Under the new Trudeau government, minister Kirsty Duncan launched a federal review of Fundamental Science in Canada (see their website). CSEE president Jeremy Kerr submitted a response to this review in late September 2016, which you can download below:
CSEE Fundamental Science submission (PDF)
Deadline for receipt of all application materials: 13 January 2017
Award Description: The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their career. Awards will be given to two candidates each year. They consist of a 10-year membership to CSEE/SCEE, $500 cash award, up to $1000 allowance for travel and accommodation to attend the CSEE meeting in Victoria, B.C., and an invitation to give a keynote lecture at the annual meeting.
Eligibility: Applicants must be active researchers in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology who received their doctorate within five years of the application deadline, not including time taken for parental leave (i.e., one year of parental leave extends the eligibility period to six years post-Ph.D.). Candidates need to be Canadian citizens, or landed immigrants, or have completed their PhD at a Canadian University, or be currently working at a Canadian University.
Application/Nomination Procedures: Candidates may apply directly or may be nominated. Established researchers are encouraged to nominate outstanding young scientists. Nominations must contain all of the following supporting materials in the stated order: (1) a curriculum vitae, (2) a summary of research accomplishments (maximum 2 pages), (3) a 2-page statement of research plans for the next 5 years, (4) three recent publications, (5) names and addresses of 3 referees (including the nominating scientist where applicable) who will provide supporting letters. The 3 letters of reference should be sent separately from the candidate’s nomination package. All nomination materials and reference letters must be sent as PDFs to the chair of the CSEE Awards committee, Mark Vellend (mark.vellend@usherbrooke.ca).
Time lines: The deadline for receipt of all materials including letters of reference is 13 January 2017. The recipients will be notified of the award in February and they will receive their award at the following annual meeting.
Download this information as a PDF document: csee-early-career-award-en-2017
Do you want to advance the profile of ecology, evolution, and conservation in Canada? Do you want to get things done on behalf of the broader community? Do have ideas, energy and a little bit of time? Then run for CSEE Council!
The positions
With four Council members nearing the end of their terms, the Society for Ecology and Evolution is now seeking nominations for the positions of:
What the jobs entail
Councillors contribute to directing the business of the CSEE and advise the Executive Council as to how to advance the purposes of the CSEE. These positions are not unduly time-consuming. At the minimum, they involve two council meetings a year (in December and at the CSEE spring/summer meeting). Councillors are occasionally asked to vote on proposals (via email) and every councillor joins at least one sub-committee (Membership, Awards, Outreach, Biodiversity & Conservation, Newsletter, or Website). Regular Councillors are appointed for a three-year term; Graduate Student Councillors, for a two-year term.
The Secretary is member of the Executive Council, and as such, has more responsibilities. These include communication with the membership, keeping the records and archives of the Society and the list of members, giving notice of Council meetings and the General Business meetings, administering elections, taking minutes of the Council meetings and the General Business meetings and distributing these to the Council. The Secretary is appointed for three years.
We expect Council members to become the CSEE spokesperson for their institution, which means sending the occasional internal email to advertise our summer conference or other activities.
The perks?
Being on Council is a great opportunity to play an active role in the largest scientific society in Canada – one that advocates for the importance of ecology, evolution and conservation. Of course, it also looks great on your CV, and you get to know and hang out with the rest of the cool people on the Council.
The positions are voluntary, but the CSEE provides financial help to the Graduate Student Councillor to attend the council meetings. You have to be a CSEE member to serve on Council.
How to nominate yourself (or someone else) and nomination deadline
It’s dead easy! Email a short bio (7-10 lines about you, what you will bring to the CSEE, and what you hope to accomplish) and a headshot to the CSEE Vice-President (Isabelle Côté, imcote@sfu.ca). You can nominate someone else (if they agree).
Nominations will be accepted until 7 December 2016.
Election timeline
The nominations will be posted on the CSEE website soon after the deadline. Elections will be held in March 2017. New positions start at the Annual General Meeting (in May 2017).
In 2014, 2015 and 2016 the CSEE student and postdoc representatives organized student workshops during the annual meeting, with the help of the local LOC students. The workshop took place in a pub during and evening. The event was structured as a number of tables with one topic addressed at each, such as:
Between one and three faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, or people with non-academic positions were selected for each table. Workshop attendees then moved around the different topics that they are interested in. This workshop is designed to be a safe space where students and postdocs can ask questions and receive advice from experienced people in a relaxed ambience. This event has been a big success in the past, and a great opportunity for networking.
We are planning to organize a similar workshop for the 2017 meeting in Victoria. Stay tuned for more details and the list of topics/speakers!
The Role of Science in Policy – Informing and Engaging with Decision-Makers
Workshop at CSEE 2012
An interactive panel discussion with:
Helping Scientists Network
Donna Messer, from ConnectUs Canada, spoke about networking. Using herself as an example she showed us the power of maintaining and expanding your network as she quickly made connections with individuals in the audience. She pushed us out of our comfort zone and encouraged interaction. Business cards are key – even for scientists!
Organized by Kes Morton
Talking frogs and silent scientists: A simple survival guide to speaking with the media
Thanks again to our guest speaker for 2010, Jim Handman, executive producer of CBC’s Quirks and Quarks. For those of you who didn’t take notes or were unable to attend, here are some key points from an informative and entertaining presentation:
Organized by Kes Morton
Our second annual student workshop, on nonacademic jobs, was a great success with approximately 100 members attending in Halifax. I would like to thank the local
organising committee for helping me plan this event. Our panel members generously gave
their time and wisdom, without which this workshop would not have been possible:
Organized by Nathalie Brodeur
Our first annual lunch-workshop was a great success with 130 of our members
participating! Many thanks to Dr. Daniel Promislow (University of Georgia) for his
wonderful presentation on “Searching for and landing a job: How to get prepared for
academia” and Elizabeth Elle (Simon Fraser University), and Marc-André Lachance (University of Western Ontario) for participating on the discussion panel.
Organized by Nathalie Brodeur
