Date: Thursday, April 9, 2026
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Presenter: 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.

Moving away from an academic career often means exploring multiple potential career paths without a well-defined personal roadmap. 

Join this workshop with a Graduate Career Advisor to start envisioning what life after academia looks like and to start building a structured career exploration and job search goals for yourself. 

In this interactive workshop, a CaPS Grad Career Advisor will:  

• Provide starting points to envision, identify, and research careers outside of academia. 
• Walk you through the key steps of a non-academic job search and the resources available to support each stage. 
• Guide you in choosing one step and turning it into a SMART goal you can use as a starting point for exploring, researching, or applying to non-academic jobs. 

We will be using tools and resources from myPath's Individual Development Plan (IDP) workbooks, with a focus on career planning. This workshop counts towards the IDP requirements for graduate students set by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. 

Date: Monday, March 30, 2026
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:15 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 45min “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!

Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026
Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Presenter: Alex Gavrila
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.

 

Graduating is an exciting milestone but it also comes with new financial responsibilities. In this informative webinar, we’ll explore practical strategies to help you navigate your finances as you transition into the next phase of your life. Whether you’re starting a job or embarking on a new entrepreneurial venture, understanding how to manage your money effectively is crucial. Explore budgeting essentials, student loan management, credit building, investment strategies, and real estate analysis. Learn how to set financial goals, navigate taxes, and secure your financial future.

 

Learning Outcomes:

•    Review how to maintain a reasonable budget and avoid lifestyle inflation.
•     Learn about various student loan repayment strategies.
•     Become familiar with Canadian real estate basics.
•     Calculate the costs of starting a family in Canada and review various government benefits (QPIP and CCB).
•     Learn about the various retirement plans in Canada: QPP/CPP, OAS, GIS, and pensions.

Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Time: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Presenter: Rodrigo Alain Migueles Ramirez and Fathima Afsal
Location: Thomson House ballroom
Campus: Downtown campus

Are you struggling to find a good routine with your supervisor? If so, you are not alone. Join us for a panel discussion with your peers from various disciplines and with an Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies to hear about their experience and advice on building a stronger relationship with your supervisor. Learn about strategies on communication, managing conflicts, and clarifying expectations to get the most out of your supervision relationship. This session consists of a panel discussion with your peers and an Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies followed by a Q&A period. Snacks and beverages will be provided!

No-Show Fee Alert: There are no fees associated with SKILLSETS workshops; however, registering for an event is a commitment to attend. If you can no longer attend, make sure to cancel your registration at least 48 hours before the workshop. Otherwise, a $25 No-Show Fee will be charged to your McGill student account. For more information on our policy, please go to www.mcgill.ca/skillsets/policies

 

Date: Monday, March 23, 2026
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:15 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 45min “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!

Date: Friday, March 20, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Presenter: Anastasiia Yemets and Candice Canonne
Location: McLennan Library, room MS-74 (ground floor)
Campus: Downtown campus

Come join us in this hands-on crafty workshop where you will brainstorm an IDP vision statement and use collaging to make a vision board. Workshop goers will have the opportunity to digitally or physically collage to make a vision board to stay on track with their goals! 

All materials will be provided! Enjoy the company of other grad students and let's get crafty. 

No-Show Fee Alert: There are no fees associated with SKILLSETS workshops; however, registering for an event is a commitment to attend. If you can no longer attend, make sure to cancel your registration at least 48 hours before the workshop. Otherwise, a $25 No-Show Fee will be charged to your McGill student account. For more information on our policy, please go to www.mcgill.ca/skillsets/policies

 

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Time: 5:30 AM - 7:30 PM
Location: Arts Building, room 150
Campus: Downtown campus

Join us to learn about the career pathways of McGill PhD alumni with a social science and humanities background who are working in Alternative Academic Careers! This in-person session will be followed by a community café where participants will have a chance to interact informally with the panelists and their peers.  

