The Ocean Frontier Institute has issued a new call for seed fund project applications (https://www.ofi.ca/funding/seed-fund). OFI's Seed Fund supports innovative projects that have the potential to advance research, commercial, or social concepts relating to the ocean. OFI is pleased to partner once again with Innovacorp, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Net Zero Atlantic, and Mitacs, and welcomes Ocean Technology Council of Nova Scotia. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2022.

Key points:  

• Awards will typically range from $10,000 to $15,000 with particularly compelling ideas considered up to a maximum of $30,000.  
• Funding is intended for projects to be undertaken and completed within a 12-month time frame.  
• Projects must be in line with OFI’s research priorities  

UPEI application process: 

Complete your application according to the instructions here:  https://www.ofi.ca/funding/seed-funds/application. Submit your application for UPEI approval using the Researcher Portal (instructions for using the Researcher Portal can be found here). Applicants are requested to submit by June 23, 2021, ensuring that the application is received by Research Services by June 27, 2022. Upon receipt of UPEI approvals, you will be notified to proceed with the submission of your application by emailing it to ofi@dal.ca and ofi@mun.ca. The deadline for submission is June 30, 2022.  

As of May 5, entrance and exits signs will no longer be needed in all campus buildings, and doors will be unlocked accordingly as they were pre-pandemic. These signs will be removed today.

Thanks from your Health, Safety, and Environment department!

Convocation is almost here! UPEI employees and faculty are invited to attend the Convocation exercises Tuesday, May 10-–Friday, May 13, at 10:00 am each day at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. Each ceremony is preceded by a procession of graduates across campus. 

As seating is limited due to safety regulations, all guests must present their invitations in order to be admitted to the Sports Centre. Staff/faculty members can pick-up their one invitation by contacting Eileen Kinch at kinch@upei.ca.

For Faculty who have regalia and wish to participate in the Academic Procession, please line up with the graduates in the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering building concourse 45 minutes before each ceremony. 

For more information please visit: upei.ca/convocation.

The Destination GO Challenge is a team-based physical activity challenge. Teams of 7 will compete from May 25 to July 27. Please note: participants must be registered in the Virgin Pulse GO individual program in order to compete in the Destination GO Challenge.

This program is available free of charge to UPEI Faculty and Staff only and is brought to you by the Healthy Campus Committee, with support from the UPEI Employee Wellness Strategy.

First step to register: Log into recreation.upei.ca, click on Wellness (UPEI Faculty/Staff ) icon and then the Virgin Pulse GO Program.  For questions, contact Angela Marchbank, Fitness and Wellness Coordinator, at amarchbank@upei.ca

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: May 20, 10:00 am . Note that teams must be registered by May 20. Once the deadline has passed, the program is locked, and no one else can register.

Activity will be tracked by using your own fitness tracking device or with the Virgin Pulse MAX BUZZ Device. If this is your first year of participation, the MAX BUZZ is free, but if staff/faculty participated previously, the fee is $15 + tax. Note: the Max Buzz devices are only good for this program. They can only be synced if registered in the program and are reset every night. It’s recommended to use your own device if you have one.

ACEnet has upcoming training sessions coming up that may be of interest to faculty and students. The sessions are online and all except the Parallel Computing School are free of charge.

Introductory Programming: Unix Shell, Git and R

10, 17, 24 May, 12:00-15:30 hrs Atlantic 

This is a beginner level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of R, including data types, functions, importing, manipulating and analyzing data and data visualization, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. Participants will be encouraged to help one another and to apply what they have learned to their own research problems. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging and using R in everyday tasks. 

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-unix-shell-git-and-r-tickets-311915887817 

Introductory Programming: Unix Shell, Version Control and Python

12, 19, 26 May, 12:00-16:00 hrs Atlantic 

This is a beginner level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of Python including data types, conditional statements, loops and functions, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. Participants will be encouraged to help one another and to apply what they have learned to their own research problems. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging and using Python in everyday tasks.

