Terry (www.terry.ubc.ca) is a joint TLEF initiative of the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science, with support from the Michael Smith Laboratories, VP Students, UBC Campus Sustainability Office, UBC Okanagan, UBC Bookstore, UBC Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program, and the Chan Centre for Performing Arts.

The UBC Bookstore and Terry are pleased to announce a writing challenge, and a grand one at that. There will be three sets of prizes available, which involve the hunt for pieces in the following categories.

For more information, please read on…

1. The first category seeks creative pieces that perhaps work best to subtlety elicit awareness of the myriad of global issues presented in this website. These pieces could take the form (but are not limited to) poetry, fiction, literary humour, visual, audio, and/or personal essay. Limited to those from the UBC community (students, staff and/or faculty).
2. The second category seeks out non-fiction pieces that can take the form of academic essay, review/textbook article, commentary, and/or critical analysis. More importantly, these pieces should discuss some aspect of the general themes that our speakers represent, in an attempt to help formulate (whether by describing methodology or simply by education) proactive responses. Limited to those from the UBC community (students, staff and/or faculty).
3. The third category is open to all. The first two categories are limited to those from the UBC community (students, staff and/or faculty). This simply entails submissions culled from the general public that would fit in either category, perhaps even both.

Pieces should be no longer than 2000 words , and can happily be something you have to write anyway for your courses. The deadline for submissions is March 31st, 2006. Previously published material (where permission is obtained) is just fine although may be considered less competitive than original works. Please inquire with specifics regarding audio or visual pieces. Note that the author retains full copyright of any work published on our site, although we would love to be credited with showing it off. Please submit your entry to [email protected] , subject heading “Terry.”

Note that the real beauty of this, is that these pieces can be the sorts of things that you may have written for your courses, blogs, letters anyway.

Now, the prizes…
In all categories, we are please to have a first, second, and third prize available (nine prizes in total), in the sums of $500, $250, and $125. Prizes will be available as UBC Bookstore giftcards which are valid in all retail locations and can also be used on the store’s website. Also, note that UBC winners may be asked to participate in a UBC Bookstore promotional event.

Nominations for the 2006 Faculty of Science Student Service Awards are due March 6. All departments have been asked to let their corresponding student society know about these awards. If you, or any other undergraduate, would like to nominate someone for one of these awards, please let Paul Carter know no later than Wednesday, February 22. Your nomination should include a 1-page description that indicates how the nominee has gone beyond the call of duty in their contributions to the department or the university as a whole.

What is LEAP, you ask? According to their website, LEAP: An innovative collaboration between students, faculty and administration developed to strategically coordinate the use of resources to better meet the learning and research needs of UBC students. This is a fantastic resource site, launched by UBC and the AMS and looks to have amazing potential. The website includes many resources including a link to some upcoming workshops on study and research skills that are offered free to students and information about the completely new AMS online tutoring initiative. Sounds like a win-win scenario to me!

For more information about LEAP, check out http://leap.ubc.ca/

Would you like to get some research experience in an academic setting? If you are an undergraduate student with an interest in working on research and development projects at a University, you may be eligible to apply for an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA). The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) subsidizes eligible professors to hire students on their research projects, thereby creating interesting research related jobs and giving you the opportunity to gain valuable work experience.

When:

Summer 2006, May - August (full time for 16 weeks)

Who’s Eligible:

NSERC USRA candidates must:

• be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
• be registered (at the time you apply) as a full-time student in a bachelor’s degree program at an eligible university (exception: see graduating students below);
• have obtained, over the previous years of study, a cumulative B-(68%) average or above;
• have completed all the course requirements of at least the first year of university study (or two academic terms) of your bachelor’s degree;
• not have started a program of graduate studies.

In addition:

• If you already hold a bachelor’s degree and are studying towards a second bachelor’s degree, you may still apply to this program.
• You may hold only one USRA per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
• You may hold a maximum of three USRAs throughout your university career.
• If you are a graduating student, you may hold an award in the term immediately following the completion of all requirements of your undergraduate program, regardless of your graduation date. If you were only required to register part-time in your final term in order to complete your degree, you are still eligible to hold an award.
• Once you start working, you must be engaged, on a full-time basis, in research and development activities in the natural sciences or engineering during the tenure of the award.

Who is not eligible? You are not eligible for an undergraduate student research award if:

• You are currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (e.g., M.D., D.D.S., B.Sc.N.);
• or You hold higher degrees in the natural sciences or engineering.

How to apply:

For more information and applications check the UBC Career Services website at: http://www.careers.ubc.ca/opportunities.cfm?page=nserc or the NSERC website at: http://www.nserc.gc.ca/sf_e.asp?nav=sfnav&lbi=1a You also need to fill out the department�s employment application form available in the main office, Rm 201 ICICS Bldg or from our website at: http://www.cs.ubc.ca/career/Student/appform.shtml.

You cannot submit your application directly to NSERC. You must print it out and submit to Giuliana Villegas, Student Services Coordinator in the CS Main office._

Deadline: March 3, 2006

The CS Alumni Panel Series brings UBC CS alumni together with current and prospective students to discuss how a Computer Science degree fits into our lives. Why choose to do a degree in computer science? Where can we go with our degrees? Each session starts with brief biographical presentations by alumni with distinguished and often unusual careers. Then, we open up for Q&A with the audience. Following the panel, there’s opportunities to mingle with the panelists, alumni, current students, and prospective students while enjoying some light snacks and beverages.

Hear panelists Sonja Norman and David Greer, two UBC Computer Science Alums with very different career paths, who will share their stories. Networking to follow! Return here for more detailed information shortly.

For more information, see http://www.cs.ubc.ca/people/alumni/panelSeries.shtml

When:

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 16:30 to 18:30

Where:

Dempster 310

Tags:

Career