Welcome back to a new term. We’re excited to let you know of a number of events and activities we have planned. Join TOMORROW for the first doctoral colloquium of the term: https://edst.educ.ubc.ca/doctoral-colloquium-identity-belonging-and-citizenship-among-ethnic-minority-higher-education-students-in-hong-kong/
In this newsletter you will find information regarding:
- EDST reading group
- EDST writing group
- A new mindfulness event series
- A new walking tour initiative
- Information about gender neutral washrooms
- EDST Research Day call for submissions
- EdST Faculty and Staff Award call for nominations
- UBC sustainability scholars internships
- A new academic conferences page
We look forward to engaging with many of you this term!
EDST Reading Group
This terms we are reading sections of Bruno Latour’s An Inquiry into Modes of Existence
Read the introduction and join us on the January 22nd!
We meet every second week on Wednesdays from 4:30pm-6pm
Email Silas to receive more information: skrabbe@mail.ubc.ca
A PDF of the text is available via google search or emailing Silas.
EDST Writing Group
Do you need a little extra motivation for writing? Would you benefit from gathering in community with your EDST peers? Are you looking for a supportive and encouraging work environment?
We warmly invite you to join our Writing Group, held in-person every Friday between 12:00PM-2:00PM in Room 3042.
*Please note that we may need to relocate on certain dates due to tentative room bookings, but we will post a sign on the door for our updated location*
Each week, we will share our writing goals, follow the Pomodoro Technique, and celebrate our achievements! Snacks will be provided!
EDST GAA Presents:
Mindfulness Event Series
Event Description: To live a happy, healthy and successful life, it’s important to de-stress everyday anxiety and pay attention to your mental wellbeing. The EDST students now can participate in different mindfulness activities (arts & crafts, meditation, breathing exercises, gratitude journal, mindful cooking etc.) and learn through fun, how to take better care of their mental health along with their academic journey. With different theme every month, these Mindfulness Event Series will help you relax and enjoy the brighter sides of life to focus better on your studies.
February Event: Bracelet Making Workshop (make your own bracelet and take home with you!)
When: Wednesday, February 12 (12:00 – 1:00)
Where: PCOH 2012
Snacks and drinks will be provided for the participants
* Please note that event poster is attached. https://edst.educ.ubc.ca/events/event/mindfulness-event-series-bracelet-making-workshop/
Walking Tours – Situating where our learning takes place.
From January to April, the GAA team will be hosting monthly walking tours to ground our learning in relation to the people and place where it happens. During the walking tours, we will explore Indigenous histories and contexts at UBC, discuss how to build a meaningful relationship with the Indigenous stewards of these lands and support new learners with Indigenous topics.
January Walk: A Walking Tour of Musqueam House Posts.
In our first walking tour, we will visit multiple Musqueam house posts around campus. The house posts are markers of Musqueam’s relationship with its territory through time, particularly with the land that is now commonly known as UBC.
When: Wednesday, January 29th (1:00- 3:00 pm)
Where: Meet on top of the Xwi7xwa Library
RSVP here
*Be dressed for the weather (rain or shine). We will be walking for the entire time and finalize the tour in Rain or Shine to share ice cream (courtesy of the department).
Gender-neutral Washrooms on Campus
We’ve been sent a handy map which lists all the gender-neutral and gender-inclusive washrooms on campus. If this is something that would be helpful for you, you can access it here:
https://ubc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=c41841adf3e24c709b773e77ab4b6bf2
EDST Research Day 2025: Education and the Machine
We are pleased to share that the EDST Research Day will be held in-person this year on Friday the 4th of April.
The program committee for EDST Research Day 2025 invites proposals for individual presentations, poster sessions, roundtable, and panel sessions, and more from students and faculty members. All students are welcome – PhD, EdD, MA, and MEd. The submission deadline is 21 February 2024. For further details, please see the Call for Submissions document attached to this email.
EDST Research Day showcases the rich educational research, practice, and theory developed by the department’s students and faculty. We welcome work in diverse subjects, and in all phases of development, including projects that come out of coursework, research conducted as Research Assistants or Principal Investigators, thesis sections, or papers in progress. Presenters are encouraged to try out ideas to be developed for a forthcoming conference.
