LFS Today Jan 13, 2022

 News  

Coffeemakers in FNH and MCML – Nespresso coming soon!  

Some of you may have noticed the absence of the Aramark coffee maker in the MCML coffee room.  Given the coffee needs have changed within the Faculty, we have discontinued our Aramark account and have returned the coffee maker that used to be in MCML 249.  We have replaced this antiquated machine with a Nespresso Vertuo – there is now one in the MCML building and one will be placed in the FNH building (side kitchen of the FNH Administration Office). Once installed, individuals can purchase their own recyclable pods and use the machine on demand. There will be no more tracking of cups consumed and arranging for payment.  As for the tea drinkers, there are various electric kettles available for use as well as the Quench Water Cooler hot water tap.

We hope this change will result in a better cup of coffee for those in need of a caffeine fix. Instructions on how to use the Nespresso will be posted by the machines.  For now, please feel free to review the following how-to video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9nixM1467Y

MFRE in the News

The Master of Food and Resource Economics program was featured in an article about the higher rate of interest and applications to agriculture programs, particularly with women. Farmtario

 Events  

Today – Research and Teaching Seminars

Juan Carlos Villaseñor-Derbez, Candidate for Assistant Professor in Human Dimensions of Biodiversity Conservation
Research Seminar: Design and evaluation of conservation interventions
January 13, 10:30am – 12:00pm
Register here:
https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5cod-mgqTsoGdBKysYW9QzsWQvdBfGQeRT4

Colette Salemi, Candidate for Assistant Professor in Food and Resource Economics
Research Seminar: Hungry hosts? Refugee camps and host community nutritional outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa
January 13, 3:30 – 5:00pm
Register here:
https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5wtd-Ghpz0iGdVIl7xcXL_Wiu3sqGybfayb

Jan. 17-21 – CTLT Teaching Assistant Institute

The 2022 CTLT Teaching Assistant Institute is a week of free online professional development workshops open to any UBC graduate student and undergraduate TA. From January 17–21, 2022, the TA Institute will include a collection of workshops designed to support TAs as their roles continue to change in this new year.

For more information, please visit https://institute.ctlt.ubc.ca/ta-institute/january-2022-ta-institute/

Download a full schedule of events (PDF)

To register, please visit https://events.ctlt.ubc.ca/event-category/professional-development-for-tas/

 Deadlines  

Mar. 11 – Nominations open: Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award

Eligibility: The award is open to any UBC Graduate Teaching Assistant who acts or has acted in this position at UBC Vancouver during the current and/or preceding academic year (2021-22 and/or 2020-21).

Nomination Process: Nominations are encouraged from faculty supervisors (professors, senior laboratory instructors) of the Graduate Teaching Assistant nominee, from colleagues working closely with the nominee, and from the students who attended the nominee’s class or laboratory. TAs can also self-nominate for the award.

The Learning Centre is working on an LFS internal nomination process and will make the details available by the end of January to meet the nomination deadline on Friday, March 11, 2022.

In the meantime, nominees may check the award criteria here. Should you have questions about the nomination process and do not want to wait till the end of the month, please contact Judy Chan, LFS Learning Centre (Judy.Chan@ubc.ca).

Mar. 11 – NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

Eligible faculty members may apply for the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) program. Through these awards, you can receive a wage subsidy of $6,000 to hire an eligible student to work on research and development in your lab.  Professors gain valuable help in furthering their research while supporting students in their learning.

The LFS quota for the NSERC USRA has been announced by the UBC Centre for Student Involvement and Careers (CIS&C). The Faculty of Land and Food Systems has 4 NSERC USRA 2022-23 awards. These awards can be held in the summer (May – August 2022), fall (September – December 2022) or winter (January – April 2023) terms.

The LFS internal deadline for the NSERC USRA is Friday March 11, 2022; the LFS evaluation criteria and process are available on the LFS Research Support website.

Similar to last year, UBC will continue to have non-NSERC grant holders receive approval from their Associate Dean or appropriate designate as part of the application process.

Continuation of accommodations due to COVID-19:

• Remote supervision of projects will be permitted. Supervisors must hold regular meetings with USRA holders via phone or video calls.
• Work terms do not need to be 16 weeks long, and can be less than 12 weeks.
• Full value ($6,000) of the award will be honored once application is approved by NSERC.
• For the student’s salary, Faculty Supervisor are no longer required to top-up 25% of the award value. However, NSERC requires that the supervisor pays a minimum salary of $6,000 regardless of the length of the award term and BC’s minimum wage requirements must be met. The minimum wage in BC is currently $15.20 per hour.
• For faculty members who intend to apply to the NSERC USRA, please ensure that COVID-19 safety measures and considerations as well as contingency plans are included when submitting their application. Questions we would encourage faculty to consider: Will the USRA be feasible given the COVID-19 safety plans as per Faculty/School/department? Can the USRA be done safely?

Additional information about the program can be found on the Faculty and Staff webpage. Student eligibility information is available on Student Services website.

Please contact LFS Undergraduate Student Research Awards lfs.nserc-usra@ubc.ca if you have any questions.