Tag: Top Stories

Archival tag

Glendon announces the recipients of 2017 Principal’s Research Excellence Awards

Featured image for the postdoc research story shows the word research in black type on a white background
Featured image for the postdoc research story shows the word research in black type on a white background

The recipients of the 2017 Principal’s Research Excellence Awards were announced on April 3 at a ceremony at the Glendon Campus. Professor Valérie Schoof from Glendon’s new Biology Program has received the award in the early-career category and French Studies Professor Swann Paradis has been selected in the established scholar category. The awards are given annually and honour full-time Glendon faculty members who have made an outstanding contribution to research in the last five years.

“It is a great pleasure to award Professors Schoof and Paradis this year’s research awards,” said Donald Ipperciel, principal of Glendon. “These outstanding scholars represent the linguistic and disciplinary diversity to which Glendon is committed.”

Valérie Schoof
Valérie Schoof

Valérie Schoof, who has been at Glendon for less than two years, has already made major contributions to research that span her home discipline of biology, with other fields, like anthropology. Her external referee characterizes Schoof as an “outstanding researcher and scholar in the field of primate behavioural ecology”. In the past five years, she has published 15 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in top-tier publications and given numerous public and academic talks. Last year – during her first year at Glendon – Schoof secured a five-year $140,000 Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada grant for her research program on the behavioural endocrinology and life-history of vervet monkeys, adding to an already impressive track record of external funding.

“I am honoured to receive this award recognizing my research on primate socioendocrinology,” said Schoof. “This award is meaningful to an early career scientist such as myself, because, while it recognizes past efforts, it encourages me to continue contributing to my field both as a researcher and an instructor.”

Swann Paradis
Swann Paradis

A veterinarian, writer and poetry specialist, Paradis exemplifies exceptional inter-disciplinarity, which contributes to the richness of his research. In the past five years, he has published four chapters and five peer-reviewed articles. His forthcoming book, Le sixième sens de la taupe. Buffon dans la fabrique des quadrupèdes, is expected in September 2017 with the prestigious publisher Éditions Hermann. This manuscript is the result of almost 15 years of research and constitutes the first comprehensive work dedicated to the relationships between science, literature and iconography in the animal descriptions of Buffon’s Histoire naturelle. In 2016, Paradis received a $93,152 SSHRC Insight Grant for his project De la ménagerie du Prince d’Orange au Jardin du Roi : Arnout Vosmaer (1720-1799) dans l’ombre de Buffon (1707-1788).

“I receive this award with much humility and with gratitude to the selection committee, who was bold enough to recognize a project that falls within a field of research that does not usually find itself in the spotlight, pre-Revolution French literature being covered less than other subjects more anchored in the everyday,” said Paradis.

The Faculty of Graduate Studies celebrates Barbara Crow’s 16 years at York University

Above: From left, Anesa Albert, executive assistant to the Dean, FGS Dean and AVP Graduate Barbara Crow, Interim FGS Dean and AVP Graduate Fahim, and Mario Verrilli, FGS executive officer

A reception was held on Friday, May 12 to celebrate the accomplishments of Barbara Crow, dean and associate vice-president, graduate, at the Schulich Executive Dining Room. Close to 120 colleagues, friends and family joined to send good wishes as she begins her next journey as the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen’s University beginning July 1.

Above: From left, Anesa Albert, executive assistant to the Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies Dean and Associate Vice-President Graduate Barbara Crow, Interim Faculty of Graduate Studies Dean Fahim Quadir, and Mario Verrilli, Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies executive officer

“What is remarkable is Barbara’s leadership style which is anchored in the principles of mutual respect, humility, and collectivity,” said Fahim Quadir, incoming interim dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS). “A core element of Barbara’s persona is to respect, value and recognize the duties of every single individual working in FGS — regardless of their position.”

Since Crow’s arrival at York University in 2001, she has driven numerous initiatives. Some of these initiatives include enhanced student supports and services, better planning and administrative coordination at the University, and the introduction of many innovative graduate program opportunities, all to fulfill the goal of improving the experience and success of all graduate students at York.

