Events and Training

Our graduate student professional development events, workshops and conferences will help you communicate effectively, compile a teaching portfolio, learn more about research ethics, cultivate a creative mindset and prepare for your career. Programming, registration, and tracking is captured in campusBridge.

Featured Workshops and Events

Communicating Effectively During the Pandemic

Date: Friday, March 19, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. MST
PD Credit: 1.0 hour with departmental approval

Register via campusBRIDGE | Zoom Registration

Last March, the pandemic hit most of us like a ton of bricks and significantly upended everyone's lives since. In essence, the entire world has gone through a life-altering event at once. By looking at the experience of people who have gone through life-altering events, we can identify approaches that enable us to ride this difficult period and prepare ourselves to thrive in the long run. In particular, the pandemic has made working from home (WFH) a new reality. WFH has changed drastically the way we communicate: we now meet virtually and communicate remotely most of the time. In the WFH environment, the default is the absence of communication, so communication needs to be a choice and a priority; we also need to make sure we use the right communication tool for the right purpose.

How to Talk to Supervisors: Be Your Authentic Self

Date: Friday, March 19, 2021 | 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. MST
PD Credit: 1.5 hours with departmental approval

Register via campusBRIDGE | Zoom Registration

Being your authentic self with people who are culturally different from you is not easy, particularly if this person has authority over you.  Graduate students, like employees, are expected to show initiative and challenge the status quo, but tension can occur when communication and leadership styles do not mesh.  How do cultural expectations influence our interactions when there is a power imbalance? How do the nuances in the English language and packaging of feedback compare with other cultures? Come learn how you can use your academic experience to elevate your communication and feedback skills for your future employment.

Presenter:

Over the past 20+ years, Dr. Lionel Laroche has provided cross-cultural training and coaching services to over 120,000 people in 20 countries. Dr. Laroche has presented to students, staff, and faculty members at universities across Canada, the US, and overseas. His presentations are informative, thought-provoking and practical: they are built on his own experience as a foreign student who obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology, and the shared experiences of people he has coached or trained over the years. He is the author of over 100 publications, examining the impact of cultural differences on organizations.