Campus Life & Future Careers

Founded on 23 February 1947, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has served to coordinate and unify standards globally. In the past 71 years, the ISO has developed and continues to update over 22 000 standards.[1] You may ask why this is important to students. The unique codes assigned to books and journals that we read on a regular basis were developed by this organization and makes identifying sources that much easier. (more…)

source: blog.accepted.com

As many science students have done, so did I – undergraduate students usually choose to spend at least one summer to stay on campus (or somewhere) and get their hands on real-life lab work. It can be honours project, research course (396 courses), work-study, or just volunteering. Depending on which lab you are in, you can make molecules, tune robots, culture cells, purify proteins, do interviews, and so on. (more…)

McGill is a research-intensive university. To be able to attend a school that places importance on research and study in the field, is a privilege. It offers countless opportunities to students and can be a rewarding and career-changing experience. It’s a pivotal part of your education, especially if you plan on going into academia. But… what if that’s not something you’re interested in? If after your studies, the lab bench or research team is not for you, or maybe you just want a break, here are other job paths in science that you may want to take. Note that some require additional education.

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Just on Jan 28 a few years ago (2013 to be precise), a Youtube video filming a girl trying to go against the flood on McTavish Street went viral, and I remembered that although I was not on site, the flood coming from a pierced main pipe connecting to the reservoir really caused tons of trouble and turned all lower campus to swamp. The girl struggled for a few minutes and decided just to go with the flow, which is actually a brave move in front of all the people staring at her. (more…)

This summer, I volunteered for la Fondation Jeunes en Tête, a non-profit organization that raises awareness about the well-being and mental health of young people in Quebec. By spending nearly every Wednesday at their head office, I got to experience life working for a non-profit, meet incredibly generous and welcoming people, and contribute to a cause that I care about. Here’s what I learned and what I would have done differently.  (more…)

Receiving a scholarship can be a way to ease financial stress, get recognition for your work, boost your CV, and learn more about yourself. Whether you’re in financial need or not, the amount of work needed to qualify for scholarships can sometimes be discouraging. However, scholarships have varying levels of effort and reward. Taking the time to research scholarships—and to find out whether it’s worth your time and effort—is the first step in getting the scholarship of your dreams. Here are my tips to help you get started.

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Whether you’re writing a new version of your CV or getting ready for an interview, it’s always worth preparing yourself by doing research or seeing an advisor. McGill has a wide set of resources to help students present themselves in an ideal way to employers or anyone else. If you need to write a cover letter or efficiently search for jobs, McGill resources—like CaPS or faculty-specific resources and advisors—can help you get where you need to be. Here are the resources that I’ve found most helpful.

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I just returned from a 2 day research retreat with the Anatomy and Cell Biology department and I would like to detail some of my experiences there. The retreat was at a hotel 50 minutes by car away from downtown Montreal. As soon as we got there, we checked in (but our rooms weren’t ready yet), and the research talks would immediately start. The chair of the department gave an opening (which I missed as I was in line for check in), then a professor talked about the Naylor Report. This report basically showed that funding for research in Canada was decreasing and that we were declining in our competitiveness compared to other countries. It would be important for all of those interested in pursuing a career in research or are already in research to write letters to their MPs or even try to get the attention of the Minister of Science before the budget in 2018 is decided.

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I just did a 396 research course in the Winter 2017 semester. Before I registered for it, I went to talk to my departmental advisor to ask for more information. She said it was a great way to do research in a professor’s lab and have it count toward your degree. What was also really nice was that you do not have to a 396 in your own department. You could be in Anatomy and Cell Biology and do a 396 from the biology department or physiology department or other departments.

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laboratory

The title may appear to be an impossible feat, but it is achievable. Let’s start from an email.

Writing an email:

Two years ago, in U1, I emailed multiple professors to forage an available lab. However, I got ignored. It turned out the titles of the emails I had sent, such as “Volunteering in a lab” and “Paid research assistant position”, had a problem.

If I could go back, I would title the emails as such: “BIOL396 Research Course Supervisor”.

To start off, the chance of getting paid as an undergraduate student is essentially nil unless you could code proficiently. So, let’s forget about the money.

A research course such as BIOL396 spans across multiple departments to tailor to whatever the department your supervisor is affiliated. For example, if your supervisor is in the Pharmacology Department, take PHAR396. For a professor, instead of pointlessly having students volunteering in a lab once a week, offering students a project is more sensible. A project could require students to commit 20-40 hours a week in a lab. McGill has designed research courses to confer undergraduate students an independent research project, which reciprocally grants a professor a complete control over a student’s grade. This leaves students with no choice but to commit to their projects. Taking a research course during the summer is also allowed. Most people get A- or A from a research course.

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