UPEI has secured free access to Riipen, an online work-integrated learning platform that connects university faculty and students with industry and community partners across Canada for real, relevant project work. Join Experiential Education staff on Monday, December 18, from 2-3 pm for a demonstration of the platform to learn how you can use it in your courses.

Email Shannon at smsnow@upei.ca to receive a calendar invitation with a Zoom link.

Join the December informal Post-Doc Social in the café at the Fox & Crow. Meet fellow post-docs for informal socializing, and enjoy a café drink courtesy of UPEI Graduate Studies. This informal gathering will introduce you to other UPEI post-docs, start building an interdisciplinary Post-Doc community, and gather your thoughts for future gatherings.

You are welcome to join the social for as much time as your schedule allows, anytime between 12 noon and 1:00 pm.

Can’t make it on December 13 but would like to hear about future post-doc gatherings? Reach out to Kendra Mellish, Graduate Programs Officer (kmellish@upei.ca), to put your name on the email list.

The Faculty of Nursing would like to invite all to attend the public presentation of Rebecca MacLure's Master of Nursing thesis defense, "Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) from the Perspective of the Registered Nurse Working in Palliative Care." The presentation will take place in the Health Sciences Building, Room 105, starting at 10:30 a.m.

Donations to the UPEI Annual Fund directly and profoundly contribute to enhanced student experiences. This year, faculty and staff are invited to designate their annual fund donation to the Robertson Library to help upgrade group and individual study spaces, refurbish teaching spaces, and expand the Special Collections space.  

As you consider your year-end charitable giving, please consider what Dr. Ed MacDonald has to say about the importance of our library: 

“The library is at the very heart of a university’s educational and research mission, the one institution on campus that serves everyone: faculty, students, staff, researchers, and the general public. And so, the excellence of a university is closely tied to the excellence of its library’s resources and staffing. As UPEI grows, the Robertson Library, too, needs to grow. I can’t think of a more appropriate way to support UPEI than by helping make an excellent library even better.”  

Ways to Give 

1. Via payroll deduction: https://www.upei.ca/friends/employee-giving 
2. Online by visiting upei.ca/donate (designate your gift to the Robertson Library) 
3. Mail: UPEI Annual Fund, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3 
4. Telephone: (902) 894-2888 or toll-free at 1-866-453-4119 
5. In person: Alumni Hall, 618 University Avenue, Charlottetown 
6. Gifts of Marketable Securities: Process description and form  

Visit upei.ca/loveourlibrary to learn more about the revitalization of the Robertson Library.

Dr. Greg Keefe, President and Vice-Chancellor (Interim), invites you to attend the 2023 PRESIDENT’S HOLIDAY SOCIAL FOR FACULTY AND STAFF on Friday, December 15, from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm in The McCain Foundation Learning Commons,  Atlantic Veterinary College.

Celebrate with your colleagues and enjoy complimentary appetizers and refreshments while listening to students from the UPEI Music program perform songs of the season.

DONATIONS TO THE UPEI CAMPUS FOOD BANK WILL BE MATCHED! You are encouraged to bring food and monetary donations for the UPEI Campus Food Bank—the Office of the President will match the value of your support up to $10,000! Tuna, black beans, pasta, pasta sauce, and $25  gift cards are popular items.

Looking forward to seeing you all at this special time of year!

Instructors and staff are invited to drop by the UPEI Teaching and Learning Centre for a chance to connect with colleagues and take a short break from the end-of-semester rush. Our Open House will be on Thursday, December 14, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. You will find us in the Robertson Library Annex, Room 230.

UPEI has secured free access to Riipen, an online work-integrated learning platform that connects university faculty and students with industry and community partners across Canada for real, relevant project work. Join Experiential Education staff on Monday, December 18, from 2-3 pm for a demonstration of the platform to learn how you can use it in your courses.

Email Shannon at smsnow@upei.ca to receive a calendar invitation with a Zoom link.

You might be looking for a podcast that you can listen to on the go or that at least frees you from looking at a screen. This podcast, called 10 minute chats on Generative AI, features short conversations with guests who bring different perspectives to generative AI and education. The most recent episode (Jan McArthur, December 12, 2023) discusses tensions between competitive assessment systems and learning-oriented motivations to use generative AI.

Using a scroll bar or arrow keys to move up and down? Try using the space bar. Press the space bar to move down and hold the shift key and press the space bar to move back up. 

Join the December informal Post-Doc Social in the café at the Fox & Crow. Meet fellow post-docs for informal socializing, and enjoy a café drink courtesy of UPEI Graduate Studies. This informal gathering will introduce you to other UPEI post-docs, start building an interdisciplinary Post-Doc community, and gather your thoughts for future gatherings.

You are welcome to join the social for as much time as your schedule allows, anytime between 12 noon and 1:00 pm.

Can’t make it on December 13 but would like to hear about future post-doc gatherings? Reach out to Kendra Mellish, Graduate Programs Officer (kmellish@upei.ca), to put your name on the email list.

The Festive Holiday Luncheon for UPEI faculty and staff will take place on December 21 in the Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall. There will be two seatings: the first from 11:00 am to 12:15 pm, and the second from 12:30 to 1:30 pm. The cost is $17.50 (plus tax).

Reservations are required to assist with planning and to ensure there is room for everyone. Large and small groups (i.e., department teams) as well as individuals are welcome! Please RSVP to Kevin Nagy by December 15 at kevin.nagy@dexterra.com.

