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About the Symposium

The Queen’s Graduate Chemistry Symposium is a staple in the Department of Chemistry at Queen’s University. The event is under the organization of the Queen’s Graduate Chemistry Society (QGCS), a student-led organization that aims to foster a rich and diverse experience for graduate students. Since its inception in 2008, the Symposium has become an integral part of the graduate student experience here at Queen’s. The event showcases the exciting research being performed by graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and undergraduate researchers. The Symposium evolved over time, and each year, it provides even more opportunities for students and members of the department to network and learn from alumni, the Kingston chemistry community, and chemists from all over the world.

 

As the 2021-2022 academic school year started, the pandemic is still limiting person-to-person interaction to network and share our research. As a result, similar to last year, the Symposium will be held virtually once again. Over the past year, our lives have changed a great deal. The way are we communicating to others, preparing for the next step for our careers, but also looking back into our past history. The theme of the Symposium this year is “Navigating the Future, Reconciling the Past”. The design of the Symposium will have the participation of students, post-docs, panellists, and keynote speakers located all over Canada.

 

The Symposium is designed to be flexible for students so that they can present at their convenience. The Symposium is scheduled to be hosted on November 8th and 9th. There will be 4 student talks in total (2 per each day), 2 keynote speakers (1 per day) and 2 roundtable discussions (1 per day). For keynote speakers, we have delighted to have Dr. Warren Chan from the University of Toronto and Dr. Alison Flynn from the University of Ottawa joining us on the 8th and 9th respectively. For the roundtable discussion, on the 8th, we have “Non-traditional Career Paths from Chemistry” where our panellists will talk about their career transition from a chemistry graduate to a new field. On the 9th, we have “Indigenous Practices and Diversity in Chemistry and STEM” where our panellists will provide important insight to our audience about the awareness and inclusion of Indigenous practices in our field.

 

On behalf of the organizing committee, we would first like to thank the Department of Chemistry at Queen’s University, including support staff and faculty. A huge thank you to all our invited panellists and lecturers for taking the time out of their busy schedules to provide great insights to our students about their careers and past. We would also like to acknowledge the financial support from our sponsors, GreenCentre Canada and DuPont Canada. Last but not least, we would like to thank all presenters for your contribution to the symposium. This event was designed for you, and we hope that this experience contributes to your personal and professional growth.

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