Campus Notices
February is Black History Month and the Black Cultural Society of PEI has a month of programming planned to engage and educate about the many cultures which make up the Island’s Black community.
This year’s theme is "celebrating our heritage for the culture", and the month will feature in-person and online events for Islanders to participate in, including several at UPEI.
On Thursday, February 25, 2021, join the community for the BHM @UPEI Panel Discussion, from 5-6:30 pm at the Fox & Crow, UPEI's campus pub and café.
View the full Black History Month calendar on the Black Cultural Society of PEI website.
STAFF & FACULTY - Register now for an Employee Family Assistance Program (EFAP) Orientation Webinar
Our EFAP provider, LifeWorks by Morneau Shepell, has created orientation webinars for any Employee, Faculty member, and their dependents that want to know more about how their UPEI EFAP benefits work. These general overview sessions are offered in both English and French at no cost to participants.
2021 dates offered: January 27, February 18, March 24, April 15, May 26, June 23, July 15, and October 14.
To register
- Click this link to view the brochure.
- Choose the best date (please note the time zone is listed in EST).
- Click the date to open the registration window.
- You will receive an email confirmation that has the log-in and call-in details.
EFAP offers a short-term, solution-focused approach to professional counselling to assist you in resolving your concerns and issues. EFAP provides counselling that best suits your needs and busy schedules, whether it is in person, by telephone, or online [E-Counselling], as well as immediate help with crises. In addition to professional counseling, employees and their eligible family members can access a wide range of programs that provide telephonic consultation with qualified advisors who can help answer questions and clarify concerns that affect us all. Services include Legal, Financial, Family, and Nutritional.
For EFAP Counselling, WorkLife Programs, and Information Services 24 hours a day / 7 days a week / 365 days a year, call:
English: 1-844-880-9142 Visit: www.workhealthlife.com
More information on the UPEI EFAP benefit can be found on the MyUPEI website here.
Campus Affected: UPEI Campus
Systems Affected: myDesktop.upei.ca Remote Desktop Services (including RXWorks & Raiser’s Edge)
Outage Times: Feb 17th midnight – 1:30am
Details:
On Wednesday, February 17th, 2021, ITSS will be conducting routine maintenance on the Remote Desktop Services accessed via the website myDesktop.upei.ca. During this time, any remote desktops or applications accessed via this site will be unavailable (including RXWorks & Raiser’s Edge).
If you have any questions, please contact the ITSS Help Desk at 902-566-0465.
Do you give PowerPoint presentations as part of your work? Did you know you can blackout your slides when you want the focus to be on you rather than the slide by pressing B. To return to the presentation just hit B again. You can do it with W for white if you prefer. Simple.
Join us for Ash Wednesday Mass at Steel Recital Hall, at 12:05 or 4:05pm
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we can only welcome 34 people, and are asking you to sign up here in advance. Please do so before the end of the day on Tuesday, February 16th.
Please arrive early on February 17th to avoid crowding, as we check your name off the list.
Health, Safety and Environment is holding a UPEI Basic Biosafety Training session.
Topics to be covered include basic biosafety principles and how they are applied at the University of Prince Edward Island, as well as biosecurity training. This session is open to everyone including graduate students.
To attend the Basic Biosafety course, you must pre-register by contacting Shelly Kavanagh, before the end of the day February 19, 2021 by email (shkavanagh@upei.ca) or by phone (902-566-0901).
Please provide your name, department, your supervisor’s name (if applicable), email address, and phone number in your email or voice message. Please indicate if you are a graduate student.
The UPEI Health & Wellness Centre has been notified by Dr. German that the Chlamydia and Gonorrhea molecular testing no longer has a backlog or supply issue. For women, vaginal self-collection or provider collection is again the preferred sample. For men a urine sample collected in the previous 24 hours is the preferred sample. The self-collection containers will be redistributed to campus washrooms the week of February 8th and samples are to be dropped off to the UPEI Health & Wellness Centre weekdays, and before noon on Fridays. We will need identification to complete the lab requisitions and will send off your specimens for analysis. If you have questions about this program please contact the UPEI Health & Wellness Centre at 902-566-0616 or by email: healthcentre@upei.ca.
The E-Learning Multimedia Development Grant is being offered for the third time as an opportunity for faculty and staff members to create a multimedia course resource with the help of the E-Learning Instructional Multimedia Specialist.
Find out more about the grant here.
If you have questions related to your multimedia project ideas, please contact Kristy McKinney at kmckinney@upei.ca.