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-unix-shell-git-and-python-tickets-310552018447 

Basics: Introduction to High Performance Computing (HPC)

17 May, 10:00-11:30 hrs Atlantic

This is a beginner session. Researchers across many disciplines use HPC to tackle analyses that would be either inefficient or impossible on a desktop. This session offers: a basic description of the infrastructure and support accessible through Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) and ACENET, with entry-level advice about how to begin; an overview of the software packages available through the Alliance and ACENET for applications, data analysis, and software development, and how to request specific software relevant to your work; and insight into the potential of parallel computing to accelerate your analysis.  

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-hpc-tickets-317566198047 

Basics: Introduction to Linux

18 May, 10:00-11:30 hrs Atlantic

This workshop is designed for those with no prior experience in working with a terminal interface. To access and use the ACENET and Digital Research Alliance of Canada HPC clusters from your desktop, you will use a text-based "command line" interface. You will use the command line to move data around and run calculations. In this session, learn how to get started with the command line and how to perform some basic tasks: create and navigate directories for your data; upload and download files; manage your storage; and run programs on the computing clusters.  

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-linux-tickets-317567572157 

Basics: Introduction to Shell Scripting

19 May, 10:00-11:30 hrs Atlantic

This workshop is designed for both new and experienced users. You’ll learn how to use the command line to carry out repetitive tasks, extract information from files quickly, combine commands in powerful ways, and capture a workflow so you can re-use it easily. Save time, reduce errors, and use Linux more effectively. 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-317567682487 

Basics: Job Scheduling with Slurm

20 May, 10:00-11:30 hrs Atlantic

This workshop is designed for either new HPC users, or for experienced users either transitioning to Slurm or seeking to improve efficiency with the scheduler. The Digital Research Alliance of Canada’s (Alliance) 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. 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-317567973357 

Parallel Computing School

25 May--29 June, Varied, 13:00-15:00 hrs Atlantic

This course seeks to educate participants in common tools and techniques used in high-performance computing and scientific computation. Over 12 sessions in 6 weeks, we will cover general parallel computing, Dask, Machine Learning, OpenMP programming, GPU accelerator programming, and Message Passing Interface (MPI) programming. Each session will include a lecture and learning exercises. These will be oriented to those learners seeking a more advanced experience. There will be online office hours each week so participants can ask questions about the course content and exercises. Participants must have familiarity with the Unix command line, at the level expected after completion of the ACENET Basics Series, along with some programming experience.

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-parallel-computing-school-2022-tickets-311909619067 

3, 10, 17, 24 May, 12:00-15:30 hrs Atlantic 

This is a beginner level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of R, including data types, functions, importing, manipulating and analyzing data and data visualization, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. Participants will be encouraged to help one another and to apply what they have learned to their own research problems. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging and using R in everyday tasks.

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-unix-shell-git-and-r-tickets-311915887817 

Yoga instructor Pam Harris will guide you through a 45-minute class of meditation and gentle yoga stretches. The meditation segment of the class creates calmness, inner peace, and balance, which benefits your emotional well-being and overall health. The class is free. Participants can sign up on a weekly basis by logging into recreation.upei.ca, click on the wellness (UPEI Faculty/Staff) icon. The class will take place on Thursdays, 12:10--12:55 pm, from May 9 to June 23.  

The yoga class is for UPEI faculty and staff only and is offered by the Healthy Campus Committee, with support from the UPEI Employee Wellness Strategy. If you have questions, contact Angela Marchbank, Fitness and Wellness Coordinator, at amarchbank@upei.ca.

ITSS, including the helpdesk, will be closed for a staff meeting on Monday, May 9, from 1 to 2:30 pm. You will still be able to submit a ticket through helpdesk@upei.ca or by calling 902-566-0465. We will assist to you after 2:30 pm.

Thank you,

ITSS Team

The Lab2Market Program is a 16-week program to help researchers validate their ideas with the purpose of finding business/commercial value.  

Lab2Market has partnered with NSERC to pilot an adaptation of their Idea to Innovation (I2I) Market Assessment Grant. The program offers participants the tools and support needed to complete their own market assessment and, with their findings, help them prepare for the NSERC I2I Phase I proposal. 

