Are you trying to find some dedicated time to finish a writing project that needs focused attention? Time to Write retreats offer concentrated time to support your writing efforts and can be instrumental in the initiation or completion of scholarly work such as an article, book or book chapter, grant proposal, curriculum or OER development, conference presentations, or other scholarly creative projects.  

Time to work on writing projects away from home and campus for a few days can be incredibly productive. Participation in a writing retreat with colleagues at various stages of their careers not only provides quiet, focused writing time away from teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities, but it also offers mentorship and networking opportunities with colleagues from a range of disciplines. The retreat provides an opportunity to develop a supportive writing group with colleagues from across campus and join group discussions on writing and publishing. 

A Time to Write retreat will be offered from Tuesday, October 10, to Friday, October 13, 2023, at the North Rustico Cottages in North Rustico.   

Participants must have a project (e.g., grant application, research publication) at a stage where sustained writing time makes sense with background research and/or data collection and analysis completed to the point that they are ready to write. Participants must be prepared to commit to the full program, a total of three days focused on writing, and contribute $300. The retreat is open to faculty (term and sessional faculty are encouraged to apply) and librarians in any academic unit at UPEI. Interested participants will email an expression of interest consisting of a summary of the project they plan to work on and their writing goals for the retreat to TLC@upei.ca by 12:00 noon on Monday, September 25, 2023. Six to eight participants will be accepted for this Time to Write fall retreat.

When conducting assessments, clear communication of expectations can help your students perform their work with a clear understanding of what academic integrity means in your course. This session will cover some approaches for setting up clear and concise honour agreements and building the requirements into your Moodle assessments. The session will take place in the Teaching and Learning Centre (located in the Robertson Library Annex) on September 19 from 10:00 to 11:00 am. Register here.

Interested in learning about High Performance Computing, Linux, or programming with Python? ACENET's fall training is starting soon. These sessions are online and are free of charge. Our fall training offerings are listed below, with more to be announced.

If you have any questions about upcoming training or ACENET services at UPEI, contact Kaitlin Newson.

Basics of Computers

15 September, 1300-1500hrs Atlantic

Most of us have experience using a computer, whether for school, work, or entertainment, but how many of us have actually had an expert teach us how to use it? It doesn't need to be (quite) this way. This talk won't teach you how to troubleshoot everything, but will give you insight into how media, programs, and data are encoded and used by computers, so you can make more sense of why computers behave the ways they do, and solve some of your problems with greater efficiency and less frustration. We will provide an approachable overview of how a computer works, by both looking at their history and breaking one down to explain individual components, before highlighting some of the trade-offs to consider when buying a computer. We will provide practical, simple, and actionable advice on digital security and show you a few "pro tips" on how to make the most of your workstation, phone, or whatever device you happen to use. Whether you have a lot or a little experience using your digital technology, if you want to learn how to use your devices more effectively, this workshop is for you!  

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-of-computers-tickets-710253065037

Introduction to High Performance Computing (HPC)

19 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

What is High Performance Computing (HPC) and what can it do for me? How can ACENET help? Used by researchers across many disciplines to tackle analyses too large or complex for a desktop, or to achieve improved efficiency over a desktop, this session takes participants through the preliminary stages of learning about high performance computing (HPC) and computing clusters, and how to get started with this type of computing. It then reviews software packages available for applications, data analysis, software development, and compiling code. Finally, participants will be introduced to the concept of parallel computing to achieve much faster results in analysis. This session is designed for those with no prior experience in HPC, and are looking for an introduction and overview.  

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-hpc-tickets-710253867437

Introduction to Linux

20 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

Linux is the terminal interface used to enable you to use supercomputing clusters from your desktop. It's the tool you need to get your data on the clusters, run your programs, and get your data back. In this session, learn how to create and navigate directories for your data, load files, manage your storage, run programs on the compute clusters, and set file permissions. This workshop is designed for those with no prior experience in working with a terminal interface. 

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-linux-tickets-710254178367

Introduction to Shell Scripting

21 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

Shell scripting helps you save time, automate file management tasks, and better use the power of Linux. You’ll learn how to use the command line to carry out repetitive tasks, extract information from files quickly, combine commands in powerful ways, learn about job scripts, shell variables, and looping commands, and capture a workflow so you can re-use it easily. Save time, reduce errors, and use Linux more effectively. This workshop is designed for either new High Performance Computing (HPC) users who are familiar with working in a Linux environment, or for experienced users seeking to get more out of shell scripting. It is one of the core courses to help users get up and running on ACENET and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada systems.

