Interim Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Tom Harris hosted a welcome barbecue for new faculty and their families at the University Club. They had an opportunity to meet new colleagues from across the university as well as members of the university administration.   

“Queen’s is pleased to welcome our new faculty. We hope that the opportunity to meet one another in a less formal setting, will help them establish friendships and professional connections both for them and their families,” says Dr. Harris.

Principal Daniel Woolf identified faculty renewal as a high priority for reinvestment by the university in support of our academic mission. The five-year renewal plan will see 200 new faculty hired.

Spring convocation continued on Friday, with three more ceremonies being held at Grant Hall.

The highlight of the day was the conferring of an honorary degree (LLD) upon Isabel Bassett, former chair and CEO of TVOntario, Member of Provincial Parliament, Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation.

The day’s ceremonies involved graduate programs from the Smith School of Business, as well as the Faculty of Education and School of Graduate Studies.

No ceremonies are being held on Monday, May 28. Two ceremonies will be hosted on Tuesday, May 29.

Live ceremony feeds will begin approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of each ceremony.

A full schedule of the ceremonies and more information about Spring Convocation, for graduates, parents and family, as well as faculty members, is available on the Office of the University Registrar website.

Spring Convocation started on Thursday with the first two ceremonies being held at Grant Hall.

The morning’s event saw graduates of the Faculty of Education cross the stage, as their friends, families, and loved ones looked on.

The ceremony also started off with the installation of Alex Da Silva as the 36^th rector of Queen’s University. The rector is the third officer of the university, after the chancellor and principal, and is elected by students to represent them.

At each convocation ceremony, the rector sits on stage next to the chancellor and principal, addresses the attendees, and shakes the hands of graduates after they are hooded.

The afternoon ceremony brought together graduates of the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing.

The ceremony also saw an honorary degree conferred on Phil Gold, Executive Director of the Clinical Research Centre of the McGill University Health Centre at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) and Douglas G. Cameron Professor of Medicine and Professor of Physiology and Oncology.

A full schedule of the ceremonies and more information about Spring Convocation, for graduates, parents and family, as well as faculty members, is available on the Office of the University Registrar website.

Live ceremony feeds begin approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of each ceremony.

Science Rendezvous Kingston continues to be a massive draw as more than 4,300 people attended the scientific celebration at the Rogers K-Rock Centre on Saturday, May 12.

It was a day of learning and family fun as attendees of all ages were able to speak with researchers, watch demonstrations and take part in experiments, while celebrating the fields of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM).

The annual event offered up dozens of family-oriented activities. Special presentations included the Chemistry Magic Show, watched by more than 700 people, while 560 spectators took in a performance and special meet-and-greet with worldwide YouTube sensation AsapSCIENCE.

The Kingston event was one of 300 Science Rendezvous celebrations hosted in 30 cities across Canada on Saturday, under the theme of ‘Full STEAM ahead!’

For more information visit the Science Rendezvous website. You can also follow Kingston’s Science Rendezvous on Twitter and Instagram.

The Faculty of Education has partnered with a startup, created by a Queen’s alumnus, that is providing support for teachers in countries where in-class and educational resources are lacking.

1 Million Teachers is the brainchild of Hakeem Subair, a graduate of the Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at Smith School of Business. The organization’s goal is to help attract, train, and retain 1 million teachers, as well as develop the capacity to train more, in developing countries through its online platform. Utilizing reward-based training, the program aims to transform teachers into life-long learners who are engaged and motivated – positively impacting the future of millions of children around the world.

A number of faculty members from across Queen’s are involved in the advisory team while a group of 13 final year teacher candidates from the Faculty of Education recently traveled to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to deliver workshops and engage with teachers interested in the program.

Collaboration and relationship-building is a key theme.

“We’re not going there and saying ‘this is what you need to know.’ That’s not our approach,” says Jane Chin (Education), who traveled with the group and is a member of the 1MT advisory board. “The teacher-candidates are excited because the whole point is to go sit with these teachers, who are their colleagues, and say ‘What do we have in common and how do we support each other?’ They’re really excited to have the opportunity to learn from other teachers.”

All but one of the teacher candidates is in the Educators Abroad focus track of the teacher education program.

As with any project, there is a lot of work that must be done first in creating the structure and connections, as well as the online content for the program.

“All of the teacher candidates involved expressed an interest in teaching overseas or cross-cultural teaching and they have to do a three-week alternative practicum as part of our program,” says Dr. Chin. “This group has worked really hard and has put together 10 modules to be used and sent out through 1 Million Teachers. That is a lot of content.”

The support, both online and on the ground, has helped build a strong foundation for 1 Million Teachers while also providing valuable experience for the teacher candidates, says Mr. Subair.

“The modules are high-quality work,” he says. “The (teacher candidates) are involved in every aspect of the process – the writing, the audio and the editing of the graphics as well.” 

In Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the Queen’s group will lead a number of workshops while fostering the creation of professional learning communities for attendees, a key element for 1MT.

“We will get the dialogue going – here are some of the things we are thinking about in Canada, here’s some things we think about in relation to the new ideas about teaching, getting students to ask good questions, how do you do it, kind of sharing – but then the ultimate goal is to facilitate these teachers connecting to one another,” says Dr. Chin. “We want them to know that they do not have a lot of resources but we do. You communicate with one another, support one another and we’ll support you.”

Having grown up in Nigeria, Mr. Subair knows the monumental task facing teachers in sub-Saharan Africa and other locations all too well. In many countries there is little funding or resources provided to teachers. As a result, for many families there is a stigma toward pursuing teaching as a career. Still, he points out, there are those who remain passionate about teaching and educating the next generation.

Through 1MT, these teachers can get the support they need. There’s also a longer-term goal of improving the situation for teachers overall, Mr. Subair adds.

“This is the community. The idea is all the teachers using the platform are part of the community. Imagine having someone like Professor Chin and someone is asking a really technical question about teaching and she’s able to respond,” he says. “There’s an advocacy piece as well. We are engaging with governments and we want to be able to strongly advocate for teachers with governments to change policy such as increasing remuneration.”

To learn more about the program, visit the 1 Million Teachers website.