Closing date for applications is March 12, 2021 and completed application forms can be sent to dmoses@upei.ca with the subject line “E-Learning Multimedia Development Grant Application 2021.”
Office 2010 and 2013 end of life
Notice Date
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Please be advised that Office 2010 and 2013 are approaching or have approached the end of their life and Microsoft will no longer be supporting these products. IT Systems and Services recommend any employee or faculty that is using Office 2010 or 2013 to please upgrade to the latest version of Office.
All current staff, faculty, and students have access to Office 365 through their UPEI account. We recommend you use this version of Office.
To access Office 365 please go to the site https://portal.office.com
To log in, your username is your UPEI email address and the password is the same as your account password.
From the landing page select Install Office
Then select Office 365 apps to begin the installation.
You are allowed to download and install Office 365 to a maximum of 5 computers and 5 mobile devices.
For MacOS and IOS devices, you can also download the individual Office 365 applications from the Apple app store. On the first start-up of the application you will be prompted to log in with your UPEI credentials as indicated above.
For Android devices, you can also download the individual Office 365 applications from the Google Play store. On the first start-up of the applications you will be prompted to log in with your UPEI credentials as indicated above.
If you have any issues installing Office 365 then please contact the IT Helpdesk at helpdesk@upei.ca with the Subject line of “Office 365 Help”.
In this one-day course, theory is introduced in short bursts and participants spend the majority of time practicing their presentation skills while receiving onsite feedback. The focus on extensive practice and feedback is what makes the program meaningful, and is what makes learning stick.
KEY TOPIC AREAS:
Presentation Structure - Managing Fear - Engaging Your Audience - Presentation Logistics
To register for an “in-person” course:
- Created an account or sign in to EDGE by clicking here
- After signing in, click on ‘Catalog’ tab on your dashboard
- You can then search and register for the course you are interested in by clicking the ‘Enroll’ tab
- You then need to choose available sessions at a location you prefer to finalise your registration
Thursday, February 18th, 2021 via Zoom
Are you thinking about becoming a Chemistry or Biotechnology Major or are currently a Chemistry or Biotechnology Major?
Have you wondered what careers a degree in Chemistry or Biotechnology would prepare you for?
Please join us for Chemistry Day 2021. A panel of faculty, current and past majors, honours and graduate students will be available to answer your questions and provide you with information. The future is yours!
Anyone who wishes to attend this virtual event should contact Sonia Stewart O'Neill at sostewart@upei.ca for the link to the Zoom event.
All are welcome to attend.
Join us for Ash Wednesday Mass at Steel Recital Hall, at 12:05 or 4:05pm
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we can only welcome 34 people, and are asking you to sign up here in advance. Please do so before the end of the day on Tuesday, February 16th.
Please arrive early on February 17th to avoid crowding, as we check your name off the list.
Online tutoring appointments will be available through reading week, including evenings, weekends, and Islander Day! See our schedule at upei.mywconline.com to make an appointment.
If you're looking to take a break from your skiing, snowshoeing, shivering, shovelling, and sleeping to work on some assignments, our tutors can help you at all stages of the writing or research process. Keep us in mind.
Enjoy your break!
Health, Safety and Environment is holding a UPEI Basic Biosafety Training session.
Topics to be covered include basic biosafety principles and how they are applied at the University of Prince Edward Island, as well as biosecurity training. This session is open to everyone including graduate students.
To attend the Basic Biosafety course, you must pre-register by contacting Shelly Kavanagh, before the end of the day February 19, 2021 by email (shkavanagh@upei.ca) or by phone (902-566-0901).
Please provide your name, department, your supervisor’s name (if applicable), email address, and phone number in your email or voice message. Please indicate if you are a graduate student.
Please take note of our unit closures and operational hours during Reading Week:
AVC Cafe
CLOSED February 11 to 12 for the Mid-Semester Break and February 15 for Islander Day
Regular Hours resume Tuesday, February 16 | 8am - 3pm
Tim Hortons
CLOSED February 15 - 19 for Reading Week
Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall
February 15 - 19 | 9:30am - 9pm
February is Black History Month and the Black Cultural Society of PEI has a month of programming planned to engage and educate about the many cultures which make up the Island’s Black community.
This year’s theme is "celebrating our heritage for the culture", and the month will feature in-person and online events for Islanders to participate in, including several at UPEI.
On Thursday, February 25, 2021, join the community for the BHM @UPEI Tap Takeover with Kierrah Celeste, from 7-9 pm at the Fox & Crow, UPEI's campus pub and café.
