The deadline for Summer 2022 Tuition Waivers is April 29, 2022. We encourage you to have tuition waivers submitted as soon as possible to assist in the timely processing. Tuition Waiver forms must be submitted electronically.   

Online Employee and Spouse/Dependent Tuition Waiver fillable forms can be found on the main page of MyUPEI under UPEI Forms. 

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at: (902) 566- 0514 or hrgeneral@upei.ca. 

The Application Review Committee invites members of the campus community to attend a research seminar by Dr. Jay Penney, candidate for the Canada Research Chair Tier II tenure-track position in Biomedical Genomic Engineering. 

Dr. Jay Penney completed his PhD in the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine (McGill University). Currently, Dr. Penney is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Scientist at the laboratory of Dr. Li-Huei Tsai (MIT).     

Research Seminar Title: Modeling neurodegeneration-associated TREM2 mutations in human induced pluripotent stem cell models
Date/Time: Thursday, April 28, 3:30-4:30 pm
Location: 287N, Learning Commons, AVC

Abstract:

Recent GWAS (genome-wide association studies) have identified many microglial genes as risk factors for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. While microglia, the brain’s innate immune cells, carry out multiple potentially disease modifying functions, the exact alterations that modify risk for neurodegenerative disease remain uncertain. Among these microglial risk genes is TREM2 (Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2), with distinct TREM2 mutations being associated with different neurodegenerative diseases. My work has utilized induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models, CRISPR gene editing and xenotransplantation experiments to understand the cellular and molecular effects of these disease-associated mutations on human microglia. This work has uncovered both shared and distinct effects of the mutations on microglial gene expression, phagocytic capacity, cytokine release, movement and response to neuronal injury, among other functions. These findings identify microglial functions altered by TREM2 mutations that likely underlie their associations with disease, in particular highlighting a pro-inflammatory effect of TREM2 R47H mutations associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

The research seminar will be recorded and made available after the session. Those who are unable to attend and are interested in the recording may contact mlsteele@upei.ca.

An updated UPEI Research Start-up Guide is now available for reference on all things research. The contents provide details and contact information for various topics including compliance, EDI, grants, contracts, signing authority, account management, technology transfer, and marketing. The guide can be accessed on the Research Services website. 

The Office of Research Services (ORS) is relocating to 105 Kelley Memorial Building, adjacent to the Office of Commercialization, Industry, and Innovation (OCII). We invite researchers to drop by our new spot at their convenience and visit the ORS team.

New to the team is Jordan Minx, researcher services liaison. The software champion for the UPEI Researcher Portal, Jordan will assist you with the portal (researcherportal@upei.ca). Jordan is also the lead for post-award activities, communications, and reporting. Our research compliance coordinator, Stephanie Palmer, can answer your compliance-related questions (researchcompliance@upei.ca).

Neil LeBlanc, our research contracts adviser (researchcontracts@upei.ca), can guide you on research contracts. Research grants coordinator Leslie Cudmore (researchgrants@upei.ca) is your key contact for research grant preparation and applications.

Maria Steele is the manager of Research Services (mlsteele@upei.ca) and is excited to relocate to a shared space with OCII for ease of access for UPEI researchers.

Just as 25 staff and faculty volunteers served 225 students at our free Exam Chili and Dahl Event, we are again asking for volunteers to welcome and serve students at our campus Food Bank. Since January 2022, 35 volunteers have welcomed almost 900 student visits each Wednesday from 2:00–7:00 pm. Volunteers for the last hour tell us that very few students come after 6:00 pm.  For May and June 2022, we will be open from 2:00–6:00 pm each Wednesday, and we will assess the traffic before deciding our hours for July and August.

Volunteers for May and June can click on the link below. Simply add your name to the day and time you plan to help. 

May and June 2022 Sign Up Sheet

Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Sister Sue and Lauren

The UPEI Bookstore will be closed for inventory on April 28 and 29, 2022. We will re-open for our regular hours on Monday, May 2.