She also obtained all of her degrees (BA ’84, MA ’86, PhD ’94) at York University, and in 2015 left a legacy gift along with her husband Michael Longford (BFA ’88), an associate professor in digital media at the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, to provide financial support to future York students.

Graduate Studies staff, faculty colleagues and current graduate students shared kind words on the impact her efforts have had on the graduate landscape at York, and the innovations that are now in place to further support research and intellectual development. In recognition of the culmination of this work, the Office of the Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies was awarded the 2016 Harriet Lewis Award for Service Excellence at York University.

From left, President-designate Rhonda Lenton, Barbara Crow, Fahim Quadir and Vice-Provost Academic Alice Pitt

From President-designate Rhonda Lenton describing Crow’s ability to connect and collaborate with colleagues, to Vice-Provost Academic Alice Pitt remarking on her willingness to help others, the event served as both a celebration and to mark a sense of loss for the York community.

Also highlighted were Crow’s contributions to gender equity as a leading feminist scholar in Canada. Last year, she served on the Bank of Canada’s expert panel announcing that Viola Desmond will be featured on a new $10 bank note, expected in late 2018. (This will mark the first time that a portrait of a Canadian woman will be featured on a regularly circulating Bank of Canada note.)

“As collaborators, we have done much to enhance and facilitate graduate education — and I am very proud of our significant accomplishments,” said Crow in her remarks to the audience. “Thank you, everyone, for being here today — it means a lot to me.”

To close the event, it was announced that The Barbara Crow Graduate Student Leadership Award has been created to impact a current York University graduate student who demonstrates exceptional leadership qualities.

A Decade of Impact: June 1st reception planned for York U’s president

Professor Lesley Beagrie Chair of Senate invites you to celebrate A Decade of Impact at a farewell reception in recognition of President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri Thursday, June 1st, 2017 2pm Scott Library 2nd Floor Atrium Keele Campus, York University RSVP by May 26th yorku.ca/farewell or 416-736-5307 The response form can be used to send your best wishes at anytime..

 

Conference focuses on biological rhythms in living organisms

The biological rhythms of living organisms will be the subject of an innovative conference at York University. Taking place from May 19 to 21 and hosted by the Department of Biology in the Faculty of Science, the Canadian Society for Chronobiology Conference will bring together leading experts in chronobiology, including clinicians, geneticists, epidemiologists, molecular biologists and psychologists. All will present their latest research on the effects of internal timekeeping on humans, animals and even fungi.

Chronobiology is the study of biological rhythms in living organisms. These biological rhythms are found in most species and are believed to be evolutionary adaptations to cyclical variations of the environment. Research on chronobiology has shown that biological clocks play a key role in our lives, and when they are out of whack they can lead to cardiovascular disease, cancer, metabolic disorders and mental health.

Patricia Lakin-Thomas

Biology Professor Patricia Lakin-Thomas, who is a member of the Canadian Society for Chronobiology, was the local organizer for this year’s conference.

“This conference will bring together researchers from across Canada, both established investigators and young scientists-in-training,” says Lakin-Thomas. “We all share a fascination with the internal clocks that time our physiology and behavior, but we work on a diversity of systems, from fungus to humans, and from cells in a dish to whole animals. We will be sharing our latest research findings, establishing collaborations, and accelerating the translation of basic discoveries into clinical practice.”

The conference will feature symposium talks by renowned Canadian scientists and oral and poster presentations by trainees. In addition to a mini-school for students Friday afternoon, there will be a public lecture on biological clocks and their role in human health and disease, “The Time of Your Life: Biological Clocks in Health and Disease,” by eminent chronobiologist Ben Rusak of Dalhousie University at 5pm on Friday, May 19. Rusak’s talk will answer questions, such as: What impact does it have on our health when these clocks are disrupted? How do our internal clocks affect our cardiovascular health? Why do teenagers have trouble waking up early in the morning? What happens to our bodies during jet lag and shift work? How does the hormone melatonin regulate our clocks?