View the full Black History Month calendar on the Black Cultural Society of PEI website.
Scheduled Decommissioning of service - people.upei.ca - April 28, 2021
ITSS will be decommissioning a personal website hosting service called people.upei.ca on April 28, 2021.
ITSS will also be contacting staff and faculty that have updated their personal website on people.upei.ca in the last 12 months to inform them of the change. This campus notice is to alert people that may have an account on people.upei.ca but have not updated it in several years.
If you need assistance in recovering your files on people.upei.ca then please contact helpdesk@upei.ca with the Email Subject : people.upei.ca and a member of the IT team will get back to you with options for receiving the files.
If you have any additional questions, please contact the ITSS Help Desk at 902-566-0465.
Project Management 2020 delivers a balance of "core" project management knowledge and skills. These are blended with practical learning on key interpersonal skills essential to achieve successful project goals.
PM2020 is aligned with the most recent proposed Project Management Institute (PMI) body of knowledge (PMBOK). The program delves into challenges that project managers face, such as managing stakeholders, defining the value of the project, dealing with conflict, and managing quality.
Over an intense two-day course you experience a practical opportunity to bring your project into a workshop and learn how to increase your success, using professional templates while collaborating in a supportive environment.
To register for an “in-person” course:
- Create an account or sign in to EDGE by clicking here
- After signing in, click on ‘Catalog’ tab on your dashboard
- You can then search and register for the course you are interested in by clicking the ‘Enroll’ tab
- You then need to choose available sessions at a location you prefer to finalise your registration
Please join us for the Master of Science thesis defense of Daniela Losada in Molecular and Macromolecular Sciences.
TITLE OF THESIS: "Identification, tissue characterization and innate immune role of Angiogenin-4 expression in young broiler chickens”
ABSTRACT: Intestinal epithelial cells are major producers of antimicrobial proteins, which play an important role in innate immunity. Ribonuclease A superfamily members are a class of important antimicrobial proteins that are involved in host-defense mechanisms in vertebrates. Angiogenin-4 (Ang4), a member of this RNase superfamily, has been demonstrated to be secreted by Paneth and goblet cells in mice. This thesis shows the successful cloning and characterization of the Ang4 gene in chickens, referred to as chicken (ch) Ang4. Ang4 was found for the first time in a non-mammalian species and chAng4 mRNA expression was detected in chicken intestinal epithelial and lymphoid cells. Characterization of chAng4 revealed 99% nucleotide and 97% amino acid sequence homology to mouse (m) Ang4. The similarities in putative functional regions with mAng4 suggest a role of chAng4 in innate immunity and in the regulation of gut microbiota. Furthermore, the mRNA expression pattern of chAng4 was studied in broilers in the presence and absence of beneficial bacteria (probiotics) and organic acids. The results showed that the highest level of chAng4 mRNA expression occurred in the bursa of Fabricius of one-day-old chickens. At the age of 1 day, chAng4 mRNA expression was already observed in crop, proventriculus, duodenum, jejunum, ileum and cecal tonsils. Broilers that were supplemented with probiotics and organic acids for only 7 days showed higher levels of chAng4 expression in crop, proventriculus and jejunum, when compared with those supplemented for 14 days. In addition, chickens that were not treated with probiotics and organic acids had a constant high level of expression of chAng4 mRNA in cecal tonsils and bursa throughout the study. chAng4 mRNA expression was associated with naturally occurring (non-supplemented) bacteria and with supplemented (probiotic) bacteria in chicken drinking water. In conclusion, we were able to identify and characterize a new antimicrobial gene (chAng4) throughout the gastrointestinal tract of chickens. The encoded chAng4 protein is thought to have a potential bactericidal effect against intestinal non-pathogenic and pathogenic microbes, hence modulating the intestinal microbiota and the innate immune system of chickens. chAng4 may help minimize the use of antibiotics in poultry feed.
Anyone who wishes to attend the public presentation should contact the Graduate Studies Coordinator at gsc@upei.ca to receive the link to the meeting.
The entire University of Prince Edward Island community was saddened to learn of the passing of UPEI Founder and retired faculty member Daryl Guignion on February 8, 2021. The flags in front of the Kelley Memorial Building have been lowered to half-mast in his memory.
Donations in Mr. Guignion’s memory can be made to the Island Nature Trust or the Daryl Guignion and Ian MacQuarrie Graduate Scholarship in Science at UPEI. Online condolences may be made and his obituary viewed at www.macleanfh.com
UPEI sends its deepest condolences to Mr. Guignion’s family, friends, and colleagues.