The Robertson Library’s OER Development Program is accepting grant applications for the creation or adaptation of open educational resources (OERs). The grant types include:

• Open Textbook Grant: up to $6000

  • the development of a new open textbook on a topic that is currently not covered by an existing open textbook 

• Open Textbook Adaptation Grant: up to $4,000

  • the adaptation of one or more open textbooks to create a new version or edition of an open textbook (i.e., a Canadian edition of an existing open textbook)

• Supplementary Resources Grant: up to $2,000

  • the creation of ancillary materials for existing open textbooks, including but not limited to test banks, slide decks, or interactive media, etc.

Applications that support first-year courses will be given priority as they reach the most amount of students, but all applications will be reviewed and considered. The deadline for applications has been extended to Friday, April 29, 2022, with work expected to begin during the spring or summer. More information is available at https://library.upei.ca/OERProgram/grants.

Questions about your grant idea? Contact Kim Mears.

On June 1, 2021, eye protection became mandatory in all UPEI laboratories. This includes Containment Level One and Containment Level Two laboratories that manipulate biohazardous materials, and laboratories in chemistry, physics, and engineering that handle materials other than biohazardous substances that could pose an ocular risk. At a minimum, safety glasses that meet the standards and specifications of CSA Standard Z94.3-20 are required. However, if a task presents a higher risk, then the laboratory supervisor is responsible for completing a workplace hazard risk assessment to identify appropriate eye and face protection, as necessary. Please visit Section 4.5 Eye and Face Protection in the UPEI Laboratory Safety Manual on the UPEI website for more information. The definition of "laboratory" is provided on page 3 of the manual.  

For any questions regarding eye and face protection in your lab, please contact the Health, Safety, and Environment Manager, Liz Rostant-MacArthur at lrostant@upei.ca or call (902)-566-0516.

The Office of Research Services (ORS) is relocating to 105 Kelley Memorial Building, adjacent to the Office of Commercialization, Industry, and Innovation (OCII). We invite researchers to drop by our new spot at their convenience and visit the ORS team.

New to the team is Jordan Minx, researcher services liaison. The software champion for the UPEI Researcher Portal, Jordan will assist you with the portal (researcherportal@upei.ca). Jordan is also the lead for post-award activities, communications, and reporting. Our research compliance coordinator, Stephanie Palmer, can answer your compliance-related questions (researchcompliance@upei.ca).

Neil LeBlanc, our research contracts adviser (researchcontracts@upei.ca), can guide you on research contracts. Research grants coordinator Leslie Cudmore (researchgrants@upei.ca) is your key contact for research grant preparation and applications.

Maria Steele is the manager of Research Services (mlsteele@upei.ca) and is excited to relocate to a shared space with OCII for ease of access for UPEI researchers.

The PEI Symphony Orchestra will hold a benefit concert for the people of Ukraine on Sunday, April 24, at 2:30 pm, at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. The concert will feature music by Ukrainian composers, music written for Ukraine, and music that symbolizes unity and strength in adversity, including Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Among the musicians performing will be faculty members and graduates from the UPEI Department of Music.
 
A portion of the proceeds will be go toward helping with Ukrainian humanitarian relief efforts; the audience will have the opportunity to make contributions at the event. The funds raised will help provide food, medicine, and shelter to those who have been injured and/or forced to flee their homes by the destruction caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
 
Tickets are available at the Confederation Centre Box Office (902-566-1267), starting at $35 per adult and $15 per student.

The Faculty of Business invites members of the campus community – students, faculty and staff – to attend a virtual research presentation by Dr. Scott Cassidy for a tenure-track position of assistant professor of management position, with a focus on human resource management (HRM). 

Candidate Bio:

Dr. Scott Cassidy holds a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Guelph, as well as a diploma in Information Technology from Conestoga College. Scott’s line of organizational research is informed by this dual background in psychology and technology and primarily investigates ways to build effective virtual team communication patterns using a variety of different technologies in order to foster effective virtual teams. Scott also has ancillary research interests in team mental models, best practices in employee selection, and research pertaining to credentialing and to the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Outside of his academic work, Scott has a wide-ranging background in organizational consulting and psychometrics. This includes three years working with government agencies to develop effective employee selection and structured interview techniques; seven years of leadership coaching and strategic business communications experience in the Canadian agricultural industry; and three years consulting on the assessment programs for several pan-Canadian credentialing and educational bodies.