Phyllis Zee of Northwestern University will deliver the Mrosovsky Keynote Lecture titled “Circadian Medicine: Insights from the Clinic” at 2pm on Saturday, May 20,

For more details, visit the conference website at http://www.chronobiocanada.com/cscevents/

York University grad students win award for dance film

Two York University graduate students have collaborated on a short dance film and won the Best Idea award from the International University Global Theatre Experience (IUGTE) organization.

David Outevsky (PhD candidate) and Regina Bautista (masters candidate) created a multi-site, multi-art, dance film combining dance poetry and cinematography. The film, Fleeting Encounters, Shifting Pathways, is a short audio-visual piece demonstrating the thoughts, memories and feelings of a couple whose paths intertwine and then part.

Working with Videographer Anthony Girard, the team filmed at various locations around Toronto, with York University grounds and its Dance Department studios as the focal point of departure and return.

The process of choreography and rehearsals took several months. Coming from different dance backgrounds, Outevsky and Bautista had to find a common artistic basis. They tried to bridge the gap between western contemporary dance and ballroom dance within a narrative of spiritual detachment. Their choreography was developed from the inside out, using movement for exploration and personal experiences for inspiration. As the project evolved, the movement transformed and new creative elements were added.

In order to add another layer to their dance film, the dancers decided to each write a poem describing their meaning of the choreography. The first poem was written by Bautista as an epilogue to the choreography. Both poems were recited by professional actors Elodie Dorsel and Liam Lachance.

Girard, a budding videographer and filmmaker, managed to capture the essence of their performance in terms of angle, color, timing and mood.

The first portion of the filming took place at York University’s Dance Department studios, the public area in front of the newly built Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, and on the roof of Scott Library central square. The second portion of the filming was completed at Polson Pier, Woodbine beach, and Riverdale Park. By using these sites, the team wanted to convey the passage of time and the changing locations of creative life paths.

This project and its success can serve as an inspiration to emerging choreographers, filmmakers, and other artists interested in multi-disciplinary collaborations. It demonstrates the diversity and quality of creative work produced at York University and shows the beauty of its architectural sites and landscapes as they merge with other Toronto landmarks, while still highlighting their unique appeal.

For more, visit www.iugte.com.

York U hosts symposium on the changing role of public art in Canada

Public art can startle, resonate and inform, but its role is changing as expectations evolve about what it should be and do. York University’s Department of Visual Art & Art History is hosting a symposium May 18 to 20 focusing on the policies and practices of commissioning and creating art for the public realm.

“Public Art: New Ways of Thinking and Working” will bring together artists, curators, urban planners, academics, policy-makers and community organizers to explore the role of public art. Talks and panels are designed to spark conversations across disciplines, from the perspective of both research and practice, about the current state of contemporary Canadian public art in the context of innovations happening internationally.

The symposium is co-organized by sculptor Brandon Vickerd, chair of the Department of Visual Art & Art History in York’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), and Ciara McKeown, a Calgary-based public art consultant and commissioner.

Silent Fairgroun, Sans façon

McKeown has served as adviser to the Creative City Network of Canada, and currently works as a project manager with artists Sans façon. Vickerd’s large-scale public art projects include Wildlife, hybrid human/animal figures commissioned for streetscapes in Edmonton and Thunder Bay; and Dance of the Cranes, a collaborative, choreographed work performed by high-rise construction cranes perched atop buildings, that has engaged developers and crane operators and enthralled residents in Toronto, Edmonton and Washington, D.C.

Wildlife, Brandon Vickerd

“Public art is contentious,” said Vickerd. “It straddles expectations ranging from traditional to temporary, monument to site, community-based to corporate. The increasingly diverse, connected and yet fractious world we live in raises important questions about the role of public art and its relationship to issues such as economic disparity, environmental uncertainty, cultural inclusivity and political unrest.”