 

Panelists:

• W.Y Alice Chan (PhD, Education), Executive Director and Co-Founder, Centre de littératie religieuse civique / Centre for Civic Religious Literacy
• Chloe Garcia (PhD, Education), Manager – Academic Programs, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University.
• Sylvain Margot (PhD, Music Theory), Program Manager, Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ)

 

No-Show Fee Alert: There are no fees associated with SKILLSETS workshops; however, registering for an event is a commitment to attend. If you can no longer attend, make sure to cancel your registration at least 48 hours before the workshop. Otherwise, a $25 No-Show Fee will be charged to your McGill student account. For more information on our policy, please go to www.mcgill.ca/skillsets/policies

 

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Presenter: Fathima Asfal and Andrw Churchill
Location: McLennan Library, room MS-74 (ground floor)
Campus: Downtown campus

This workshop dives deeply into how to practice more effectively and how to get better feedback for your presentation while you prepare. We’ll review why watching a video of yourself is so painful for most people and how to work around the feeling to make the most of this tool for self-review. We’ll also cover feedback strategies for content, delivery and visuals when looking for feedback from others. We’ll also discuss strategies for keeping anxiety and imposter syndrome in check. 

Learning Outcomes:

•     Prepare effectively through self-video review
•     Solicit feedback for content, delivery and visuals that is helpful
•     Manage presentation-induced anxiety and imposter syndrome

No-Show Fee Alert: There are no fees associated with SKILLSETS workshops; however, registering for an event is a commitment to attend. If you can no longer attend, make sure to cancel your registration at least 48 hours before the workshop. Otherwise, a $25 No-Show Fee will be charged to your McGill student account. For more information on our policy, please go to www.mcgill.ca/skillsets/policies

 

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Presenter: Fathima Afsal & 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.

 

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!

 

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Location: Frank Dawson Adams Building, McGill Engine Centre - Seminar room 3 or 5 (depending on group size)
Campus: Downtown campus

This workshop will demystify and explain the various forms of intellectual property (IP), namely, patents, industrial designs, copyright, trademarks, and trade secrets, and when they are used. We will then do some actual patent searching with our librarian April Colosimo using the DERWENT worldwide patent database.

Learning outcomes:

• Describe the various forms of IP, their protection, and use.
• Explain the patenting process.
• Use DERWENT to do your own patent searching.

Date: Monday, March 16, 2026
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:15 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 45min “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!

Date: Monday, March 16, 2026
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Presenter: Lorna MacEachern, 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

Date: Monday, March 9, 2026
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:15 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 45min “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!

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Presenter: Tina Cerulli
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.

Project management is an important skill we all are acquainted with, but what does project management look like as a career? This two-part series acts as a taster to both the world of professional project management and how to succeed in it. 
 
Building upon concepts introduced in "Introduction to Professional Project Management: Project Planning ", Introduction to Professional Project Management: Project Execution presents simple and effective techniques to bring your project plan to life!
This online seminar introduces industry-proven strategies to execute project plans on time, on budget, and with high customer satisfaction. Focusing on the execution phase of the project management life cycle, this seminar may be taken alone or following seminar “Introduction to Professional Project Management: Project Planning.”

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Presenter: Tina Cerulli
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.

Project management is an important skill we all are acquainted with, but what does project management look like as a career? This two-part series acts as a taster to both the world of professional project management and how to succeed in it. 
 
Introduction to Professional Project Management: Project Planning focuses on the formal processes around project planning. This online seminar covers the foundations of what you need to know to create a successful project charter that clearly communicates the goals, milestones, team roles, and more. This seminar can be taken alone or can be followed by “Introduction to Professional Project Management: Project Execution”

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Presenter: Arav Saherwala and Fathima Afsal
Location: 680 rue Sherbrooke O, room 1041
Campus: Downtown campus

This workshop teaches participants how to balance confidence and professionalism with dynamic physical and vocal presence. Specifically, participants will learn the importance of gestures and vocal variety; as well as how to use physical space, naming and props. As bonus, this workshop will share a practice routine that will help participants decrease anxiety and improve performance.