If you're a primary investigator, post-doc, or graduate student looking to learn about the entrepreneurial potential of your research, please reach out to the Office of Commercialization, Industry, and Innovation for assistance with assessment of your idea and proposal prior to starting the application. Email: OCII@upei.ca or call 902-566-6095  

More information on the L2M NSERC program is available here: https://t.co/oT0L9L9VBn  If you would like additional information, register here for an info session: https://bit.ly/3usYkoe  

UPEI deadlines: 

Submission of all application documents in the Romeo Researcher Portal: June 20, 2022 

Submission via NSERC’s online system: June 23, 2022 

In order to prepare for the Fall 2022 semester, ITSS has a deadline of June 1 to accommodate modifications, additions, or removal of software to classrooms and lab equipment. More information on how to submit your requests to smahar@upei.ca can be found on our website. Thank you for your assistance; it ensures that our students will have the software resources they need. 

As of May 5, entrance and exits signs will no longer be needed in all campus buildings, and doors will be unlocked accordingly as they were pre-pandemic. These signs will be removed today.

Thanks from your Health, Safety, and Environment department!

Convocation is almost here! UPEI employees and faculty are invited to attend the Convocation exercises Tuesday, May 10-–Friday, May 13, at 10:00 am each day at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. Each ceremony is preceded by a procession of graduates across campus. 

As seating is limited due to safety regulations, all guests must present their invitations in order to be admitted to the Sports Centre. Staff/faculty members can pick-up their one invitation by contacting Eileen Kinch at kinch@upei.ca.

For Faculty who have regalia and wish to participate in the Academic Procession, please line up with the graduates in the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering building concourse 45 minutes before each ceremony. 

For more information please visit: upei.ca/convocation.

It is with sadness that we announce the death of one of our students, Daniel Rhodes. Daniel passed away on April 6, 2022, in a sudden accident leaving behind his sister and friends here in Prince Edward Island, and his family and friends in Lagos, Nigeria. 

In honour of Daniel's time with us as a Bachelor of Arts student majoring in Psychology, UPEI will lower the flags on campus from Thursday, May 5 to Sunday, May 8. A private burial service will be held May 6, and his family and friends invite the UPEI community to a memorial service at the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre on Saturday, May 7, from 11 am–12 noon. 

ACEnet has upcoming training sessions coming up that may be of interest to faculty and students. The sessions are online and all except the Parallel Computing School are free of charge.

Introductory Programming: Unix Shell, Git and R

10, 17, 24 May, 12:00-15:30 hrs Atlantic 

This is a beginner level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of R, including data types, functions, importing, manipulating and analyzing data and data visualization, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. Participants will be encouraged to help one another and to apply what they have learned to their own research problems. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging and using R in everyday tasks. 

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-unix-shell-git-and-r-tickets-311915887817 

Introductory Programming: Unix Shell, Version Control and Python

12, 19, 26 May, 12:00-16:00 hrs Atlantic 

This is a beginner level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of Python including data types, conditional statements, loops and functions, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. Participants will be encouraged to help one another and to apply what they have learned to their own research problems. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging and using Python in everyday tasks.

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-unix-shell-git-and-python-tickets-310552018447 

Basics: Introduction to High Performance Computing (HPC)

17 May, 10:00-11:30 hrs Atlantic

This is a beginner session. Researchers across many disciplines use HPC to tackle analyses that would be either inefficient or impossible on a desktop. This session offers: a basic description of the infrastructure and support accessible through Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) and ACENET, with entry-level advice about how to begin; an overview of the software packages available through the Alliance and ACENET for applications, data analysis, and software development, and how to request specific software relevant to your work; and insight into the potential of parallel computing to accelerate your analysis.  

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-hpc-tickets-317566198047 

Basics: Introduction to Linux

18 May, 10:00-11:30 hrs Atlantic

This workshop is designed for those with no prior experience in working with a terminal interface. To access and use the ACENET and Digital Research Alliance of Canada HPC clusters from your desktop, you will use a text-based "command line" interface. You will use the command line to move data around and run calculations. In this session, learn how to get started with the command line and how to perform some basic tasks: create and navigate directories for your data; upload and download files; manage your storage; and run programs on the computing clusters.  