Vickerd said the symposium comes at a pivotal moment, as ideas of what public art can and should be are being revisited by both creators and commissioners across Canada.

“Most Canadian municipal public art policies were established decades ago. Since that time, artists have dramatically repositioned their approach to public art, and so has the public. Audience engagement is key,” he said.

“Our symposium takes an inclusive approach to exploring current issues and innovations, with the aim of expanding the conversation about public art in Canada and creating tangible outcomes. We look forward to lively debate and open dialogue on how to advance critical, social and civic discourse through public art, the shifting roles and expectations of artists, and what the future holds for public art practice.”

Graveyard of Lost Species, Critical Art Ensemble

“Public Art: New Ways of Thinking and Working” kicks off Thursday, May 18 at 7pm with a free public lecture by American artist Steve Kurtz. Kurtz is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Critical Art Ensemble, a collective of tactical media practitioners whose work in digital and visual media, text and performance intersects art, critical theory, technology and political activism. He will speak to the challenges of producing art in the public sphere that moves beyond decoration, and the artist’s role in creating shared platforms of expression in pursuit of social and environmental justice. His talk, “When Aesthetics is Not Enough,” is co-presented by the Art Gallery of Ontario and takes place at the AGO’s Jackman Hall.

Cameron Cartiere, a practitioner and researcher specializing in public art, community engagement and urban renewal, delivers a second keynote on Friday, May 19 at 4:30pm at York’s Keele campus. An associate professor in the Faculty of Culture & Community at Emily Carr University of Art & Design, Cartiere currently leads a team of artists, writers, scientists and new media researchers on a project that uses public art as the driving force for positive sustainable environmental change in Richmond and Kelowna, B.C. Her talk, “Permanent Works in an Impermanent Time,” will address problems of standard practices in municipal commissioning processes for public art.

The symposium also features a dozen panel discussions on topics ranging from the role of artists in city-building and of public art as social engagement, to the political and cultural role of commemorative monumental sculptures, public space and Indigenous political expression, Canadian public art in China and artistic dissension as community practice.

“Public Art: New Ways of Thinking and Working” is open to the public. For full details on the program, presenters and schedule, visit publicartsymposium.com.Except for Steve Kurtz’s keynote at the AGO, all events take place in the Accolade West Building at York’s Keele campus  A symposium pass costs $125 or $75 for students/artists/underemployed, and includes lunches and receptions. Register online.

“Public Art: New Ways of Thinking and Working” is a York University Canada 150 project.

Mind games: Our perception of face size is not always correct

word collage for connection grant story
word collage for connection grant story

No matter how slim, women and men have often looked at themselves in the mirror and wondered, “Do I look fat?” York University researchers at the Centre for Vision Research say this may be due to their perceptions of body image and not by what they physically see with their eyes.

Laurence Harris

New research out of the Faculty of Health by Sarah D’Amour, supervised by Faculty of Health psychology Professor Laurence Harris, director of York U’s Centre for Vision Research, is the first to provide direct evidence that what we see and think about the shape and size of our face does not necessarily reflect reality. This is the first time that this has been done using psychophysically robust measurements of how accurately healthy participants perceive the size of their face, revealing distortions of the implicit body representation.

In the paper titled, “Perceived face size in healthy adults,” published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers at York U’s Centre for Vision Research discovered that our representation of our face within our brains may not be the same as the face we see in the mirror.

“We have shown that neither healthy males nor healthy females are completely accurate at judging the length and width of their faces, and that accuracy changes depending on the orientation in which the face is viewed,” says Harris. “What we found was that people were not very accurate when they were judging their face in a normal view such as seen in a mirror. People tended to think their faces were wider or fatter than they really were and this was especially true for women. Women had larger errors than men.”

The study sought to explore face perception as a way to reveal how people judge their body dimensions and to gain insight into how body size and shape are processed and represented by the brain. The research findings reveal how accurately people are able to judge their body dimensions and provide insight into how body size and shape are processed and represented by the brain.