Prerequisite: ACENET Basic Series Introduction to Linux, or previous experience with Linux.  

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-shell-scripting-tickets-710254399027

Job Scheduling with Slurm

22 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

The national systems use a job scheduler called “Slurm”. In this session you will learn how Slurm works and how it allocates jobs, helping you to: minimize wait time by framing reasonable requests; ask for only the resources you need to improve efficiency; increase throughput; run more jobs simultaneously; and troubleshoot and address crashes. This workshop is designed for new HPC users, or for experienced users either transitioning to Slurm or seeking to improve efficiency with the scheduler.

Prerequisites: Completion of Introduction to Linux and Introduction to Shell Scripting, or prior experience with both.  

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-job-scheduling-with-slurm-tickets-710254629717

Introductory Programming: Unix Shell, Version Control, and Python

27 September, 4 October, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic

This is a beginner-level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of Python. This includes data types, conditional statements, loops and functions, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging and using Python in everyday tasks. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented or previous programming experience but intermediate level experience with a computer is highly recommended.

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-with-python-tickets-711238041127

Cloud from A to Z

17, 19, 24, 26 October, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic

Cloud computing provides great flexibility, allowing complete control of the computing environment. In addition, the environment can be copied, backed up, created and recreated in an automated way. In these lessons, we will start you on the path toward making use of the great flexibility and power of cloud computing. We will be using the popular static website generator Jekyll.

Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Linux, Software Carpentry's Unix Shell, or similar experience.

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-cloud-from-a-to-z-tickets-710265482177

Introductory Programming with R

18, 25 October, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic

This is a beginner-level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of R. This includes data types, functions, importing, manipulating and analyzing data, and data visualization, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging, and using R in everyday tasks. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented or previous programming experience but intermediate level experience with a computer is highly recommended. 

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-with-r-tickets-711430436587

The UPEI Campus Foodbank was open weekly this summer, serving over 1,000 students and averaging 60 students per week. Twenty dedicated student, staff, and faculty volunteers worked with our summer student assistant to keep this important resource available to UPEI students.  Thank you!

And now, we begin again! Our September schedule looks good. Please check back in case commitments change and slots open up: September Foodbank  If you are able to support the foodbank with an hour on Wednesdays, please use this form for our October November December dates

As always, thank you!

Sister Sue and Lauren

Please note that the IT Systems and Services Help Desk has moved to AVC 246S. Look for the new "Help Desk" sign in the corridor, and we are just inside!

Welcome to the new school year! 

The UPEI Health Research Network is looking for full/part-time undergraduate students for the Connections program starting the last week of September 2023! 

Would you like to meet new friends and be involved in an inclusive and non-judgmental environment to learn about food, health, stress, coping, and physical activity? 

The staff at the Health Research Network is offering a free eight-session program to help connect undergraduate students to provide an environment for learning on a variety of topics around health and well-being and connecting to the student community. Snacks will be provided at each session!

This free program will include a total of eight weekly group education sessions which include 1 hour with a registered dietitian and 1-2 hours of exercise sessions with a kinesiologist (plus open gym times) located in the lower level of the Steel Building. These sessions will be student-centered so we welcome any level of knowledge and ability. 

If you are interested in registering, please email Gemma and Laurie at connections@upei.ca for more information or to register. We look forward to seeing you there! 

The Scholarships and Awards Office is accepting applications for the 1st Semester (Fall) Award Cycle!

Students can now access the Scholarship and Award Application portal by clicking the link provided here or in the UPEI Forms section of their MyUPEI account. Students are encouraged to review the four-step instructions and submit their electronic application through the portal by the October 1, 2023, deadline to be considered for over 100 scholarships and awards.

Not only can students apply to numerous awards through the Scholarship and Award Application portal, but there are also dozens of awards with a separate application process conveniently listed on the 1st Semester (Fall) Award Cycle webpage. Deadlines for the separate application awards vary across the Fall semester, and awards are listed beneath their deadline month. Be sure to click the links, review the award criteria, and submit in time for the deadline.

If you have questions about the application processes, award criteria, or deadlines, please contact scholarships@upei.ca or visit us in Dalton Hall, room 202. Best of luck to all who apply!

Welcome back, everyone!

The UPEI Writing Centre is again ready to support writers with assignments from all faculties at all stages of the writing and research process.  Appointments with our friendly, knowledgeable tutors are one-on-one and up to an hour long, hosted in-person in RL 274, and also available online. 

