Research Ethics Board (REB) applications involving "more than minimal risk" must be reviewed by the full UPEI REB. The next deadline for submitting these protocols is Friday, April 26, 2024, for review at the May meeting.

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 materials are received.

All research compliance applications, including for the REB, must be submitted through the UPEI Researcher Portal (https://upei.researchservicesoffice.com/Romeo.Researcher/). Instructions for using the site are available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms.

Please contact the Compliance Coordinator at researchcompliance@upei.ca for more information about the Researcher Portal, or the REB application, review, and approval process.

The next deadline for submitting biosafety applications, including new applications, renewals, and/or amendments, is Friday, April 26, 2024. These applications will be reviewed at the May 16 meeting.

All research compliance applications, including biosafety application forms, must be submitted through the UPEI Researcher Portal. Information about the Researcher Portal, including instructions for using the site, is available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms.

Please contact the Research Compliance Coordinator at researchcompliance@upei.ca if you have any questions about accessing or using the Researcher Portal, or about the biosafety application, review, and approval process.

Want to learn about high performance computing, or how to use parallel programming to break down large computational problems? ACENET has new training sessions coming up in May and June. All sessions are online and free of charge. Select a session below to learn more and register.

• Introductory Programming: Unix Shell, Git, and Python, May 1, 8, 15, and 22, 1:00 pm
• Basics of Computers, May 9, 1:00 pm
• ACENET Basics: Introduction to High Performance Computing, May 14, 10:00 am
• ACENET Basics: Introduction to Linux, May 15, 10:00 am
• ACENET Basics: Introduction to Shell Scripting, May 16, 10:00 am
• ACENET Basics: Job Scheduling with Slurm, May 17, 10:00 am
• Overview of Parallel Computing, May 21 and 23, 2:00 pm
• Parallel Programming with Dask, June 4 and 6, 2:00 pm
• Parallel Programming with OpenMP, June 11 and 13, 2:00 pm
• Parallel Programming with Message Passing Interface, June 18 and 20, 2:00 pm
• Parallel Programming with Graphic Processing Units, June 25 and 27, 2:00 pm

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

On April 23, there will be a full moon ceremony on the quad outside Kelley Memorial Building (where the tipi stood). The sacred fire will be lit at 8:00 pm. Leading the ceremony will be Elder Thirely, who is well-respected in the community. We ask participants to bring a bottle of water for blessing and to refrain from recording the ceremony (photo or video). If you would like to wear a skirt but do not have one, you may borrow one during the ceremony. As always, all are welcome.

Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples have followed the 13 Moons or moon cycles to ground themselves in their teachings and ensure balance. Life on Earth is connected to and regulated by Grandmother Moon, through the tides and waters, which stabilizes our Earth's position and determines the cycle of women and the birth of new life. Grandmother Moon helps us with healing and is strongly connected to human life.

Members of the campus community are invited to attend a special announcement regarding the Faculty of Business on Wednesday, April 24, at 11:00 am in Schurman Market Square, Don and Marion McDougall Hall. 

One week left until our EDIID symposium! Here's another blog in our April series of Tea(ching) Breaks related to EDIID topics: How Identities Impact Our Pedagogical Practices.

Looking to procrastinate your grading just a little? We get it.

The Experiential Education department would like to gather feedback from faculty about the type of supports and services they would like to see with respect to career development and work-integrated learning through the 2024/25 academic year. This feedback will help us plan and prioritize as we allocate resources to our work across campus.

Please visit https://forms.gle/DhhN8HvJzUYuK5US9 to provide your feedback. Thanks!

A series of information webinars on the Rhodes Scholarship for Canada will be offered this spring for students interested in learning more about this prestigious opportunity for fully funded postgraduate study at Oxford University! Applicants, advisors, and faculty who may wish to encourage students are welcome to attend and learn everything from the background of the Scholarship, what's needed to apply, and the Oxford experience as shared by recent scholars. There will also be a Q&A with current and recent Scholars.

The Eastern Canada session will take place on May 6, 2024, starting at 4 pm AST. Follow the link to register.

The full list of webinars and events will be posted on the Rhodes Trust website, including a Canada-wide session on June 3, 2024, starting at 4 pm AST: 

https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholarships/events-to-learn-more/

Dr. Brent MacLaine will launch a new poetry book called A Skeptic in Springtime on April 24, 2024, at 7 pm, in the Faculty Lounge (Room 201), SDU Main Building, University of Prince Edward Island. 