In the York U study, 40 participants were asked to complete a body shape questionnaire to assess their level of dissatisfaction with their bodies. They were then shown two life-size photographs; one that offered an accurate reference of their face and the other distorted in the horizontal or vertical dimension. The participants were asked to select the photograph that they perceived to be most like them.

“It’s a very unexpected finding. You would think that something you are used to looking at every day would be something you are very familiar with and that you would be accurate about its perception,” says Harris.  “However what it tells us is that what you see, including what you see in the mirror, is hugely affected not so much by information coming in from the retina, but from your perceptions, from your worldview, or from your memory.”

Study participants were unable to determine which photo best represented their face. The findings were true for both males and females, differing only in the magnitude of their errors. The errors in perception were consistent when the images were viewed both in the upright and upside down orientation. In all cases, face width was overestimated and face length was underestimated. The largest errors were found in the orientations that match our natural face shape, such as when looking in a mirror. Surprisingly, the errors disappeared when the face was viewed tilted by 90 degrees.

“Curiously, the largest errors were found in the most familiar orientations, whereas participants were accurate when the face was viewed in the unfamiliar sideways orientation.”

Previous studies on body size perception have focused on the entire body or particular body parts, such as the belly, thighs or upper arms, all areas of the body with higher concentrations of fat. The studies were aimed at assessing distortions that happen in clinical populations, such as those individuals with eating disorders, and have tended to ignore the role of the face in healthy people’s self-perception. The role of the face is unique because it has internal features and it cannot be viewed directly and requires the use of mirrors. Face perception is a critical aspect of self-awareness.

“What we’re doing here is part of a larger research program where we’re hoping to alter people’s perception of their bodies by giving them various experiences. So if we can develop a way to alter body perception in healthy people, we may be able to alter it in other people, people who have issues with their own body,” says Harris.

International congress focuses on theme of ‘possible and impossible children’

More than 300 scholars of children’s literature and childhood studies will converge on York University’s Keele campus to attend the 23rd Biennial Congress of the International Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL) from July 29 to Aug. 2.

Cheryl Cowdy

This is only the third time this prestigious international conference has been held in North America since IRSCL was founded in 1970. The conference will be hosted by the University’s interdisciplinary Children’s Studies program and convened by Department of Humanities Professors Cheryl Cowdy and Peter Cumming.

Peter Cumming

With 10 keynote speakers, 300 papers in English and French by scholars from around the world, and roundtables on Indigenous creators of children’s and young adult literature, intersections of diversity and youth filmmakers, there’s plenty to explore at the IRSCL Congress.

This year’s theme, “Possible & Impossible Children: Intersections of Children’s Literature & Childhood Studies,” is derived from York University’s Children’s Studies program. Cowdy, who is the coordinator of the program, regards the event as “an exciting opportunity for scholars in the interdisciplinary fields of childhood studies and children’s literature to come together. The congress theme reflects in generative ways core values of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and the York community, such as interdisciplinarity, international collaboration and social justice.”

An organizing committee of full-time and contract faculty members, and graduate and undergraduate students from the Departments of Humanities, Communication Studies and Sociology in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), as well as the Faculty of Education, worked for two years to prepare for this global conference.

Graduate students and junior scholars have been given priority in the IRSCL program, which includes an opening night meet-and-greet, a “M(e[a]t) a Professor” mentorship lunch that pairs established and junior scholars, and professionalization panels on publishing and research centres.

Anah-Jayne Markland

“We have received overwhelming and enthusiastic responses from international graduate students and junior scholars eager to take part in our events, which are designed to facilitate connections and develop professional skills,” says Anah-Jayne Markland, a PhD candidate in humanities at York University. “Already, there are over 60 delegates registered for the opening night meet-and-greet, more than 50 attending the pub night, and over 40 senior scholars and 50 junior scholars who will take part in the mentorship lunch.”

