Date | Title |
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December 5, 2022 |
Building an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Plan for Research Funding Applications Participants learned tips and strategies for fostering EDI in their research context and discussing EDI concepts in their funding applications. This interactive workshop was offered online for free and included: a speaker presentation, guided individual reflection and (optional) small group discussions. The workshop enabled participants to:
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September 29, 2022 |
Getting Started in Neuro-Entrepreneurship Participants learned from Laurent Simon, professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at HEC, about how to successfully raise capital, navigate a competitive landscape and grow their company while avoiding common entrepreneurial mistakes. |
March 10, 2022 |
Navigating through the pathway of commercialization This workshop presented in collaboration with Neurosphere covered taking ideas for commercialization projects based on research from conceptualization to realization. Participants learned tips and tricks from speakers Noha Gerges and Jean-Philippe Valois (Mitacs) on licensing, intellectual property, how to secure funding and more. |
March 8, 2022 |
HBHL/NeuroSphere Workshop: Transitioning from academia to industry in neuroscience This workshop geared towards neuroscience graduate students offers insights for those considering a career outside of academia after they complete graduate studies. In this workshop, participants gained insights and skills to navigate the challenges and opportunities of industry. The workshop was led by professional recruiters Thomas Vignalou and Bahare Samadi (Adoc Talent Management), who spoke about how to acquire the transferable skills commonly learned through neuroscience research training and how to clearly express these skills to stand out in job interviews, as well as Dr. Jessica Wilson, Technical Director for iMotions, who spoke about her career path and how she transitioned from academic research to industry. |
November 18, 2021 |
Sharpening Your Message SciComm Workshop Participants learned from HBHL’s Managing Director, Krystle van Hoof, and Senior Communications Officer, Christopher Maskell, about how to build and sharpen their message for a variety of knowledge-user audiences (including journalists) and how to give a good interview that will keep the media coming back. Topics discussed were strategies to make yourself a go-to expert in your field (and ensuring that what is written is what you wanted to convey) for journalists and media, ways to improve the uptake of your research among knowledge users, and ways to make your message pop on social media, website posts, PowerPoints, promo visuals and other online content. |
October 14, 2021 |
Bias in the Brain: Unconscious, but not invisible Dr. Falisha Karpati led this session, which explored neuroscience research that shows unconscious bias happening in the brain. Participants gained insights into how and why our brains are wired to create stereotypes and bias, and learned brain-based strategies for mitigating the effect of bias in research and academic contexts. |
March 11, 2020 |
Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Researchers A workshop was presented in collaboration with the Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), McGill Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ENGINE) and Healthy Brains Healthy Lives (HBHL). It covered the path from scientific findings to commercialization, the resources are available for researchers on this path, where business funding comes from, how IP ownership handled and what a researcher needs to know before becoming an entrepreneur. |
October 5, 2020 |
Let's Talk Neurodiversity: Creating environments where all brains can thrive Neurodiversity is the idea that each individual has a unique brain and that there is a vast spectrum of neurological differences within the world’s population. With this spectrum comes a wide range of strengths and needs across the population. This workshop covered scientific studies to learn about the neurological differences present in the population, insights into the experiences of individuals who identify as neurodivergent and of community advocates through recorded interviews, and actions everyone can take to facilitate the creation of environments where all brains can flourish. This workshop was part of the 2020 Integrated Program in Neuroscience retreat. It was facilitated by MSS Diverging Minds, a group of McGill medical students who aspire to raise awareness about neurodiversity and inclusion of the neurodivergent community within the student population. MSS Diverging Minds has been offering this workshop to the Montreal community for the past year, and Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives collaborated with them to increase its focus on neuroscience for this workshop at the IPN retreat. |
November 2019 - August 2020 |
Postdoc Mentorship Program The HBHL Postdoc Mentorship Program provided an opportunity for HBHL-funded postdoctoral fellows to explore career options by meeting successful professionals in academic and non-academic careers. It included the creation of an individual development plan, networking event for postdocs and mentors, individual meetings between each postdoc and three mentors matched based on career interests, as well as postdoc discussion sessions to reflect on the mentor meetings and discuss career planning. |
February 21, 2020 |
HBHL Wellness Day This full-day event included three sessions, all led by neuroscientists:
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January 28, 2020/ March 13, 2019/ March 27, 2018 |
The Competitive Edge: Writing a successful HBHL Fellowship application At this workshop and webinar, participants learned about the requirements, evaluation criteria, and evaluation process of the Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives Graduate Student Fellowship. We discussed qualities that grant application reviewers look for, and common successes and pitfalls of past applications. Participants completed independent writing activities to generate ideas related to their own projects that they can apply to their Fellowship applications. This event was offered in collaboration with Graphos. |
January 24, 2020 |
Science Communication Day This full-day event included the following three sessions as well as art-science projections and a booth exhibition from science communication-related student groups.
