Trent Graduate Students Symposium Highlights Student Research Across Disciplines
Student-organized symposium fosters knowledge exchange among grad students in science, social science, and humanities
Students of the School of Graduate Studies at Trent University gathered to discuss their research and network at the Trent Graduate Students Symposium on March 6 and 7, 2020.
“For the first time, our symposium brought together graduate students of the sciences, social sciences, and humanities to showcase the variety of research conducted at Trent, and promote exchange among disciplines,” summarizes Verena Sesin, member of the student organizing committee. The symposium featured 22 student presentations, in addition to workshops on research communication and writing skills, and featured a keynote on taking action to move toward a more sustainable future.
“We are excited that around 60 students joined us for our two-day event, with a student mixer and live music at the Ceilie Pub on Friday evening and a full symposium day on Saturday,” shares Ms. Sesin.
From bats to olive cultivation, East Asian activism and epilepsy – topics covered by student presentations were multidisciplinary and reflected the diversity of graduate programs offered at Trent, including Psychology, Environmental and Life Sciences, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Canadian Studies, Indigenous Studies, Sustainability Studies, and Educational Studies.
“The TGSS was an excellent conference for us to gather and learn together this past weekend,” sums up Aleyah-Erin Lennon, M.A. Candidate in Sustainability Studies, who presented on transforming settler consciousness.
Jaclyn Wong, M.Ed. Candidate in Educational Studies, adds “Acknowledging the efforts of my peers across different disciplines was an invigorating experience that made me feel proud of belonging to such a learning community. As one of the presenters, I greatly appreciated the safe space that allowed for the sharing of research and feedback.” Ms. Wong presented on her research exploring the effects of East Asian activism on personal, relational and community wellness.
Students happily received first-hand advice on how to “make their research count” and effectively communicate their research findings to the public in a workshop by Dr. Jim Schaefer, professor of Biology at Trent. Moreover, Academic Skills instructor Dana Capell shared tips and tricks to write at the graduate level, from abstracts to literature reviews and papers. In his keynote, Dr. Asaf Zohar, professor in the School of Business, inspired the audience to create compelling stories for a better future based on their graduate research projects.
This year’s symposium was organized by Trent graduate students Megan Aoki, Fatma Ozen, Karl Racine, Verena Sesin, Amanda Stubbs, and Kelly Wright.
Follow #TGSS2020 on Twitter for an inside look at the conference!