Presentation Title:  Lost in Transmission: The Role of Communications Media in Developing High-Trust, High-Performance Remote Employee Teams

Abstract:

In the roughly two years since the COVID-19 virus resulted in the declaration of a global pandemic, the Canadian workforce has seen an unprecedented shift towards remote working arrangements, mediated by information and communications technologies. Although advances in these technologies have allowed workers to connect and collaborate across time and space to an extent that has never been possible before, remote work teams themselves present a challenge to organizations. Namely, as employee conversations increasingly move from the water cooler to the web, we risk losing many of the nuances that help us understand and meaningfully connect with our co-workers in the first place. And in doing so, we may ultimately harm our ability to work together effectively.

Dr. Scott Cassidy argues that remote (or virtual) work teams, if poorly structured, can foster greater uncertainty, lower trust, and maladaptive approaches to task completion. To explore this idea, he will discuss some of his mixed-methods research on simulated military rescue teams operating across different forms of electronic communications media.

In this presentation, he will discuss the major takeaways from this line of work; its future HRM applications to both globalized workforces and regional islands research; and the role that organizational scholars can serve in helping managers navigate what has rapidly become one of the most dramatic shifts to the global workforce in decades.

The presentation will take place on April 22 from 1:00–2:00 pm (Atlantic Time) via the following Zoom link:  

https://upei.zoom.us/j/69744346758?pwd=c3R2MVN6VWNybTFYajBsWWRxK3ZLUT09

Meeting ID: 697 4434 6758

Passcode: 130329

For further information, please contact Shelly Kavanagh at businessfac@upei.ca.

The Faculty of Business invites members of the campus community – students, faculty and staff – to attend a virtual lecture (teaching demonstration) by Dr. Scott Cassidy for a tenure-track position as assistant professor of management, with a focus on human resource management (HRM). 

Candidate Bio:

Dr. Scott Cassidy holds a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Guelph, as well as a diploma in Information Technology from Conestoga College. Scott’s line of organizational research is informed by this dual background in psychology and technology and primarily investigates ways to build effective virtual team communication patterns using a variety of different technologies, in order to foster effective virtual teams. He also has ancillary research interests in team mental models, best practices in employee selection, and research pertaining to credentialing and to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Outside of his academic work, he has a wide-ranging background in organizational consulting and psychometrics. This includes three years working with government agencies to develop effective employee selection and structured interview techniques; seven years of leadership coaching and strategic business communications experience in the Canadian agricultural industry; and, three years consulting on the assessment programs for several pan-Canadian credentialing and educational bodies.

Lecture Title: Putting Hiring Tests to the ‘Test’: or "How to Hire a Kick-Butt Research Assistant Using Evidence-based Structured Interviewing"

The lecture will take place on April 22, 2022, from 9-10 am (Atlantic Time) via the following Zoom link:  

https://upei.zoom.us/j/65655421358?pwd=em8waTZvakJUeEZzYndZaHFSRldPQT09

Meeting ID: 656 5542 1358

Passcode: 998892

For further information, please contact Shelly Kavanagh at businessfac@upei.ca.

The University of Prince Edward Island’s Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering (FSDE) will showcase the best in sustainable design engineering by its students at the annual Student Design Expo and Awards Ceremony on Friday, April 22, starting at 1 pm. Projects can be viewed through the afternoon with the awards ceremony and keynote speaker beginning at 3:30 pm.

Student projects will be presented in person. Each project is the result of collaboration between FSDE students and an industry or community partner. Students were tasked with designing and creating solutions to their partners’ unique challenges.  If you are unable to join us in person, there will be project videos available starting April 19 at upei.ca/designexpo2022.

In-person participants must practice physical distancing, and three-layer masks are required at all times. Any external guests will require a vax pass, and COVID screening questions will be posted at the entrance for people to read before entering the building. Please use the North Entrance of the Engineering building, facing the Bell Aliant Centre.

The keynote presentation and awards ceremony will also be available via Zoom on the Design Expo website.