A Skeptic in Springtime wrestles with uncertainty and aging, hurricanes, gravity, and particle theory. Amid all the unknowns, “Still, the white-throated sparrow cries I’m here, here, here, here.” Rooted in the PEI landscape where MacLaine grew up, his gaze ranges farther afield to Assyrian myth in “Killing a Lassamu,” to the Song Dynasty in “Su Dongpo Makes Ink,” to art in “Claude Monet in the Waiting Room.”

The book closes with a tribute to the late Dr. John Smith, former poet laureate of PEI. Combining keen observation of the natural world and the human condition, the poems in this collection contain “a universe which has leapt from nothing into something.”

Dr. MacLaine is a professor emeritus at the UPEI Department of English and the author of six volumes of poetry. He grew up in the rural community of Rice Point, PEI, to which he returned after teaching at universities in Vancouver, Edmonton, China, and Singapore. His awards for poetry include a League of Canadian Poets prize, the Prince Edward Island Book Award, and the Atlantic Poetry Prize.

The event is free, and all are welcome to attend. Books will be available for purchase. The event is sponsored by Island Studies Press, the UPEI English Department, and The Bookmark. For more information, contact Bren Simmers at 902-566-0386 or ispstaff@upei.ca.

On April 23, there will be a full moon ceremony on the quad outside Kelley Memorial Building (where the tipi stood). The sacred fire will be lit at 8:00 pm. Leading the ceremony will be Elder Thirely, who is well-respected in the community. We ask participants to bring a bottle of water for blessing and to refrain from recording the ceremony (photo or video). If you would like to wear a skirt but do not have one, you may borrow one during the ceremony. As always, all are welcome.

Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples have followed the 13 Moons or moon cycles to ground themselves in their teachings and ensure balance. Life on Earth is connected to and regulated by Grandmother Moon, through the tides and waters, which stabilizes our Earth's position and determines the cycle of women and the birth of new life. Grandmother Moon helps us with healing and is strongly connected to human life.

Members of the campus community are invited to attend a special entrepreneurship announcement on Monday, April 22, at 2:00 pm in the Robertson Library Annex.

Presenter: Dania Tamayo-Vera, candidate for a tenure-track position in the School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences

Teaching talk: Monday, April 22, 9:30--10:20 am, Cass Science Hall 101

Research talk: Monday, April 22, 1:45--2:45 pm, Cass Science Hall 101

Title: "Adapting an Automated Machine Learning System to Enhance Research Replicability and Accessibility in Agroclimatic Studies"

Abstract: 

The urgency of climate change calls for innovative solutions across disciplines, particularly through the democratization of machine learning (ML) technologies in environmental sciences. My research trajectory began with the application of ML in cryptography and security, which has now shifted towards utilizing ML to predict and assess the impacts of climate change in various sectors.

A review of ML and deep learning (DL) applications in agriculture revealed a critical need for well-documented methodologies to improve research reproducibility and accessibility. My current research focuses on the introduction and development of an Automated Machine Learning (AutoML) system designed to enhance the replicability of ML applications in agroclimatic research. As a result, this research is promoting innovation in agricultural practices tailored for climate mitigation and adaptation.

Looking ahead, my research will integrate additional scenarios such as market dynamics and decision-making processes affecting agriculture. Prince Edward Island (PEI), an area suffering from climate-related challenges, serves as an ideal place for testing and advancing these technologies. While PEI has the potential to be the birthplace of these technologies, global technology sharing is crucial to ensure equitable distribution, especially in areas that are most prone to climate challenges. Supporting technology development and distribution is a way to combat climate change and injustice and promote global resilience.

Teaching and research talks are open to the UPEI campus community.

There will be a basic biosafety training session on May 15, 2024, at 1:00 pm in AVC 287N. Topics will 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, you must pre-register by contacting Jacky Buell by the end of the day on May 10, 2024, by email (hse@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. 

NOTE: An online basic biosafety training refresher course is available for those who need it. 

Looking to procrastinate your grading just a little? We get it.

The Experiential Education department would like to gather feedback from faculty about the type of supports and services they would like to see with respect to career development and work-integrated learning through the 2024/25 academic year. This feedback will help us plan and prioritize as we allocate resources to our work across campus.

Please visit https://forms.gle/DhhN8HvJzUYuK5US9 to provide your feedback. Thanks!

