Events across campus

Students working together at a table with a map

Your one-stop shop for all events and workshops for graduate students across campus.

Our event listings are updated termly with additional events added as they are scheduled.

Major recurring events

Crowd at a conference with a woman raising her hand to speak

Academic Career Conference

This full-day conference will help you prepare for the academic work search, including document and interview preparation, and getting insights from current faculty members. 

Host: Centre for Career Development
Timing: Annually in October
Audience: PhD students and postdocs

Student writing at a table with a notebook and a laptop

Dissertation Boost Camp

Dissertation Boot Camp is designed to help you get a jump start on meeting your writing goals. The program combines dedicated writing time, goal-setting and writing strategy sessions, and one-on-one meetings with our writing specialists. Online, intensive, and sustained (weekly) options are available.

HostWriting and Communication Centre
Timing: Annually in the fall or winter term
Audience: PhD students

Group of students writing and working together

Rock Your Thesis: Get Ready to Write

This three-part program will guide you through the first phases of writing a thesis or dissertation. The series covers topics such as planning and project management, structuring your thesis or dissertation, writing a literature review, using strategies for finding and recording research sources, and revision. Each of the three Rock Your Thesis sessions balances talks from support staff across campus with hands-on activities to guide you through your own planning, drafting, and revising process.

Host: Writing and Communication Centre
Timing: Annually in the winter term
Audience: PhD students

Man presenting to an audience

Design and Deliver Grad Studio

Whether you are giving a conference presentation, a job talk, or defending your dissertation, as a graduate student you need to be able to speak with authority and knowledge about your research area, respond to questions, and engage in scholarly debate. Design and Deliver Grad Studio is a self-directed comprehensive workshop designed to help master's and PhD students develop their voices as independent scholars and give effective academic presentations with confidence. 

Host: Writing and Communication Centre
Timing: Annually in the spring term
Audience: Master's and PhD students

Group of people standing and talking at a conference

Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network (GPDN) Annual Conference

The Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network (GPDN) Annual Conference focuses on current topics related to professional and career development for graduate students and postdocs, and brings together professionals and faculty members to foster networking, share innovative practices, and promote the latest advancements in our fields.

Host: Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network
Timing: Annually in the fall term
Audience: Graduate students and postdocs

September 2024 events

Date Event title Event host Location Audience
Ongoing Virtual Writing Cafés - Tuesdays 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m  Writing and Communication Centre Online (Teams) graduate students, postdocs, faculty
Ongoing In-person Writing Cafés - Wednesdays from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Writing and Communication Centre GSA Grad Lounge (SLC 3216) graduate students, postdocs, faculty
Sept 11 Help! How do I Co-op? Centre for Career Development Online graduate students
Sept 11 Facilitating with Equity Organizational and Human Development EC1 1004 graduate student employees, postdocs
Sept 12

Foundations of Collaborative Leadership

Student Success Office Online all students
Sept 16 Résumés / Cover Letters Centre for Career Development Online graduate students, postdocs
Sept 16 Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Fundamentals Organizational and Human Development Online graduate student employees, postdocs
Sept 17

Foundations of Collaborative Leadership

Student Success Office Online all students
Sept 18 Preparing for P4E Job Fair Centre for Career Development Online graduate students, postdocs
Sept 19 Plan Out Your Fall Term Student Success Office Online all students
Sept 19

Leading with Curiosity

Student Success Office Online all students
Sept 20 Facilitating with Confidence Organizational and Human Development In person, TBD graduate student employees, postdocs
Sept 23

Collaborative Team Building

Student Success Office Online all students
Sept 23 Generative Artificial Intelligence and the Literature Review Writing and Communication Centre LIB 428 and online graduate students
Sept 24 How to Become a Teacher in Ontario Centre for Career Development Online all students
Sept 25 P4E Job Fair P4E Manulife Sportsplex at RIM Park all students
Sept 25 Interviews Centre for Career Development Online all students, postdocs
Sept 26 Generative Artificial Intelligence and the Literature Review Writing and Communication Centre LIB 428 and online graduate students
Sept 26 Foundations of Tutoring Student Success Office Online graduate students

October 2024 events

Date Event title Event host Location  Audience
Ongoing Virtual Writing Cafés - Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Writing and Communication Centre Online (Teams) graduate students, postdocs, faculty
Ongoing In-person Writing Cafés - Wednesdays from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Writing and Communication Centre GSA Grad Lounge (SLC 3216) graduate students, postdocs, faculty
Oct 1 Disability Disclosure in the Workplace Centre for Career Development Online (Zoom) all students
Oct 1 Understanding Conflict Organizational and Human Development EC1 1004 graduate student employees, postdocs
Oct 2 Leading with Trust Organizational and Human Development EC1 1004 graduate student employees, postdocs
Oct 2

