On behalf of the GSA, I am excited to share that our collaborative efforts with MoGen learning strategist Kyle Turner have sparked new initiatives within our department to better support students through their reclassification and qualification exams. For the first time, we organized a Q&A panel specifically designed to address questions related to these exams. This event was open to all second-year research stream students interested in pursuing a PhD within our department. Additionally, Jocelyn Nurtanto, the GSA's VP Internal, organized mock exams with help from senior students in our department to help second-year students better prepare for their PhD exams.
Following these efforts, the GSA presidents (Saya Sedighi and Esra Erkut) conducted a post-exam survey to evaluate the effectiveness of these new initiatives and to gather students' subjective experiences regarding their PhD exams. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive; the majority of students felt well-prepared for the oral exam. However, there was a consensus that a writing-intensive course focusing on proposal and general scientific writing would be highly beneficial.
The June recruitment event, partially organized by the GSA, was also a notable success. Prospective students had the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session during lunch, organized by the GSA presidents, and enjoyed networking with current MoGen students over dinner at Taco Taco.
This summer, the GSA organized a range of engaging social events. The Event Coordinators, Jigyansa Mishra and Mohammad Shokouhian, successfully organized a baseball outing to a Jays game on June 28th. Additionally, the VP External, Julianne Peralta, introduced a new event at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Students attended a sold-out performance of the award-winning show "Rat Academy" on July 9th, enjoying lots of laughs while supporting local theatre. The GSA team has more social events planned for the fall. We are excited to host events that are excellent opportunities to take a break from research, connect with each other, and explore fun activities in Toronto.