Keynote speakers include five past presidents of IRSCL, from Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as Professor Peter Hunt (the first full professor of children’s literature in the U.K.), Professor Suzanne Pouliot on Québecois children’s literature, Professor Robin Bernstein from Harvard University speaking on “Children, Literature, Things,” Daniel Goldin Halfon from Mexico’s Biblioteca Vasconcelos and Michèle Petit from France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. One keynote address will be presented in French, and another in Spanish.

A map showing the home countries of presenters attending the IRSCL Congress

Some 20 scholars (faculty and students) from York University’s Faculty of Education and the Departments of Communication Studies, English, Humanities and Sociology in LA&PS will present papers alongside international colleagues from East and South Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Eastern and Western Europe, the U.K., the USA, Latin America and across Canada. There will also be a special meeting of these global scholars on the role of children’s literature and childhood and youth studies scholars given the very real challenges faced by children and young people, particularly prompted by current global political crises.

IRSCL Congress 2017 delegates will also be able to participate in tours, roundtables, and receptions co-sponsored by the Toronto Public Library’s Lillian H. Smith Library and the Toronto International Film Festival’s Bell Lightbox, as well as attend special performances at York University.

More detailed information about IRSCL Congress 2017 can be found on the conference website at irscl17.info.yorku.ca.

IRSCL Congress 2017 is being made possible through support from the Faculties of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Graduate Studies and Education; the Academic Vice-President and Provost and the Vice-President of Research and Innovation; the Departments of Humanities, History and Communication Studies, and the Children’s Studies program; the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and the Centre for Research on Latin America & the Caribbean; Winters College; and the Toronto Public Library, the TIFF Bell Lightbox and the International Research Society for Children’s Literature.

York nursing professor, instructor receive teaching awards

York University nursing students

Two York University educators have been recognized for their excellence in nursing education and scholarship from the Council of Ontario University Programs in Nursing (COUPN).

Professor Gail Mitchell and Clinical Instructor Heather Murphy have each received a COUPN Award highlighting their outstanding achievements in York’s Faculty of Health.

York University nursing students

COUPN works to provide leadership, and promote communication and coordination in the area of nursing education and scholarship in Ontario. Each year, COUPN awards individuals who have demonstrated great achievements and innovation across the nursing sector. This was the 10th year for the awards.

This year, there were 13 different awards handed out to faculty and students of nursing programs across Ontario.

“This year’s awards recognize everything from innovative e-learning platforms that track student ‘a-ha’ moments, to exemplary preceptor mentorship and rigorous clinical instruction on ethics and nurse-patient relationships,” said David Lindsay, president and CEO, Council of Ontario Universities, in a press release. “These awards demonstrate excellence from nurses, nursing students, educators, researchers and policy makers in a variety of settings.”

The awards align with National Nursing Week in Canada, May 8 to 14.

Gail Mitchell

Gail Mitchell, RN, PhD – Teaching Innovation Award
Engaging students and facilitating meaningful learning has always been a priority for Gail Mitchell. Appointed to York’s School of Nursing in 2003, she has been involved in a number of key initiatives at the university, including a curriculum development group committed to providing quality programs which help students learn critical thinking. She has also been instrumental in spearheading theatre-based approaches to knowledge dissemination, and the development of a new e-learning platform called Daagu, which makes use of such novel components as tracking student ‘a-ha’ moments/shifts in understanding, linking feelings with learning, and a ‘heat map’ that shows where activity is occurring.

Mitchell continually challenges the status quo and responds to the shifting patterns in student engagement through changing the focus from dispensing content to inspiring creative learning and growth. With the assistance of the Daagu platform, she has been highly effective in engaging and encouraging students to critically analyze, think and build on their own knowledge.

“The COUPN award is a peer recognition for excellence and scholarship. It is a very special honor to be nominated by my colleagues in the School of Nursing at York and in COUPN,” said Mitchell. “The recognition for work I have been involved with in the creation of the Daagu teaching-learning online platform is particularly rewarding.”

The creation of Daagu happened with five other York educators, a doctoral student, and technical experts and the team was supported by York’s Academic Innovation Fund and the Ontario Centres of Excellence.