Keynote Speaker: Randy Herrmann, P.Eng., FEC

Title: Traditional Indigenous Technology

Randy Herrmann, P.Eng., is the Director of the Engineering  Access Program (ENGAP) at the University of Manitoba. ENGAP is a support program designed to assist First Nation, Metis, and Inuit students seeking an engineering degree. After receiving his BSc in Geological Engineering and 10 years of working in industry, his desire to help make it easier for Indigenous students to pursue engineering led him to become Director of ENGAP in 1998. He is a Fellow of Engineers Canada, and a member of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is also a member of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba and the Manitoba Metis community.

The next deadline for submitting biosafety applications including new applications, renewals, and/or amendments is Friday, April 29, 2022. These applications will be reviewed at the May 2022 meeting.

Please be sure to use the March 2022 update to the application form. Please also note that the IBC has instituted a new category of protocol amendment: Biosafety Permit Minor Amendment. This event form is included in the Researcher Portal.

Minor amendments that are strictly limited to changes in personnel and/or funding can be submitted at any time but require up to a two-week review period. They are normally reviewed by the IBC chair or designate, the BSO or designate, and one other voting member of the IBC. If the amendment is approved, then an approval notification will be sent to the PI. Submissions via this route may be sent for full committee review at the discretion of the IBC chair and the BSO.  

All research compliance applications, including biosafety application forms, must be submitted through the Researcher Portal.

Information about the Researcher Portal, including instructions for using the site, is available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms. Contact researchcompliance@upei.ca if you have any questions about accessing or using the Researcher Portal.

For more information about the IBC review and approval process, please contact the Compliance Coordinator at researchcompliance@upei.ca

Ethics protocols that involve "more than minimal risk" must be reviewed by the full UPEI Research Ethics Board (REB). The next deadline for submitting these protocols is Friday, April 29, 2022.

Other ethics protocol submissions, including new applications that do not involve "more than minimal risk," renewals, and amendments may be submitted at any time. They will be sent for delegated review as soon as all necessary forms are received.

All research compliance applications, including Research Ethics Board application forms, must be submitted through the Researcher Portal. This online system is paired with electronic approvals to replace the hard-copy signatures process.

Information about the Researcher Portal, including instructions for using the site, is available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms. Contact researchcompliance@upei.ca if you have any questions about accessing or using the Researcher Portal.

For more information about the REB review and approval process, please contact the Compliance Coordinator at researchcompliance@upei.ca.

The Office of Research Services (ORS) is relocating to 105 Kelley Memorial Building, adjacent to the Office of Commercialization, Industry, and Innovation (OCII). We invite researchers to drop by our new spot at their convenience and visit the ORS team.

New to the team is Jordan Minx, researcher services liaison. The software champion for the UPEI Researcher Portal, Jordan will assist you with the portal (researcherportal@upei.ca). Jordan is also the lead for post-award activities, communications, and reporting. Our research compliance coordinator, Stephanie Palmer, can answer your compliance-related questions (researchcompliance@upei.ca).

Neil LeBlanc, our research contracts adviser (researchcontracts@upei.ca), can guide you on research contracts. Research grants coordinator Leslie Cudmore (researchgrants@upei.ca) is your key contact for research grant preparation and applications.

Maria Steele is the manager of Research Services (mlsteele@upei.ca) and is excited to relocate to a shared space with OCII for ease of access for UPEI researchers.

Just as 25 staff and faculty volunteers served 225 students at our free Exam Chili and Dahl Event, we are again asking for volunteers to welcome and serve students at our campus Food Bank. Since January 2022, 35 volunteers have welcomed almost 900 student visits each Wednesday from 2:00–7:00 pm. Volunteers for the last hour tell us that very few students come after 6:00 pm.  For May and June 2022, we will be open from 2:00–6:00 pm each Wednesday, and we will assess the traffic before deciding our hours for July and August.

Volunteers for May and June can click on the link below. Simply add your name to the day and time you plan to help. 

May and June 2022 Sign Up Sheet

Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Sister Sue and Lauren

The PEI Symphony Orchestra will hold a benefit concert for the people of Ukraine on Sunday, April 24, at 2:30 pm, at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. The concert will feature music by Ukrainian composers, music written for Ukraine, and music that symbolizes unity and strength in adversity, including Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Among the musicians performing will be faculty members and graduates from the UPEI Department of Music.
 
