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Making science accessible
Since 2016, the generous gift of the late E. Edward, BSc(Agr)'55, MSc'57 and his wife, Teresa, has supported over 200 workshops and events听that offered life-changing science communication training to more than 1,600 Macdonald Campus students and researchers. This has enabled them to make their science accessible and engaging to a variety of audiences.
Thanks to this ongoing generous contribution, we can continue to help our students develop essential science communication skills that will benefit both their academic journey and professional career.
The program has also expanded its impact by supporting new initiatives. The is a 6-year program that aims to train 80 graduate students in various aspects of science communication and public policy development.听听delivers hands-on/minds-on activities to youth that enable university students to share their passion for science while gaining practical knowledge in public communication.
For more information about the Initiative, please contact lister.macdonald [at] mcgill.ca (I)ingrid.chiraz [at] mcgill.ca (ngrid Chiraz).
Workshops
A variety of workshops are offered throughout the academic year.
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Classroom Workshops
Are your students preparing for an oral assignment or a presentation?
Host a science communication workshop for your course or lab group! We offer workshops specially designed for the needs of your students.听
Your students will learn to
- refine their content to make it accessible and interesting
- effectively engage a diverse audience
- use plain language to disseminate scientific concepts
- develop delivery strategies for an impactful presentation
- communicate meaningfully through body language and voice
- reflect on their goals and purpose
- adapt their information into powerful visuals
'Thank you so much for the excellent workshop on giving good presentations. From newbies to seasoned presenters, our lab group learned so much. Personally, I especially appreciated the challenging tasks you set us to work on as a team. I learned a lot from working through these examples. My students also appreciated that you had clearly done your homework and knew what kinds of jargon we might be likely to use.' - Elena Bennett, Professor in Natural Resource Sciences听
Contact & instructor: ingrid.chiraz [at] mcgill.ca (Ingrid Chiraz)
Three Minute Thesis Training Program
Lister Family Engaged Science Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition
Macdonald Campus graduate student competitors present their research in 3 minutes to a non-specialist audience with one non-animated slide (Competition Rules).
The program includes a 3-part workshop series and coaching sessions to help students prepare for the competition.
Competition Date: Wednesday November 27, 2024
Prizes offered:听First place - $900; Second place - $600; Third place - $350; People鈥檚 Choice Award - $300
Registration for workshop #1 is now CLOSED.
- Tuesday October 22 @10:30am
- Tuesday October 22 @ 12:00pm听
- Tuesday October 22 @ 1:30pm
This program is automatically recognized on your 平特五不中 co-curricular record (CCR).
Annual Events
Annual Events
USRA Poster Presentations
The original LFESI event, the USRA Poster Presentations has been running since 2017. The event features 25 summer research interns displaying the results of their three-month long work with a Mac campus professor. During the summer before this capstone event, there is a series of workshops designed to help the interns understand how to effectively develop and present a scientific research poster.
3MT Competition
Lister Family Engaged Science Three Minute Thesis Competition - Fall 2023
Since 2017, the LFESI and SKILLSETS have combined efforts to support the Lister Family Engaged Science 3-Minute Thesis Competition. This event, along with its pre-training program, is focused on helping graduate students learn how to communicate their science in a compelling, accessible manner to a general audience.
Macdonald campus graduate student competitors will present their research in听3听minutes to a non-specialist audience with one non-animated slide (Competition Rules). Thanks to the generous support of the Lister Family Engaged Science Initiative, the following prizes will be offered at our 2023 competition: First place - $750; Second place - $500; Third place - $250; People鈥檚 Choice Award - $250.听
John Abbott Sustainability Through Science Symposium
Held in partnership with the John Abbott College Science Department, The Sustainability Through Science Symposium features Macdonald Campus graduate students giving an engaging about how their research contributes to a more sustainable future.
The talks will be followed by a panel discussion with the presenters and end with a Q&A period.
Lister Science Chats
The Lister Science Chats connect members of the community through live science talks with researchers from the 平特五不中 Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. These chats feature Macdonald Campus graduate students giving an engaging 10-minute talk about their research and how the discoveries, sometimes unintentional, and techniques of previous scientists made their work possible.
An article on the April 2020 series has been published in the Focus on Macdonald May 2020 Issue: ""
What kinds of events does the Lister Family Engaged Science Initiative make possible?