Book your appointment at https://upei.mywconline.com/

Staff and faculty should contact Jarmo Puiras at jjpuiras@upei.ca for more information or to arrange a short class visit from Writing Centre staff to introduce the service to your class.

Best wishes for a rewarding, storm-free fall term.

Are you trying to find some dedicated time to finish a writing project that needs focused attention? Time to Write retreats offer concentrated time to support your writing efforts and can be instrumental in the initiation or completion of scholarly work such as an article, book or book chapter, grant proposal, curriculum or OER development, conference presentations, or other scholarly creative projects.  

Time to work on writing projects away from home and campus for a few days can be incredibly productive. Participation in a writing retreat with colleagues at various stages of their careers not only provides quiet, focused writing time away from teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities, but it also offers mentorship and networking opportunities with colleagues from a range of disciplines. The retreat provides an opportunity to develop a supportive writing group with colleagues from across campus and join group discussions on writing and publishing. 

A Time to Write retreat will be offered from Tuesday, October 10, to Friday, October 13, 2023, at the North Rustico Cottages in North Rustico.   

Participants must have a project (e.g., grant application, research publication) at a stage where sustained writing time makes sense with background research and/or data collection and analysis completed to the point that they are ready to write. Participants must be prepared to commit to the full program, a total of three days focused on writing, and contribute $300. The retreat is open to faculty (term and sessional faculty are encouraged to apply) and librarians in any academic unit at UPEI. Interested participants will email an expression of interest consisting of a summary of the project they plan to work on and their writing goals for the retreat to TLC@upei.ca by 12:00 noon on Monday, September 25, 2023. Six to eight participants will be accepted for this Time to Write fall retreat.

Presenter: Jiacheng (Eric) Chuan

Title: "Next Generational Sequencing and Bioinformatics Analysis of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Causing Potato Zebra Chips and Ring Rot"

Date/Time /Location: Tuesday, September 12, 2023, 9:00 am via web conference

If you wish to attend the public presentation, please contact the Graduate Studies Coordinator at gsc@upei.ca to receive the link.

Everyone is welcome.

You'll need about a half-hour for this tea(ching) break suggestion. It's a podcast that explores how ChatGPT can support student learning. Listen to 80 Ways to Use ChatGPT in the Classroom

UPEI Accessibility Services has implemented a new system called Accommodate, which will support the coordination of exams and accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The department’s previous system AccessDeck has been eliminated. 

Faculty and Instructional staff will need to familiarize themselves with the system and related process changes, including improvements to tracking accommodated students, a change in the Accessibility Services testing process, and general information on accessing and navigating the Accommodate system. 

Information and Training sessions have been scheduled to take place on the following dates:

• September 12 - Open to all faculty at 9:00 am (online: meeting link can be found in your email or by logging into Accommodate)
• September 13 - Open to all faculty at 2:00 pm (online: meeting link can be found in your email or by logging into Accommodate)
• September 15 - Open to all faculty at 2:00 pm (in RL 265)

If you have any questions, please email accessibility@upei.ca, and a member of the Accessibility Services team would be happy to respond. 

The UPEI Campus Foodbank was open weekly this summer, serving over 1,000 students and averaging 60 students per week. Twenty dedicated student, staff, and faculty volunteers worked with our summer student assistant to keep this important resource available to UPEI students.  Thank you!

And now, we begin again! Our September schedule looks good. Please check back in case commitments change and slots open up: September Foodbank  If you are able to support the foodbank with an hour on Wednesdays, please use this form for our October November December dates

As always, thank you!

Sister Sue and Lauren

Island Lecture Series Double Feature:
“Sami Educational Viewpoints From the Past and Present” and “The Use of Yoik, Traditional Sami Singing, in Education”
September 19, 2023,  7:00 pm, Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building

Kicking off this season's Island Lecture Series on Tuesday, September 12, are two guests who are NOT talking about islands, but rather about something that resonates with islands and islanders from the North: Sami culture from Lapland.  

Pigga Keskitalo will present “Sami Educational Viewpoints From the Past and Present.”  In this presentation, Keskitalo will review Sámi education history and current practices. Currently, there is a need for innovative solutions so that everyone can reach education in their Indigenous languages. Endangered Sami languages have developed distance education since the 1990s so that children and language learners – despite their location – can learn Sami languages. In Finland, there is a Sami language distance education project. The Academy of Finland-funded research project, ADVOST, concentrated on developing this distance education in a small children’s context. The research project also implemented land-based education, storytelling, and playful learning into distance education. Keskitalo will present this project and core results in addition to the new research project LINCOSY (funded by the Finnish Research Council, former Academy of Finland), which concentrates on Sami language teaching in the Nordic level.

