Professional Development Online Suite


Looking for convenient online modules that may count toward your Professional Development (PD) Requirement?

Check out the following options, developed by the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) and/or adopted from MyGradSkills.ca.

Follow the links below to register via eClass, and complete the modules at your own pace. Note that all professional development sessions or activities must be approved by your department.

Succeeding in the Workplace: Intercultural Competencies for Employment (2 hours)

This three-module course examines the Canadian workplace culture with a focus on Alberta. It will help you explore factors that shape the workplace and offers guidance around the unspoken, unwritten rules of workplace conduct. Each module has activities that will assist you to better understand the concepts explored and to reflect on your own ideas about the workplace.

Register here
Building Your Nexus: Professional Networking (1 hour)

Networking is not only about exchanging information, but it is an pathway to creating mutually beneficial long-term relationships. Whether you plan to parlay your graduate degree into academic or non-academic career opportunities, establishing a professional nexus is critical. In this 2-module course, you will examine the importance of building your professional networks in a strategic manner and will learn about strategies for interacting others and growing your network.

Register here

Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation (1.5 hours)

In this module we'll introduce the concepts and practices related to entrepreneurship whether your goal is work in a Not-for Profit, start your own business, or be a leader within an organization. The goal of this course is to provide an overview of concepts that any organization needs to manage so that it is sustainable and thriving. Having this knowledge will make you a more desirable employee and a more competent leader.

The six major themes of the course are designed to give you a basic understanding of:

  1. entrepreneurship and the associated characteristics of entrepreneurs;
  2. opportunity identification;
  3. marketing and sales;
  4. pre-launch considerations such as funding sources;
  5. legal considerations and founder issues; and
  6. an introduction to customer discovery and business modeling.

Register here

Intellectual Property: An Entrepreneur's Guide (1.0 hour)

This course offers an introduction to intellectual property. You will learn basic definitions and will explore types of intellectual property, including: trademarks, patents, trade secrets, and copyrights. This course will help graduate students, entrepreneurs and/or inventors to use their knowledge to make strategic decisions about the application for intellectual property protection. Topics you will explore in this course include: how to file for various types of intellectual property; how to determine if you have intellectual property; and, what rights do intellectual properties give a society, company or inventor?

Register here

New! Package Your Research to Build Your Brand (2 hours)

Package Your Research to Build your Brand is a remote course designed to help you think outside the box when promoting and presenting a talk for a wide range of different audiences.

This includes branding yourself and your research expertise, and identifying unique ways of presenting your work based on an intended public group.

(Developed by GTL-4 scholar Erin Ratelle.)

Register here

For a wealth of other learning opportunities that may count toward your PD Requirement, visit our Events and Training page.