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-linux-tickets-317567572157 

Basics: Introduction to Shell Scripting

19 May, 10:00-11:30 hrs Atlantic

This workshop is designed for both new and experienced users. You’ll learn how to use the command line to carry out repetitive tasks, extract information from files quickly, combine commands in powerful ways, and capture a workflow so you can re-use it easily. Save time, reduce errors, and use Linux more effectively. 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-317567682487 

Basics: Job Scheduling with Slurm

20 May, 10:00-11:30 hrs Atlantic

This workshop is designed for either new HPC users, or for experienced users either transitioning to Slurm or seeking to improve efficiency with the scheduler. The Digital Research Alliance of Canada’s (Alliance) 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. 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-317567973357 

Parallel Computing School

25 May--29 June, Varied, 13:00-15:00 hrs Atlantic

This course seeks to educate participants in common tools and techniques used in high-performance computing and scientific computation. Over 12 sessions in 6 weeks, we will cover general parallel computing, Dask, Machine Learning, OpenMP programming, GPU accelerator programming, and Message Passing Interface (MPI) programming. Each session will include a lecture and learning exercises. These will be oriented to those learners seeking a more advanced experience. There will be online office hours each week so participants can ask questions about the course content and exercises. Participants must have familiarity with the Unix command line, at the level expected after completion of the ACENET Basics Series, along with some programming experience.

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-parallel-computing-school-2022-tickets-311909619067 

Today (May 5), UPEI marks the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, also known as Red Dress Day. The use of red dresses was originated by Métis artist Jaime Black in 2010 as a representation of the women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people lost to violent crime. Red dresses continue to be hung across Canada in May, including on the UPEI campus, to honour those lost and to serve as a call for action to prevent future violence.

As of May 5, entrance and exits signs will no longer be needed in all campus buildings, and doors will be unlocked accordingly as they were pre-pandemic. These signs will be removed today.

Thanks from your Health, Safety, and Environment department!

Convocation is almost here! UPEI employees and faculty are invited to attend the Convocation exercises Tuesday, May 10-–Friday, May 13, at 10:00 am each day at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. Each ceremony is preceded by a procession of graduates across campus. 

As seating is limited due to safety regulations, all guests must present their invitations in order to be admitted to the Sports Centre. Staff/faculty members can pick-up their one invitation by contacting Eileen Kinch at kinch@upei.ca.

For Faculty who have regalia and wish to participate in the Academic Procession, please line up with the graduates in the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering building concourse 45 minutes before each ceremony. 

For more information please visit: upei.ca/convocation.

Thinking about those group projects from the winter semester...those that went well with lots of productive learning as well as those where things didn't turn out as anticipated? Curious about best practices, the evidence for the impact of collaborative projects and recommendations for how to implement them well?  Read on to learn about a SoTL research project that is examining student learning from collaborative group projects: SoTL Showcase: Making Collaborative Projects Work 

It is with sadness that we announce the death of one of our students, Daniel Rhodes. Daniel passed away on April 6, 2022, in a sudden accident leaving behind his sister and friends here in Prince Edward Island, and his family and friends in Lagos, Nigeria. 

In honour of Daniel's time with us as a Bachelor of Arts student majoring in Psychology, UPEI will lower the flags on campus from Thursday, May 5 to Sunday, May 8. A private burial service will be held May 6, and his family and friends invite the UPEI community to a memorial service at the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre on Saturday, May 7, from 11 am–12 noon. 

Join us at The Fox and Crow as we welcome the UPEI Class of 2022 to our Alumni family.

There are refreshments, live entertainment, and fun door prizes to be won! GRAND PRIZE DRAW: Two lucky grads will each win a $500 cash prize* sponsored by TD Insurance.

*Only 2022 Grads are eligible to win and must be present at the time of draw.

RSVP to Owen Shaw at oshaw@upei.ca or 902-566-0687. Masks are required.