Laila Nutti will present her PhD project about the pedagogical use of yoik with the title: “The Use of Yoik, Traditional Sami Singing, in Education.”

Pigga Keskitalo and Laila Nutti are on Prince Edward Island as part of the ConnectED Scholar Exchange, which aims to create connections between early-career scholars and researchers across the Arctic. Hosted by Dr. Kathy Snow (Education), David Varis (Education/IKERAS), and Dr. Laurie Brinklow (Island Studies), our guests will meet with graduate students and educators across the Island from September 18-21, 2023.

Find more information at https://islandstudies.com/events/upcoming-events/

OCII is pleased to invite you to our info sessions on Intellectual Property for Researchers, presented by André Gallant, IP Advisor for Atlantic Canada from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). Learn more about intellectual property (IP) as it relates to your research innovations, inventions, and entrepreneurial activities.

All faculty, students, and staff are welcome to attend on Thursday, September 14, in Don and Marion McDougall Hall 329:

Session 1: 9:30 - 10:15 am, Patents & Trade Secrets

Session 2: 10:30 - 11:15 am, Copyrights & Trademarks 

Please come to both or either, based on your research and commercialization interests. 

We hope to see you there! 

-- Office of Commercialization, Industry & Innovation Team

Any questions, reach out at ocii@upei.ca or follow us on LinkedIn

IT Systems and Services is preparing virtual student computer lab applications for the Fall 2023 semester. We kindly ask that all faculty and/or lab facilitators who require access to virtual lab applications for their courses please submit their requests via the form provided on the myUPEI portal.

Please complete this form if you are facilitating a course in the upcoming Fall 2023 semester and your students will require virtual lab access to complete their course.

Please note that any virtual lab access previously provided for courses will be removed by August 30, 2023. If your students still require access during the Fall 2023 semester, please re-submit the above form.

In some specialized cases, there may be costs and approvals associated with provisioning virtual labs, and in these cases, ITSS will contact you to discuss next steps.

The UPEI Alumni Association invites students, staff, and faculty to join us on Thursday, September 21, at 6:30 pm in the Performing Arts Centre theatre as we recognize and celebrate the recipients of the 2023 Distinguished and Young Alumni Awards.

The 2023 Distinguished Alumni are Dr. Mary Goodfellow, SDU '65; Monica Elaine Campbell, BSc '78; and Roger Sinclair, BBA '79. The 2023 Inspiring Young Alumni are Danaiet Teame, BScN '12; Tyler Coady, BA '13; and Danté Bazard, BA '16. 

Following the ceremony, there will be a reception with light refreshments and a cash bar. This is a free event, open to interested members of the public and campus community, but for planning purposes, we ask that you kindly RSVP by email to Stephen Loo at sloo@upei.ca by September 14.

For more information about our Distinguished and Young Alumni Awards, including a list of past recipients, or to submit a nomination for 2024, please visit https://www.upei.ca/alumni/awards-and-recognition

UPEI is thrilled to bring back the Research Breakfast to provide opportunities to network and learn more about the insights, possibilities, and expertise within our research community. The breakfast will take place in Bill and Denise Andrew Hall, Room 142, on September 12 from 7:30–9:00 am.

Speakers:

• Dr. Caroline Ritter, Canada Research Chair in Social Epidemiology for Healthy Animals, will present "Paw-sitive minds: Fostering positive mental well-being in veterinarians."
• Dr. Josh MacFadyen, Canada Research Chair in Geospatial Humanities, will present "Lessons from the Land: Mapping Food and Energy Transitions in Canada."

Please RSVP here as there is a limited amount of space.

This event is sponsored by Springboard Atlantic.

The University of Prince Edward Island received the sad news yesterday that Leo Cheverie, a passionate and dedicated member of the University community, has passed away.

Leo graduated from UPEI in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and Canadian Studies, and the following year, he began working at the Robertson Library as a library technician. He was very well-known to the campus community and beyond for his strong commitment to labour and social justice causes, his love of community and cultural events and activities, and his passion for supporting and helping others.

The UPEI flags have been lowered in Leo’s memory.
 

Interested in learning about High Performance Computing, Linux, or programming with Python? ACENET's fall training is starting soon. These sessions are online and are free of charge. Our fall training offerings are listed below, with more to be announced.