Theme: Education and the Machine
Many think the field of education is changing rapidly. From the introduction of ‘generative AI’ tools, to online learning, to changes in the structures of educational institutions themselves, all aspects of the field seem to be shifting. For researchers of education, this not only means an uncertain future, but also a huge potential for exploration. This year’s theme ‘Education and the machine’ calls on researchers to think about how education may develop over the coming years in relation to these new change pressures? What are the educational implications for different sectors of society, or for society in general, from these changes? How might educational aims, contexts, and the study of education inform and be informed by rapid technological change, especially as it shapes elements of what it is to be human?
We will continue updating details on the conference website: https://edst.educ.ubc.ca/researchday/. Stay tuned.
Please submit your completed proposals here: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eCADubbzFhmNw6a
We look forward to your contributions towards making the Research Day one of the most significant events of the department.
Want to present but not sure how to prepare? Your GAAs are here and would love to sit with you to discuss your proposal ideas and helping you prepare! Contact us at: edst.gaa@ubc.ca for any questions, comments, or assistance.
EDST Faculty and Staff Award Nominations Now Open
In 2022 the team of GAAs at the time with the help of the Head of Department, Professor André Mazawi, established the “GAA Recognition & Appreciation Award to EDST Faculty for Exemplary Service to Students”. The award was born from a necessity to recognize and celebrate the support faculty give students beyond the setting of the classroom and of graduate supervision. It’s a way to celebrate faculty members who show up for students in different ways, offer their time, and become positive guides and mentors. In the first version, the GAA team selected the faculty who would be granted this award based on the support this person had provided to the GAA team and their active participation in student-led events and initiatives. As such, in Research Day 2022 we commemorated Professor Amy Metcalfe as the awardee. On Research Day 2023 Professor Jude Walker received the award as the nominated by students. And on Research Day 2024 Professor Hongxia Shan received the award as nominated by students.
It is our hope that this award continues on and we will move forward with open nominations of candidates by students. Nominations can be submitted by any current EDST student, either independently or in collaboration with current students and EDST alumni.
If you want to be a part of this process and nominate a faculty for this award, please review the terms of reference attached to this email, including the nomination requirements and candidate criteria. The period for accepting nominations is until March 1, 2025. The announcement of the award will take place in the opening session at EDST’s annual Research Day.
In addition, in 2023 the GAA team introduced a new version of this award focused on celebrating the work of EDST staff members. In a unique and central way, staff members contribute immensely to the operations and functioning of our department, and support students in a variety of ways. Therefore, this year we will be commemorating the first “GAA Recognition & Appreciation Award to EDST Staff for Exemplary Service to Students”. The nomination process is detailed in the terms of reference attached. We urge you to consider possible candidates (listed on EDST Staff page: https://edst.educ.ubc.ca/people/staff/) and pursue nominations. The announcement of the award will take place in the opening session at EDST’s annual Research Day.
Nominations for the awards (Faculty and Staff) should be sent to the GAA email edst.gaa@ubc.ca. Please include:
- Award name (as subject line of your email)
- Name of nominee
- Names of student(s) endorsing the nomination
- Attachment of the required documents
If you have any questions about this award, please reach out to us at edst.gaa@ubc.ca
We look forward to your nominations to acknowledge the contributions made by EDST faculty and staff members.
UBC Sustainability Scholars (paid summer internships)
- Work under the guidance of partner organizations, and immerse in real world learning and research to advance sustainability and climate action.
- Each Scholar receives $31.25 per hour to complete 250 hours of work
- Projects begin May 1, 2025.
Online information sessions: January 15 at noon & January 16 at 5:00 pm.
Register: https://sustain.ubc.ca/scholars-program-events
Applications Deadline: Sunday, January 26, 2025 at 11:59 pm
Details: https://sustain.ubc.ca/teaching-applied-learning/ubc-sustainability-scholars-program
Academic Conferences
In previous newsletters, we have provided a list of upcoming conferences which we think might be useful for EDST students, either to submit to, or to attend. We received some feedback from students saying that it would be more helpful to have a dynamic list of upcoming conferences which are relevant available online. So, rather than listing the conferences here, we have added a new page to the EDST online materials where we will be listing these in future. You can find it by clicking here.
If you know of any upcoming conferences, symposia, etc which you think would be relevant for the EDST community, but which isn’t listed here, please do send us the information by email and we’ll add it to the list.
EDST Graduate Academic Assistants 2024
Silas Krabbe, Aida Mohajeri, Keenan Manning, Mahfida Tahniat, & Daniel Gallardo
Department of Educational Studies, The University of British Columbia
On the traditional and unceded territories of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Nation