This event was offered in collaboration with SciCommCollective. |
October -November 2019 |
Peer Pathways Program Participants were guided through the creation of an Individual Development Plan for academic, career and personal success. The program included three expert-led workshops, two meetings with peer groups and ongoing independent reflection and activities guided by the myPath workbook. This program was offered in collaboration with myPath. |
September 20, 2019 |
Make Your Mark: Personal and project branding for neuroscientists At this workshop, participants learned how creating a brand for their research projects can further the reach of their work and how creating a personal brand can help candidates stand out in the job market. They generated ideas for their own project and personal brands through guided activities. This workshop was offered as part of the 2019 Integrated Program in Neuroscience retreat. |
March 19, 2019 |
How To Plan Your Life In this workshop, participants learned what is involved in creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP). They completed activities designed to promote reflection on academic and professional goals, and begin the process of creating an IDP. This event was offered in collaboration with myPath and GSAP. |
February 23-24, 2019 |
Intro2Programming This workshop provided an introduction to computer programming for research trainees. On the first day, participants learned how algorithms are designed and how to perform basic programming tasks such as writing functions. On the second day, two concurrent sessions allowed participants to explore basic machine learning concepts in Python or data visualization in R. |
February 7, 2019 |
Under Pressure: Stress management for better brain health This workshop began with a talk on the neuroscience of stress from Dr. Anna Weinberg. Participants learned what happens in the nervous system during stress, how this affects cognition and behaviour, as well as evidence-based stress-reduction strategies. The talk was followed by activities focused on real-world application of these strategies, including mindfulness, improving sleep habits and avoiding co-rumination. |
January 22, 2019 |
How to make more than minimum wage in grad school At this seminar, participants were introduced to a variety of funding sources for research trainees, including Tri-Council scholarships, McGill-internal awards, collaboration with industry through Mitacs fellowships as well as lesser-known alternative sources of funding. They learned strategies to effectively search for funding opportunities, communicate with potential funders, determine success rates for various competitions and avoid common pitfalls of the funding application process. |
December 4, 2018 |
Neuroscience lab skills beyond the lab: Effectively presenting your skill set in the job search Professional recruiter Auréliane Pajani from Adoc Talent Management presented the transferable skills commonly learned through neuroscience research training, and tools for trainees to use to identify their own skills. Participants learned how to clearly express these skills in resumes and job interviews. |
November 28, 2018 |
The Reviewer's Perspective: A panel discussion on academic publishing in neuroscience Participants received tips and advice on writing impressive manuscripts and navigating the academic publication process from 5 McGill neuroscience researchers. Discussion topics were guided by questions from the audience, and included writing style, what reviewers look for in a manuscript, common pitfalls of manuscripts, journal choice and open science. |
November 14, 2018 |
From divergent thinking to convergent solutions: Including creative thinking in your research At this workshop, participants learned why creative thinking is important in research, and how divergent and convergent thinking can be applied in scientific and artistic contexts. They participated in interactive artistic activities and discussions to generate ideas and potential solutions for complex, abstract science-related questions. This workshop was facilitated by the Convergence Initiative. |
October 23, 2018 |
The neuroscience of persuasion and effective public speaking Public speaking expert Jay Olson provided participants with practical advice for giving effective and engaging presentations. Topics covered included handling nervousness, enhancing clarity, improving body language, and holding the audience’s attention. Findings from psychological and neuroscientific studies were discussed to support the advice given. |
October 16, 2018 |
Small Talk, Big Impact: Developing an elevator pitch for your neuroscience research Participants were guided through the process of writing draft 1.5-minute elevator pitches for their own research projects for both academic and public audiences. They learned to develop a hook to grab the audience’s attention, concisely state background/methods/results and express the value and impact of their research for both audiences. |
September 21, 2018 |
Putting the "Go" in Negotiation: Strategies to drive your collaborations forward At this workshop, participants learned how to effectively prepare for a negotiation. Then, they discussed five common negotiation strategies along with real-world situations where they can be used, with an emphasis on identifying opportunities for a collaborative approach. Participants applied these concepts to prepare for and execute a practice negotiation. This session was offered as part of the 2018 Integrated Program in Neuroscience retreat. |
May 24, 2018 |
The Road Less Travelled: Unique careers for neuroscientists Six individuals who completed neuroscience-related graduate studies presented their inspiring and unique career paths in fields including business, government, communications, consulting and public outreach. The career panel included an interactive discussion guided by audience questions, as well as networking opportunities. This event was offered in collaboration with the Integrated Program in Neuroscience, with support from the McGill Alumni Association. |
April 23, 2018 |
A Fresh Perspective: Poster and presentation peer-review This peer-review session (for graduate students and postdocs) provided an opportunity to practice poster or oral presentations and participants gained valuable feedback that can help them impress that conference audience! This session covered:
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February 13, 2018 |
Increase Your Impact: Sharing neuroscience research with diverse audiences Participants discussed the multitude of dissemination opportunities available for neuroscience research, and how to select appropriate dissemination method(s) for various types of research. They analyzed neuroscience research content targeted towards diverse audiences in order to extract communication strategies, and then applied these strategies to describe their own research. |