The call for proposals for the 26th annual Dalhousie Conference on University Teaching and Learning (DCUTL) is now open. This year’s conference will take place in-person on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in the Rowe Management Building, Dalhousie University, and virtually on Thursday, May 2. The annual DCUTL promotes the importance of university teaching and learning among faculty, staff, and graduate students. It is a showcase for current research and practices and provides opportunities to foster new ideas and projects. 

This year’s theme is “Transforming the Curriculum to (Re)Imagine the Future.”

They invite proposals on topics that might include but are not limited to the following areas of interest:

• redesigning curriculum
• processes of curriculum work
• designing curriculum via components/themes
• bigger ideas in curriculum design

For more information on the call, along with submission procedures and proposal format details, visit the conference website: https://www.dal.ca/dept/clt/events-news/annual-events/DCUTL.html

The call for proposals closes on January 22, 2024.

 Keynote Speaker

They are excited to welcome Dr. Nadine de Gannes as the keynote speaker for the 2024 Dalhousie Conference on University Teaching and Learning. Dr. de Gannes is the faculty director of Ivey Business School’s Honours Business Administration (HBA) Program at Western University. She is also a faculty member in Accounting and Sustainability, and a member of Ivey’s EDI Advisory Council. She holds a master's degree and a PhD in Accounting from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an HBA from Ivey Business School.

The Healthy Campus Committee is launching a new fitness subsidy for one-on-one personal training. The intention of the program is for a UPEI staff/faculty member who isn’t active and/or hasn’t participated in small group training and/or fitness programming (i.e., fitness subsidies).  

We are arranging two 30–minute information sessions with Derek Smith, UPEI personal trainer, and Angela Marchbank, UPEI Fitness and Wellness Coordinator who will provide a tour of the sports centre and the private personal training studio, discuss what personal training is, and answer questions.

For those attending the orientation session, an offer of an Introductory personal training package will be provided. The package includes a 45-minute consultation and assessment, three 45-minute personal training sessions, and one program design at a cost of $50 (+HST). The regular cost is $230 plus applicable taxes.

Those who are currently active and have accessed fitness programming will be placed on a waitlist as we have a limited number of subsidies for this program.  

Please contact Angela Marchbank, amarchbank@upei.ca, for more information and/or to register for the information sessions and/or to be placed on the waitlist. 

Depending upon the work requirements of University departments, the Christmas holiday schedule will be in effect from December 25, 2023, through January 1, 2024, inclusive.  Office and regular business hours will resume on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. 

Payroll deadlines: 

For the December 22 pay, the deadline for PTFs, pay changes, etc., are due by noon on November 23. Timesheets/overtime are due on December 11 at 10:00 am. 

For the January 5 pay, the deadline for PTFs, pay changes, etc., are due by noon on December 7. Timesheets/overtime are due on January 2 at 10:00 am. 

For the January 19 pay, the deadline for PTFs, pay changes, etc., are due by noon on December 21. Timesheets/overtime are due on January 8. 

Additional information regarding the Christmas holiday schedule can be found at MyUPEI. 

UPEI's Dr. Greg Keefe, Interim President and Vice-Chancellor, and Dr. Greg Naterer, Vice-President Academic and Research, invite students to drop by the W.A. Murphy Student Centre on Monday, December 11, from 11:30 am–1:00 pm, to enjoy a festive break from studying with free cookies, coffee, and cocoa! Students from the UPEI Music program will also be singing songs of the season! 

The Robertson Library is once again hosting our Stress-Free Zone. We have set up a lounge in our lobby and invite students to relax and have fun during the stressful exam period. Besides chilling in the comfy chairs, students can craft, colour, play games, take a photobooth selfie, work on a puzzle, build with Lego, and more.  

We have also planned a daily pop-up surprise. From Saturday, December 9 to Sunday, December 17, we will offer students food and/or craft each day. The surprise will be posted daily on the Library's social media. Some surprises are co-sponsored by Dana Hospitality Catering and Campus Peer Support. We thank them for their support!

Save the dates of June 20 to 21, 2024, for the CBIE regional meeting in Halifax.  More information on registration and programming will be shared when it becomes available.

Join the December informal Post-Doc Social in the café at the Fox & Crow. Meet fellow post-docs for informal socializing, and enjoy a café drink courtesy of UPEI Graduate Studies. This informal gathering will introduce you to other UPEI post-docs, start building an interdisciplinary Post-Doc community, and gather your thoughts for future gatherings.

You are welcome to join the social for as much time as your schedule allows, anytime between 12 noon and 1:00 pm.

Can’t make it on December 13 but would like to hear about future post-doc gatherings? Reach out to Kendra Mellish, Graduate Programs Officer (kmellish@upei.ca), to put your name on the email list.

The Faculty of Nursing would like to invite all to attend the public presentation of Rebecca MacLure's Master of Nursing thesis defense, "Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) from the Perspective of the Registered Nurse Working in Palliative Care." The presentation will take place in the Health Sciences Building, Room 105, starting at 10:30 a.m.

For more than 20 years, the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre has been hosting an exam stress-buster meal. At a time of year when students may not plan their meals well, we offer two options: beef chili and curry dahl (lentil) with white rice. We are able to do this with the support of many on campus. Staff and faculty offer their time in 30-minute time slots to help set up, serve, and clean up. As food insecurity for our students continues to be in our minds and hearts, this is one way that UPEI responds. This semester, chili and dahl meals will be offered on December 12 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm and 4:30 to 6:00 pm. There is an extra time slot on Monday, December 11, to help set up the space.  

Please check your calendars and add your name to our Chili/Dahl Volunteer Sign-Up

Sister Sue and Lauren