 

Learning outcomes:

•     Cultivate a confident physical presence that commands a room
•     Develop a clear, natural delivery to connect with any audience
•     Establish a dynamic physical and vocal presence while still being professional
•     Learn how to practice better to present better

 

No-Show Fee Alert: There are no fees associated with SKILLSETS workshops; however, registering for an event is a commitment to attend. If you can no longer attend, make sure to cancel your registration at least 48 hours before the workshop. Otherwise, a $25 No-Show Fee will be charged to your McGill student account. For more information on our policy, please go to www.mcgill.ca/skillsets/policies

 

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Location: Frank Dawson Adams Building, McGill Engine Centre - Seminar room 3 or 5 (depending on group size)
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.

Date: Friday, February 27, 2026
Time: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: Frank Dawson Adams Building, McGill Engine Centre - Seminar room 3
Campus: Downtown campus

Graduate students often find themselves at the intersection of expertise and emerging social responsibility. This session of Connected Academics explores what it means to engage in activism at the beginning of your scholarly career with Dr. Maya Yampolsky (Université Laval) and Iman Sta-Ali (doctoral candidate, Université Laval). This session offers practical insights for students who want to engage thoughtfully, ethically, and effectively in the issues that matter to them.

After the talk, join us for food and drinks.

About the speakers:

Dr. Maya Yampolsky heads the Intimate Racism and Solidarity Lab, where she and her team examine racism from close others in interethnic relationships (romantic partners, friends, family members). She is also interested in how intimate racism is linked to the integration of multiple identities and relationship processes (e.g., communication about racism, intercultural conflict resolution). She employs a mixed-methods approach with qualitative (e.g., life narratives and focus groups) as well as quantitative procedures (e.g., scale development, factor analysis, and dyadic analysis). Her work has been funded by SSHRC and FRQSC.

Iman Sta-Ali holds a BSc in Psychology and is currently a PhD candidate in Université Laval under the supervision of Dr. Maya A. Yampolsky. Her academic and professional journey has focused on understanding how racism and systems of oppression shape intimate relationships and mental health. She has worked in both public and private clinical settings, and founded a mental health center offering community-based, decolonial approaches to healing. Her research is grounded in the lived experiences of racialized individuals and aims to center their voices in conversations around care, identity, and resistance.

No-Show Fee Alert: There are no fees associated with SKILLSETS workshops; however, registering for an event is a commitment to attend. If you can no longer attend, make sure to cancel your registration at least 48 hours before the workshop. Otherwise, a $25 No-Show Fee will be charged to your McGill student account. For more information on our policy, please go to www.mcgill.ca/skillsets/policies

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026
Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Presenter: Alex Gavrila
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.

 

Would you like to better understand tax slips and learn how to file your income taxes? Then this webinar is for you. We will first start with a brief overview of the Canadian tax system covering topics such as: types of different taxes, tax brackets, and how different types of income get taxed. We will review key tax slips (see list below) and show you how to make sense of them through live examples. Finally, we will cover various tax credits and deductions available to you. 

Learning Outcomes:

•     Learn about the different Canadian tax brackets, what counts as taxable income, and how different types of income get taxed. 
•     Develop a basic understanding of the information contained on key tax slips (T4, T4A, T5, T2202, RL-1, RL-3, RL-8, RL-19, RL-24, and RL-31). 
•     Learn about common tax deductions and credits available to you. 
•     Learn about various free tax filing resources and software. 

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Time: 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Presenter: Rodrigo Alain Migueles Ramirez and Fathima Asfal
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 workshop helps graduate students reframe the Progress Tracking Form (PTF) as more than a bureaucratic requirement—transforming it into a personal roadmap for reflection, planning, and building strong supervisory relationships. Through discussion, case studies, and practical strategies, participants will explore how to take ownership of their degree progress, make the most of limited supervisor time, and use the PTF to foster communication, identify challenges early, and secure the support they need. By the end, students will be equipped to approach the PTF as a proactive tool for academic and professional growth.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
1.    Explain the purpose and benefits of the Progress Tracking Form beyond meeting formal requirements.
2.    Apply strategies to take ownership of their degree progress and actively engage with supervisors and committees.
3.    Use the PTF to set intentional goals, reflect on achievements, document progress effectively, and connect with your supervisory committee.