“Other innovations I have been involved in also show how innovation is supported at York University,” Mitchell said. “I was the inaugural director at the York-UHN Dotsa Bitove Wellness Academy for persons living with memory loss. I have worked with multidisciplinary teams across Ontario Universities to create research-based dramas on living with dementia and on issues of patient safety. And I was involved in creating the first RN Health Coach role in Ontario. All of these innovations show how York University is having an extraordinary impact on the community and beyond.”

Heather Murphy

Heather Murphy, RN – Clinical Instructor Award
Heather Murphy is a registered nurse at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH), and has worked in Paediatrics and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for five years. She has also worked as a clinical instructor in third-year paediatrics placements for York University.

Throughout her time at OSMH, she has mentored various senior students from a broad range of programs, and has expressed a deep enjoyment of teaching. She has been described by colleagues as having “much passion and dedication in improving the quality of teaching and in being an exceptional educator.”

Murphy rigorously upholds the College of Nurses of Ontario Standards of Professional Practice throughout her students’ placements, ensuring her students understand accountability for their actions, continuing competence, the importance of ethics, gaining and applying knowledge, establishing a nurse-client relationship and creating professional relationships. She has also developed and implemented paediatric case studies for students to research during their clinical day, aiding in ongoing learning throughout their shifts. She continues to instruct and support nursing students in reaching their highest potential.

Glendon adds a new entrepreneurship passport to the GENIAL Program

Glendon has launched a new Entrepreneurial Skills Passport – Passeport Compétences Entrepreneuriales, part of a recently introduced bilingual extracurricular program in entrepreneurship offered through the Glendon ENtrepreneurship et Innovation A l’International (GENIAL).

The Entrepreneurial Skills Passport provides students with an opportunity to take part in a limited series of workshops focused on developing core entrepreneurial skills. Designed as a training program, the passport is composed of three workshops and three presentations. Students can earn a maximum of six badges for their passport, three badges for participating in the workshops and three badges for delivering the presentations. The passport runs for one semester and is offered free of charge to all Glendon students. Registration is now being accepted for the fall cohort, to learn more and to register, visit http://www.glendon.yorku.ca/genial/en/ (English), or http://www.glendon.yorku.ca/genial/ (French).

Angelo Dossou-Yovo

The passport is a core component of the GENIAL extracurricular program that is offered to Glendon students interested in starting a business. The passport and GENIAL were initiated by Professor Angelo Dossou-Yovo, an assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship in Glendon’s new International Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Business Administration dual degree program in the Department of International Studies.

GENIAL assists student entrepreneurs with developing, testing and bringing their ideas to market. Students participating in GENIAL develop hands-on competencies and entrepreneurial skills that they can leverage to resolutely take charge of their future professional career. In addition to the passport, GENIAL offers students skills in developing a business plan and model and an incubation program for student entrepreneurs to launch their businesses. It is augmented by an entrepreneurship and innovation research group comprised of faculty members working with student research assistants.

“GENIAL enriches York University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with options in French, in keeping with Glendon’s mission. Glendon students and the Francophone and Francophile community will now have the means to rely on their creativity in order to innovate and start a business, especially with the help of the Entrepreneurial Skills Passport,” said Glendon Principal Donald Ipperciel.

The program is designed to offer students an experiential learning opportunity. GENIAL’s main goal is to contribute, in collaboration with Innovation York and launchYU, to the development and promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation by offering tailor-made bilingual programming to Glendon students, Faculties, and Ontario’s Francophones as well as Francophiles.

“GENIAL is an excellent initiative that exemplifies some of the exciting experiential education projects that are being developed at Glendon. In addition to acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary for future entrepreneurs, students will get the opportunity to put them in practice through various hands-on activities. The Entrepreneurial Skills Passport is only the first step of a very innovative project developed by Professor Angelo Dossou-Yovo to promote entrepreneurship on campus,” said Michael Ah Choon, coordinator of experiential education at Glendon.

To learn more, visit http://www.glendon.yorku.ca/genial/.