A portion of the proceeds will be go toward helping with Ukrainian humanitarian relief efforts; the audience will have the opportunity to make contributions at the event. The funds raised will help provide food, medicine, and shelter to those who have been injured and/or forced to flee their homes by the destruction caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
 
Tickets are available at the Confederation Centre Box Office (902-566-1267), starting at $35 per adult and $15 per student.

Non-consensual distribution of intimate images (NCDII) is becoming an increasingly common form of digital harassment. If you would like to know more about about NCDII and Canadian law, policing, and supports available for victims, please join an online panel discussion hosted by the NCDII Student Research Group at UPEI, Thursday, April 21, from 7- 8 pm. 

We are so excited to be able to bring together the expertise of four panel guests: 

1. Alexa Dodge, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie in Law, Justice, and Society who specializes in NCDII, feminist theory, critical legal theory, and tech-facilitated violence
2. RCMP Const. Shannon Hodder, PEI's Internet Child Exploitation Unit
3. Sophia Saad, Board of Directors, P.E.E.R.S. Alliance
4. Darren Laur, licensed open-source intelligence and social media investigator and CLO with the White Hatter, a North American Internet safety and digital literacy education company 

The panel can be accessed through Zoom at the following link: https://fb.me/e/3bCf3AHzu

Attendance is free, but spaces are limited.

For more information about the panel or to learn more about the NCDII Student Research Group, please contact Heather Barnick, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, at hbarnick@upei.ca or student researchers Kailyn Sherren at kdsherren@upei.ca and Kaelyn White at kjwhite2@upei.ca.

The Faculty of Business invites members of the campus community – students, faculty and staff – to attend a virtual research presentation by Dr. Scott Cassidy for a tenure-track position of assistant professor of management position, with a focus on human resource management (HRM). 

Candidate Bio:

Dr. Scott Cassidy holds a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Guelph, as well as a diploma in Information Technology from Conestoga College. Scott’s line of organizational research is informed by this dual background in psychology and technology and primarily investigates ways to build effective virtual team communication patterns using a variety of different technologies in order to foster effective virtual teams. Scott also has ancillary research interests in team mental models, best practices in employee selection, and research pertaining to credentialing and to the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Outside of his academic work, Scott has a wide-ranging background in organizational consulting and psychometrics. This includes three years working with government agencies to develop effective employee selection and structured interview techniques; seven years of leadership coaching and strategic business communications experience in the Canadian agricultural industry; and three years consulting on the assessment programs for several pan-Canadian credentialing and educational bodies.

Presentation Title:  Lost in Transmission: The Role of Communications Media in Developing High-Trust, High-Performance Remote Employee Teams

Abstract:

In the roughly two years since the COVID-19 virus resulted in the declaration of a global pandemic, the Canadian workforce has seen an unprecedented shift towards remote working arrangements, mediated by information and communications technologies. Although advances in these technologies have allowed workers to connect and collaborate across time and space to an extent that has never been possible before, remote work teams themselves present a challenge to organizations. Namely, as employee conversations increasingly move from the water cooler to the web, we risk losing many of the nuances that help us understand and meaningfully connect with our co-workers in the first place. And in doing so, we may ultimately harm our ability to work together effectively.

Dr. Scott Cassidy argues that remote (or virtual) work teams, if poorly structured, can foster greater uncertainty, lower trust, and maladaptive approaches to task completion. To explore this idea, he will discuss some of his mixed-methods research on simulated military rescue teams operating across different forms of electronic communications media.

In this presentation, he will discuss the major takeaways from this line of work; its future HRM applications to both globalized workforces and regional islands research; and the role that organizational scholars can serve in helping managers navigate what has rapidly become one of the most dramatic shifts to the global workforce in decades.

The presentation will take place on April 22 from 1:00–2:00 pm (Atlantic Time) via the following Zoom link:  

https://upei.zoom.us/j/69744346758?pwd=c3R2MVN6VWNybTFYajBsWWRxK3ZLUT09

Meeting ID: 697 4434 6758

Passcode: 130329

For further information, please contact Shelly Kavanagh at businessfac@upei.ca.