners attention. He’s often leading the way in terms of new ideas that lead to technological advances and industry standards. A professor in Carleton’s School of Information Technology, Yu made Web of Science Group’s both 2019 and 2020 list of Highly Cited Researchers internationally and his research papers have more than 25,000 citations recorded according to Google Scholar at the time of writing.

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Lenore Fahrig, Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Biology is one of the most cited researchers in the field of ecology. Her 2003 Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on Biodiversity paper is the most cited paper on habitat fragmentation in the world, with over 7500 citations noted on Google Scholar at the time of writing. It’s no wonder then that she made the Web of Science Group’s list of top one per cent Highly Cited Researchers by citations over the past decade.

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Prof. Monica Patterson and her former MA student Rebecca Friend just co-authored this journal article entitled Beyond Window Rainbows: Collecting Children’s Culture in the COVID Crisis.

This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. Carleton University is celebrating by sharing the stories of 17 leaders – students, staff and faculty members – who continue to challenge the status quo and push for better—a better community, a better Canada and a better world.

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Coffee is Canada’s most popular beverage. More than 70% of adults drink it daily – even more than consume tap water. Small-scale roasteries like Ottawa’s Happy Goat Coffee Company have sprung up across the country, bringing coffee enthusiasts a richer and tastier brew. But Canada’s coffee roasteries now produce thousands of tons of waste each year. One layer, silverskin, is released during the roasting process. Carleton MSc Chemistry graduate Kimberlynn McDonald has been working with Happy Goat Coffee to develop more uses for silverskin that would add value for roasters and coffee growers alike.

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In his role as a systems and electrical designer and operations engineer, Ewan Reid, a graduate student in Carleton’s Technology and Innovation Management program (TIM), was at the epicentre of NASA’s space shuttle era. Once back in Canada, he established Mission Control Space Services — an Ottawa-based company focusing on space exploration and robotics that recently signed a $500,000 contract to work on rover technology with the Canadian Space Agency.

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PhD student Lea Zhu started her research with the original purpose of enhancing visual effects compositions in the film industry.

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For a complete list of all official academic and financial dates and deadlines, please go to the Registrar’s website. For all financial matters, go to Student Accounts.

And a couple of reminders. If you are planning to graduate in June, you need to apply to graduate by April 1.

Also, the date for graduate students to electronically submit their final thesis copy to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs has been extended to May 31. If you have not done so by this date, you will not be eligible to graduate in June and will have to register for the Summer 2021 term.

We have added one question to the list of FAQs for current graduate students over the past week:  What impact could the COVID-19 pandemic have on my income tax return for 2020? There have been no updates to the FAQs for prospective grad students.