If you have any questions about upcoming training or ACENET services at UPEI, contact Kaitlin Newson.

Basics of Computers

15 September, 1300-1500hrs Atlantic

Most of us have experience using a computer, whether for school, work, or entertainment, but how many of us have actually had an expert teach us how to use it? It doesn't need to be (quite) this way. This talk won't teach you how to troubleshoot everything, but will give you insight into how media, programs, and data are encoded and used by computers, so you can make more sense of why computers behave the ways they do, and solve some of your problems with greater efficiency and less frustration. We will provide an approachable overview of how a computer works, by both looking at their history and breaking one down to explain individual components, before highlighting some of the trade-offs to consider when buying a computer. We will provide practical, simple, and actionable advice on digital security and show you a few "pro tips" on how to make the most of your workstation, phone, or whatever device you happen to use. Whether you have a lot or a little experience using your digital technology, if you want to learn how to use your devices more effectively, this workshop is for you!  

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-of-computers-tickets-710253065037

Introduction to High Performance Computing (HPC)

19 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

What is High Performance Computing (HPC) and what can it do for me? How can ACENET help? Used by researchers across many disciplines to tackle analyses too large or complex for a desktop, or to achieve improved efficiency over a desktop, this session takes participants through the preliminary stages of learning about high performance computing (HPC) and computing clusters, and how to get started with this type of computing. It then reviews software packages available for applications, data analysis, software development, and compiling code. Finally, participants will be introduced to the concept of parallel computing to achieve much faster results in analysis. This session is designed for those with no prior experience in HPC, and are looking for an introduction and overview.  

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-hpc-tickets-710253867437

Introduction to Linux

20 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

Linux is the terminal interface used to enable you to use supercomputing clusters from your desktop. It's the tool you need to get your data on the clusters, run your programs, and get your data back. In this session, learn how to create and navigate directories for your data, load files, manage your storage, run programs on the compute clusters, and set file permissions. This workshop is designed for those with no prior experience in working with a terminal interface. 

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-linux-tickets-710254178367

Introduction to Shell Scripting

21 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

Shell scripting helps you save time, automate file management tasks, and better use the power of Linux. You’ll learn how to use the command line to carry out repetitive tasks, extract information from files quickly, combine commands in powerful ways, learn about job scripts, shell variables, and looping commands, and capture a workflow so you can re-use it easily. Save time, reduce errors, and use Linux more effectively. This workshop is designed for either new High Performance Computing (HPC) users who are familiar with working in a Linux environment, or for experienced users seeking to get more out of shell scripting. It is one of the core courses to help users get up and running on ACENET and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada systems.

Prerequisite: ACENET Basic Series Introduction to Linux, or previous experience with Linux.  

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-shell-scripting-tickets-710254399027

Job Scheduling with Slurm

22 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

The national systems use a job scheduler called “Slurm”. In this session you will learn how Slurm works and how it allocates jobs, helping you to: minimize wait time by framing reasonable requests; ask for only the resources you need to improve efficiency; increase throughput; run more jobs simultaneously; and troubleshoot and address crashes. This workshop is designed for new HPC users, or for experienced users either transitioning to Slurm or seeking to improve efficiency with the scheduler.

Prerequisites: Completion of Introduction to Linux and Introduction to Shell Scripting, or prior experience with both.  

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-job-scheduling-with-slurm-tickets-710254629717

Introductory Programming: Unix Shell, Version Control, and Python

27 September, 4 October, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic

This is a beginner-level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of Python. This includes data types, conditional statements, loops and functions, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging and using Python in everyday tasks. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented or previous programming experience but intermediate level experience with a computer is highly recommended.

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-with-python-tickets-711238041127

Cloud from A to Z

17, 19, 24, 26 October, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic

Cloud computing provides great flexibility, allowing complete control of the computing environment. In addition, the environment can be copied, backed up, created and recreated in an automated way. In these lessons, we will start you on the path toward making use of the great flexibility and power of cloud computing. We will be using the popular static website generator Jekyll.

Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Linux, Software Carpentry's Unix Shell, or similar experience.

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-cloud-from-a-to-z-tickets-710265482177

Introductory Programming with R

18, 25 October, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic

This is a beginner-level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of R. This includes data types, functions, importing, manipulating and analyzing data, and data visualization, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging, and using R in everyday tasks. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented or previous programming experience but intermediate level experience with a computer is highly recommended. 

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-with-r-tickets-711430436587