For the first time at Trent, students from different graduate programs in the sciences across the University gathered in early March to network and discuss their research at the Trent Graduate Students in Science (TGSS) symposium held at Otonabee College.

“With 70 attendees and 28 graduate students presenting their work, the TGSS symposium showcased the variety of research conducted at Trent and promoted exchange between students, faculty and the community,” said Verena Sesin, member of the student organizing committee and Ph.D. student in the Environmental and Life Sciences (EnLS) program. “The symposium also featured a workshop on being an effective teaching assistant and two keynotes on how to succeed at graduate studies.”

From flying squirrels to mine tailings, rowing performance and nutrient cycling, the topics covered by student presentations were multidisciplinary and reflected four major graduate programs at Trent: Environmental and Life Sciences, Material Science, Psychology and Applied Modelling and Quantitative Methods.

"I loved having the opportunity to meet students in other programs and see what they are doing," said M.Sc. student Sandra Klemet-N’guessan. "Since this was my first conference, I could get a taste of how it is to attend scientific meetings as well as practice my oral presentation skills."

Students were happy to get first-hand advice from keynote speakers Dr. Raymond March and Dr. Douglas Evans, professor emeriti at Trent with outstanding research careers. Professor March explored the generation of ideas in attempts to meet the challenges of novelty in research while Professor Evans discussed how to manage potential areas of conflict between graduate students and supervisors.

"The symposium was such a success that we are planning to extend it to an annual event in the future," explained Ms. Sesin, who organized the event alongside Trent graduate students Erika Crowley, Kelly Wright, Novin Nezamololama and Amanda Stubbs.

Follow #TGSS19 on Twitter for an inside look at the conference!