Foundations of Collaborative Leadership

Student Success Office Online all students
Oct 3

Leading with Curiosity

Student Success Office Online all students
Oct 3 Giving and Receiving Feedback with Intention Organizational and Human Development EC1 1004 graduate student employees, postdocs
Oct 16 Exploring Your VIA Character Strengths Organizational and Human Development Online graduate student employees, postdocs
Oct 16

Foundations of Collaborative Leadership

Student Success Office Online all students
Oct 16-17 Academic Career Conference Centre for Career Development TC 2218 and online graduate students, postdocs
Oct 17

Leading with Curiosity

Student Success Office Online all students
Oct 22 Collaborative Team Building Student Success Office Online all students
Oct 23 Personality Dimensions® Organizational and Human Development EC1 1004 graduate student employees, postdocs
Oct 24

Harm Reductive Communication and Conflict Resolution

Student Success Office Online all students
Oct 29 Emotional Intelligence at Work Organizational and Human Development Online graduate student employees, postdocs
Oct 29 Volunteer Fair Centre for Career Development SLC all students
Oct 30 Leading with Curiosity Student Success Office Online all students

November 2024 events

Date Event title Event host Location Audience
Ongoing Virtual Writing Cafés - Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Writing and Communication Centre Online (Teams) graduate students, postdocs, faculty
Ongoing In-person Writing Cafés - Wednesdays from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Writing and Communication Centre GSA Grad Lounge (SLC 3216) graduate students, postdocs, faculty
Nov 7 Collaborative Team Building Student Success Office Online all students
Nov 13

Harm Reductive Communication and Conflict Resolution

Student Success Office Online all students
Nov 20

Foundations of Collaborative Leadership

Student Success Office Online all students
Nov 22

Leading with Curiosity

Student Success Office Online all students
Nov 26

Collaborative Team Building

Student Success Office Online all students

December 2024 events

Asynchronous events

Centre for Career Development workshops

Are you unable to attend one of Centre for Career Development's live workshops or missed a particular workshop you're interested in? The Centre for Career Development has alternative online workshops that you can take at any time at your own pace. In these workshops, you will find a short video, activities, and links to additional resources and information for next steps.

Note: UWaterloo log-in is required to access these workshops.

Career development workshops: 

Academic career development workshops: 

Centre for Teaching Excellence workshops

Self-directed workshops:

Recorded workshops: 

Mitacs workshops

Mitacs offers a series of courses on topics relevant to graduate students. Each course bundle involves a self-paced asynchronous component, and a synchronous virtual session (dates for which can be found in the calendar above). Completion of both components will earn you an official certificate of completion from Mitacs for that course. 

To access Mitacs online courses, you will need to create an account on EDGE, the Mitacs online learning management system. To get started: 

  1. Visit the Mitacs EDGE login page.
  2. Create a new account. Please do not attempt to use your existing login credentials with previous Mitacs platforms, they will not work.
  3. Confirm your account by following the prompt in the verification email that is sent to you. This will redirect you to back to the login page, where you can now sign in. 
  4. Select your Learner Affiliationusing the drop-down list. Select "General Learner."
  5. Fill out the personal information page to complete your registration. 

Once you have created an EDGE account, you may enrol in the following self-paced, asynchronous online courses:

Mitacs offers both synchronous and asynchronous courses through the EDGE platform. Asynchronous courses are listed as an "Online Course", while synchronous sessions are listed as an "Instructor-Led Course". As all synchronous sessions are currently being offered online, they are open to graduate students from across Canada. 

Student Success Office workshops

The Student Success Office (SSO) offers access to intercultural learning modules part of an Open Educational Resource (OER) called Advancing Intercultural Competence for Global Learners. This can be accessed in both English and French.

Writing and Communication Centre workshops

The Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) offers several grad-specific workshops. WCC workshops will be available on the Writing and Communication Centre's LEARN siteWCC is offering both asynchronous workshops in LEARN and their new one-to-one workshops facilitated by a writing and communication advisor. 

Self-register for the LEARN course titled "WCC Workshops" to gain access to the asynchronous workshops, which can be found under the Content tab of that course. These can be completed at your own pace.