Setting Expectations with the LOU
Time: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Presenter: Hadi Hojjati and Rodrigo Alain Migueles Ramirez
Location: Online
This workshop is hosted on Zoom and is accessible through your McGill Zoom account. PLEASE LOG INTO YOUR MCGILL ZOOM ACCOUNT AT https://mcgill.zoom.us/ BEFORE JOINING THE SESSION.
This 90-minute interactive webinar introduces graduate students to the Letter of Understanding (LOU) as a tool for building effective, supportive relationships with their supervisors. Through guided discussions and case studies, participants will explore how to navigate implicit and explicit expectations, initiate conversations about communication, workload, and work-life balance, and adapt the LOU as their academic journey evolves. Participants will leave with greater clarity on how to use the LOU to advocate for themselves and sustain a productive supervisory relationship.
Learning outcomes:
• Understand the role and value of the LOU in clarifying expectations with a supervisor
• Identify strategies to initiate and revisit expectation-setting conversations
• Reflect on how communication, workload, and work-life balance can be addressed in an LOU
• Recognize how to adapt the LOU over time to reflect changes in goals, roles, or responsibilities
Introduction to Industry Analysis
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Presenter: Derrick Wong
Location: Frank Dawson Adams Building, McGill Engine Centre - Seminar room FDA 3
Campus: Downtown campus
This workshop will introduce the fundamental tool of Industry Analysis which companies use for strategy development. For startups, understanding the industry is a critical step in determining market entry and market positioning. The Five Forces Framework will be presented and applied during an exercise.
Learning outcomes:- Explain the impact of an industry from a startup’s perspective.
- Apply the Five Forces Model.
- Develop strategies to perform your industry analysis.
Grad Breakfast Club
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Presenter: Rodrigo Alain Migueles Ramirez, Anastasiia Yemets
Location: Online
This workshop is hosted on Zoom and is accessible through your McGill Zoom account. PLEASE LOG INTO YOUR MCGILL ZOOM ACCOUNT AT https://mcgill.zoom.us/ BEFORE JOINING THE SESSION.
Stay on track with a 30min “plan your week” session on Monday mornings. Meet with a group of peers to set your intentions, boost motivation, troubleshoot challenges, and (most importantly) take the pressure off!
Exploring Your Professional Path After Grad School
Time: 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Presenter: April Babey, Agata Rybalkiewicz, and Chantelle Thauvette
Location: Online
This workshop is hosted on Zoom and is accessible through your McGill Zoom account. PLEASE LOG INTO YOUR MCGILL ZOOM ACCOUNT AT https://mcgill.zoom.us/ BEFORE JOINING THE SESSION.
What’s your next step? This interactive workshop for graduate students will teach you the skills to review position types and work environments within the context of your career. Together, we will help you reflect on your professional identity and preferences, practice deciphering job postings, and identify next steps in your career exploration.
In this workshop you will have the opportunity to…
- Define your personal values, skills, and/or interests
- Practice deciphering job postings
- Identify the next step in your professional development
- Combine the above strategies to make impactful career choices efficiently
Read Effectively and Take Smart Notes in Grad School
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Presenter: Carrie Hanson, Hadi Hojjati
Location: Online
This workshop is hosted on Zoom and is accessible through your McGill Zoom account. PLEASE LOG INTO YOUR MCGILL ZOOM ACCOUNT AT https://mcgill.zoom.us/ BEFORE JOINING THE SESSION.
Looking to manage your reading load? In this workshop, we’ll dig into strategies for making sense of dense academic texts, pulling out key ideas, and organizing notes. You will move from note-taking (just jotting things down) to note-making for better understanding. Whether you’re tackling complicated research articles or hefty books, you’ll learn techniques to engage deeply with the material, retain what matters, and build smarter habits for working with academic literature. Perfect for grad students in any field who want to sharpen their reading and note-making game.
By attending this workshop, you will be able to:
- Use strategies for reading comprehension
- Distinguish between note-taking and note-making
- Identify challenges and opportunities that arise with using AI for reading and notetaking
Planning with Purpose
Time: 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Presenter: Rodrigo Alain Migueles Ramirez and Candice Canonne
Location: Online
This workshop is hosted on Zoom and is accessible through your McGill Zoom account. PLEASE LOG INTO YOUR MCGILL ZOOM ACCOUNT AT https://mcgill.zoom.us/ BEFORE JOINING THE SESSION.
The Planning with Purpose information session is an introduction to the Individual Development Plan (IDP) at McGill. This session covers the process and building blocks of creating a meaningful IDP and setting goals in grad school. We also explore the resources, supports, and programming available from the myPath team to help you to forge your own learning path.
In this workshop you will have an opportunity to:
• Understand what an IDP is and how to use one to support your grad school experience
• Discover the resources and support available to help you create your IDP
• Familiarize yourself with Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies' mandatory IDP reporting requirements for graduate students
• Complete 1 of your 3 IDP reporting requirements!
Grad Breakfast Club
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Presenter: Rodrigo Alain Migueles Ramirez, Anastasiia Yemets
Location: Online
This workshop is hosted on Zoom and is accessible through your McGill Zoom account. PLEASE LOG INTO YOUR MCGILL ZOOM ACCOUNT AT https://mcgill.zoom.us/ BEFORE JOINING THE SESSION.
Stay on track with a 30min “plan your week” session on Monday mornings. Meet with a group of peers to set your intentions, boost motivation, troubleshoot challenges, and (most importantly) take the pressure off!
Unconventional Funding Sources
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Presenter: Alex Gavrilla
Location: Online
This workshop is hosted on Zoom and is accessible through your McGill Zoom account. PLEASE LOG INTO YOUR MCGILL ZOOM ACCOUNT AT https://mcgill.zoom.us/ BEFORE JOINING THE SESSION.
This webinar explores less common funding sources that can help participants achieve their academic goals without the burden of excessive debt. The webinar provides participants with practical tips and strategies to find and secure funding from diverse sources. Whether participants are just starting their graduate journey or looking for additional support, this session equips participants with the knowledge and tools to navigate the funding landscape effectively.
This webinar explores less common funding sources that can help participants achieve their academic goals without the burden of excessive debt. The webinar provides participants with practical tips and strategies to find and secure funding from diverse sources. Whether participants are just starting their graduate journey or looking for additional support, this session equips participants with the knowledge and tools to navigate the funding landscape effectively.
Learning Outcomes:
- Discover a list of corporations that offer various scholarships, grants, and fellowships.
- Review different non-profit funding sources.
- Explore a variety of smaller grants and sources of funding.
Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship 101
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Presenter: Katya Marc
Location: Frank Dawson Adams Building, McGill Engine Centre - Seminar room FDA 3
Campus: Downtown campus
This workshop will provide an overview of what technological innovation is and what entrepreneurship is, as well an overview of the Entrepreneurial Mindset, the Lean Launchpad methodology, the Business Model Canvas and the Lean Canvas.
Learning outcomes:- Define Innovation according to the Conference Board of Canada definition.
- Define the Entrepreneurial Mindset according to KEEN.
- Describe the different approaches in the process of innovation.
- Explain the use of the Business Model Canvas and the Lean Canvas.
- Explain the build-measure-learn feedback loop of Lean Startup methodology.