Get career ready
Dal GradPD is your go-to hub to learn about professional development designed for your specific needs as a graduate student. Together with partners across the university and external providers, the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) assembles an ongoing schedule of free workshops and events aimed to help you prepare for a diversity of careers.
The four pillars of the Dal GradPD program are dedicated to building skills necessary for success in any career — Communication, Career Intelligence, Health and Wellbeing, and Leadership — and are offered exclusively to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Upcoming Dal GradPD workshops and experiential learning
Professional Career Development Group
Graduating this year and feeling anxious about life after university or unprepared for an uncertain job market?
Attend this career development support group facilitated by a career counsellor to build a peer support network and confidence as you prepare to embark on the next chapter of your life!
Registration is now available on the MyCareer events calendar. Go to the next Friday on the events calendar to register, after which you will be contacted to confirm your eligibility and additional details. New registrations will be accepted weekly throughout the term, but space is limited, so students are encouraged to register early!
Date and time: Ongoing weekly; Tuesdays from 3 to 4 p.m.
Partner: Bissett Student Success Centre Academic Advising and Career Services
Type: In-Person
Pillar: Career intelligence
Location: McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building
Intellectual Property Essentials for Graduate Students
Join us for an insightful session on intellectual property (IP), tailored specifically for graduate students, with Lachlan MacLeod, hosted in collaboration with the Copyright Office. This event is designed to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of IP rights and their critical importance in academic and professional settings.
Date and time: November 19 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Type: Online
Partner: Legal Counsel Office with the Copyright Office
Location: Teams
Canadian Career Symposium for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows
Each year, the Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network (GPDN) hosts a virtual career symposium for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Aimed at professional development and career exploration, presentations by GPDN members and invited experts cover career self-assessments, resumes, informational interviews and more.
Date: November 19 - 21, 2024
Type: Online
Partner: Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network
FGS Grad Mentors Marking Party
Join us for the FGS Grad Mentors Marking Party, an engaging and productive event where faculty, staff, and graduate mentors come together to review and mark student assignments. This collaborative gathering aims to streamline the grading process while fostering a supportive and collegial atmosphere.
Date and time: November 25 from 3 to 4 p.m.
Type: In person
Location: Meeting room in the Grad Pad, 4th floor of the Killam Memorial Library
Research Data Management (RDM)
Good data management planning and practices are essential in research, and there is a growing awareness of the value of sharing, accessing, and preserving research data. Funders and publishers increasingly require open data sharing. This presentation will provide attendees with an overview of research data management practices, and the related services offered by Dal Libraries. Facilitated by Louise Gillis, Library Services.
Date and time: November 25 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Type: Online
Partner: MRDO
Pillar: Career intelligence
Location: Teams; link shared upon registering with prep@dal.ca
Hitting the Wall: Ways to Build and Maintain Motivation as a Graduate Student
Are you feeling a lack of motivation while trying to complete your graduate studies? In this 1-hour workshop with Emilee Fackelmann from the Studying for Success Program, you will learn about what motivates you, the Motivation Equation, different types of motivation and strategies for getting "un-stuck."
Date and time: November 26 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Type: Online
Partner: Studying for Success (Bissett Student Success Centre)
Location: Zoom
Finding Canadian Health Data and Statistics
Dal has some great resources to help you find those numbers, statistics, and datasets you need for your projects. This workshop provides a gentle introduction to finding Canadian statistics available through a wide variety of sources. Will include quick overviews of Stat Can health indicators and microdata, the Canadian Census Analyzer, data available through CIHI, and more. Facilitated by Julie Marcoux, Library Services.
Date and time: November 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Type: Online
Partner: MRDO
Pillar: Career intelligence
Location: Teams; link shared upon registering with prep@dal.ca
Unstuck & on Target: Tools to Get Things Done
This workshop is offered to students who may be experiencing barriers to executive functioning skills and want to gain an understanding of the reasons why, as well as strategies to reduce barriers related to these executive functions. This workshop is not limited to students who have accommodations or have been diagnosed with ADHD, Autism, or self identify as neurodiverse. All students with executive functioning challenges are welcome to learn more and contribute their experiences.
Date and time: November 28 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Type: Virtual
Partner: Student Accessibility Centre
Location: Teams
Finding Your Voice: Building Confidence as a Scholarly Writer
This workshop identifies the qualities and characteristics of traditional academic writing and offers participants techniques and strategies for finding their own unique academic voice. The workshop will ask participants to reflect on and apply the knowledge presented through a short, independent writing activity. For this, they should bring a paragraph or two of recent academic writing to the session.
Date and time: November 28 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Type: Online
Partner: Writing Centre
Location: Class Collaborate
Critical Appraisal of Literature
This session will provide an overview of critical appraisal in the context of research literature with a focus on core principles. We will present some tools and approaches to apply in your own context and discuss the implications of critical appraisal on the research and writing processes. Facilitated by Jackie Phinney, Library Services.
Date and time: November 29 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Type: Online
Partner: MRDO
Pillars: Career intelligence; Communication
Location: Teams; link shared upon registering with prep@dal.ca
A literature review attempts to analyze what scholars have written about a given topic or question. Comprehensively and critically reviewing the literature allows authors to not only situate their own work but to persuade readers that the work is necessary and worthwhile. This workshop will focus on structuring the literature review using writing strategies to summarize and synthesize the literature while maintaining or establishing your own voice. Facilitated by Janice MacDonald Eddington, Coordinator of the Dalhousie Writing Centre.
Date and time: December 4 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Type: Online
Location: Class Collaborate
Building Your Narrative Story: Writing Effective Statements of Interest / Personal Statements
The workshop is designed to guide you through the process of writing an effective personal statement and will provide strategies for helping you begin your draft as well as revision and refinement. Statements of intent or personal statements can be part of applications to graduate programs, co-op placements, and funding applications.
Facilitated by Janice MacDonald Eddington and Kala Hirtle, Dalhousie Writing Centre.
Date and time: December 10 from 2 to 3 p.m.
Type: Online
Location: Teams
Participate in the Dal GradPD certificate program
To help you navigate your PD journey, we have created a free certificate program to recognize your efforts and help you identify the opportunities you need to take you where you want to go.
What you’ll do during the certificate program:
Individual development plan (IDP) workshop: In this session, you’ll explore the skills and experiences you need to achieve your professional goals and map your plan to get there. IDP workshops will be held every month, so don't worry if you missed an earlier session. An asynchronous video of the IDP workshop is also available in the Dal GradPD Brightspace.
Pillars workshops: Participate in two hours of workshops from each of the Dal GradPD pillars: Communication, Career Intelligence, Health and Wellbeing, and Leadership. You can select from options provided by Dal GradPD partners or find other opportunities you think will best suit your goals.
Experiential learning: Take on four hours of hands-on experience from each pillar. Write a blog, go to a networking event, practice a time management strategy, organize an event – the possibilities are vast and the experiences priceless.
Professional identity workshop: Wrap up the certificate with this session that will empower you to articulate the value of the skills you've gained at graduate school to prospective employers.
When done, you’ll receive a certificate signed by the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and recognition on your transcripts. More importantly, you’ll have developed a plan for where you want to go with your career and assembled the professional and personal skills you need to get there.
