Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies 2025-28 Partnership + Action Plan
What Happened
The Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) is developing a 2025-28 Partnership + Action Plan, which will outline how GPS will work together with graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and our campus community partners in service of shared goals and where GPS will focus its efforts and resources in 2025-28.
As one step in this multi-part process, we are engaging with our community of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to gain insight into your journeys. In early July, we distributed a survey to gather your perspectives on your experiences in your master's, PhD or postdoctoral programs. Following the survey, we held in-person sessions on Aug. 7 to explore and have conversations about the experiences you shared.
What We Heard
You provided rich and valuable feedback that will help us illuminate the student and postdoctoral scholar journeys and accurately reflect your experiences in doing so at the University of Alberta. While each academic journey is unique and filled with transitions, including new beginnings, endings and personal life changes, a few key themes emerged from our conversations:
- It was affirming to see your journeys reflected in writing/visuals, and while each experience is unique, there are common experiences shared by all.
- Participants were grateful that the student and postdoctoral scholar experience will be central to GPS’s new partnership and action plan.
- There was a sense of community gained by coming together as an interdisciplinary group of students and scholars.
We've gathered some words of wisdom from fellow students and postdoctoral scholars who participated in the student journey mapping workshop. Here’s the advice they shared on building community, activities to explore in Edmonton and impactful lessons learned along their journeys so far:
Ways to Build Community
- Host dinner gatherings and invite your guests to bring a friend.
- Build community virtually by reading the latest news and meeting people online. Read Edmonton related blogs, follow Edmonton social media accounts and groups on Facebook like Curiocity Edmonton or read posts in local subreddits on Reddit.
- Seek opportunities to make interdisciplinary connections across the university (e.g., faculty student groups, Graduate Students’ Association (GSA), Falling Walls Lab, Three Minute Thesis and Images of Research).
- Attend workshops — check out this list of GPS workshops.
- Get involved! Participate in activities you like to meet people who share your same interests.
- Connect with your program advisors, even if you don’t need help immediately.
- Be curious about your classmates and take the initiative to build a community within your class.
- Build a relationship with your supervisor and get to know them personally.
Things to Do in Edmonton
- Explore Edmonton’s River Valley and the many parks, restaurants and walking trails around the area.
- Attend one of Edmonton’s 50 yearly festivals (e.g., Fringe, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Winter Whyte Light Up, Heritage Festival).
- Visit Alberta’s many federal and provincial parks (e.g., Elk Island, Banff, Kananaskis, Wabamun Lake).
- Try downhill skiing in the winter at Rabbit Hill, Sunridge or Snow Valley.
- Attend an improvisation class through Grindstone, Rapid Fire Theatre or at the U of A.
- Go rock climbing at Boulders Climbing.
Impactful Advice
- When things get tough, remind yourself why you started your research or program.
- Don’t focus on the entire mountain ahead of you — take it one step at a time.
- Finish tasks promptly so your workload doesn’t compound into much bigger work.
- Say yes to trying new things. Step out of your comfort zone and embrace new opportunities — that’s where the magic happens.
- Prioritize your well-being and self-care alongside your schoolwork. Balance is key.
- Don't hesitate to ask for help and advocate for your needs to faculty and fellow students. Even if your question or issue seems minor, others have likely faced the same challenge. Most people are happy to assist, but they won’t know you need support unless you speak up
- Make it a habit to write or work toward your academic goals every day, in small and manageable ways.
- Take advantage of the campus resources available to you (e.g., mental health, writing, research).
- Be kind to yourself and others, and keep a positive attitude.
- If you’re experiencing imposter syndrome, remember you’re here for a reason. You are enough, even on the days it doesn’t feel that way.
What’s Next
As we continue developing GPS's Partnership + Action Plan for 2025-28, we will be consulting with colleges, faculties and senior administrators in the coming months. The plan is set to launch in Winter 2025, and we’re excited to share more with you then.