Presenter:  Tyler Power

Title: “The influence of oyster leases and eelgrass beds on local biodiversity levels at two productive bays in Prince Edward Island”

Marine sedimentary communities include epifaunal and infaunal organisms, and those found in Prince Edward Island (PEI) are often associated with beds of eelgrass (Zostera marina) and Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica). Unlike eelgrass, oysters are farmed as part of a productive aquaculture industry and occur adjacent to both eelgrass and bare sediments. Since eelgrass and oysters contribute to the structural complexity of the seafloor, the overarching hypothesis of this thesis was that habitats formed by these species sustain more diverse communities. To test this hypothesis, I compared epifaunal and infaunal communities in eelgrass beds, on-bottom and off-bottom oyster leases, and bare sediments across North Rustico and Rustico Bay. Epifauna was sampled using trapping surveys during 2021-2022, while infauna was sampled on a single diving survey (2021). Generally, eelgrass and on-bottom oyster leases supported more diverse and abundant epifauna than bare sediments, and their community composition and abundance were different. The infauna was more abundant in bare sediments, but diversity was again higher in eelgrass beds and on-bottom oyster leases, and their community composition was distinct. Most of the results gathered supported the hypothesis proposed and suggest that structurally complex habitats foster richer local communities.

Date/time/location: Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 1:00 pm, AVC 286A

Everyone is welcome.

The UPEI Bookstore will be closed from April 29 to 30 to complete our inventory. This is a reminder that any purchasing for this fiscal year-end needs to be completed by April 26, 2024. 

If you have any questions, please contact bookstore@upei.ca.

The deadline for Summer 2024 tuition waivers is April 22, 2024.  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.

UPEI's fiscal year ends on April 30, 2024.

Purchasing Cut-Offs

Requisition/purchase order:

The last day to create a requisition/purchase order for the 2023-24 fiscal year will be on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at noon, with guaranteed delivery date on or before April 30, 2024.

Requisitions/purchase orders created after April 18, 2024, will have the requisition date changed to May 1, 2024, and the goods and services must be delivered on or after May 1, 2024. If you are unable to change the requisition's date to May 1, 2024, please put a note in the comment section of the requisition indicating it is a new year order.

Receiving goods/services cut-off: April 30, 2024

Goods and services must be received on campus by April 30, 2024. Only the goods that have been physically received or completed services should be accepted at this time. This will ensure that these goods and services are paid in the 2023-24 fiscal year.  Any items received in myUPEI after April 30, 2024, will be considered new fiscal year goods and services and will be deducted from your new fiscal year budget (2024-25).

All departments are required to look at their outstanding purchase order list to see if there are any purchase orders that need to be cancelled. This functionality can be accessed through the myUPEI self-service menu under "Financial Information" and the “Receive Goods and Services” selection.

If the items have been back-ordered for some time, you will need to check with the supplier to see if they are still on their records as back-ordered. If they are not back-ordered, then please email procurement@upei.ca to cancel your purchase order.

If you are in receipt of vendor invoices, forward these to invoices@upei.ca ASAP. Please contact apadmin@upei.ca with questions or concerns regarding billing and invoicing.

Need assistance? 

Please take a look at the “Financial Tools Reference Guide” under the "Self-Service Help" tab on myUPEI. 

Members of the campus community are invited to attend a special entrepreneurship announcement on Monday, April 22, at 2:00 pm in the Robertson Library Annex.

Presenter: Dania Tamayo-Vera, candidate for a tenure-track position in the School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences

Teaching talk: Monday, April 22, 9:30--10:20 am, Cass Science Hall 101

Research talk: Monday, April 22, 1:45--2:45 pm, Cass Science Hall 101

Title: "Adapting an Automated Machine Learning System to Enhance Research Replicability and Accessibility in Agroclimatic Studies"

Abstract: 

The urgency of climate change calls for innovative solutions across disciplines, particularly through the democratization of machine learning (ML) technologies in environmental sciences. My research trajectory began with the application of ML in cryptography and security, which has now shifted towards utilizing ML to predict and assess the impacts of climate change in various sectors.

A review of ML and deep learning (DL) applications in agriculture revealed a critical need for well-documented methodologies to improve research reproducibility and accessibility. My current research focuses on the introduction and development of an Automated Machine Learning (AutoML) system designed to enhance the replicability of ML applications in agroclimatic research. As a result, this research is promoting innovation in agricultural practices tailored for climate mitigation and adaptation.

Looking ahead, my research will integrate additional scenarios such as market dynamics and decision-making processes affecting agriculture. Prince Edward Island (PEI), an area suffering from climate-related challenges, serves as an ideal place for testing and advancing these technologies. While PEI has the potential to be the birthplace of these technologies, global technology sharing is crucial to ensure equitable distribution, especially in areas that are most prone to climate challenges. Supporting technology development and distribution is a way to combat climate change and injustice and promote global resilience.

Teaching and research talks are open to the UPEI campus community.