Brianna Goldberg / en Five weird things that will make you want to fill out course evaluations /news/five-weird-things-will-make-you-want-fill-out-course-evaluations <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Five weird things that will make you want to fill out course evaluations</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-20T09:18:36-05:00" title="Friday, November 20, 2015 - 09:18" class="datetime">Fri, 11/20/2015 - 09:18</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Inspired by feedback from students on course evaluations, Fiona Rawle (centre), associate professor, teaching stream, introduced walking office hours to her classes (photos by Blake Eligh)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utm" hreflang="en">UTM</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/teaching" hreflang="en">Teaching</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/religion" hreflang="en">Religion</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/political-science" hreflang="en">Political Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/education" hreflang="en">Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/astronomy" hreflang="en">Astronomy</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Re-arrange the cosmos, take learning to the streets and give your prof a boost – all with the click of a survey</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Students are focussed on&nbsp;the finish line for exams and final projects at this time of year – so when email reminders for course evaluations start pouring in, it can be tempting to let them slide.</p> <p>But taking a few short minutes to click through the <a href="http://courseevaluations.utoronto.ca/">online evaluations</a> can wield a surprising amount of power on the future of teaching at U of T and on the career of a professor or TA. It’s also a way to turn a stressful time of year into one that celebrates one of the best&nbsp;things about U of T:&nbsp;teachers who go the extra mile. &nbsp;</p> <p>Actual course evaluations are confidential but<em>&nbsp;U of T News</em> asked a couple of students to share what they would like to say about their favourite teachers. &nbsp;</p> <p>“In a time where I felt like I wasn't ready for university, you made me realize that I could achieve success here. And for that, I thank you,” wrote <strong>Edwin White Chacon</strong>, a fourth-year political science student and co-founder of the urbanist student group called CivicSpark, in sharing a U of T Prof Shout-Out for Associate Professor <strong>Walid Saleh</strong>&nbsp;of the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations and department for the study of religion.</p> <p><img alt="image of handwritten note to Professor Saleh" src="/sites/default/files/2015-11-20-Professor-Saleh-letter-sized.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 242px; margin: 10px 25px;"></p> <p>“I want you to know that your POL305Y1 class was one of the best courses I have ever taken at U of T,” wrote <strong>Bushra Nassab</strong>, a fourth-year student of peace, conflict and justice studies and president of the U of T Association of Political Science Students, in sharing her U of T Prof Shout-Out for <strong>Donald Kingsbury</strong>,&nbsp;lecturer, department of political science. “Thank you for increasing my interest in (and understanding of) Latin American politics. I always recommend your course to my friends. Keep up the amazing work!!"</p> <p><img alt="photo of handwritten letter to Professor Kingsbury" src="/sites/default/files/2015-11-20-ProfessorKingsbury-sized.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 400px; margin: 10px 25px;"></p> <p>Below, two of the great teachers&nbsp;U of T recognized with its first-ever Early Career Teaching Awards this year unpack a few reasons why students might want to quickly click through course evals. (<a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/these-teachers-are-transforming-learning-experience-u-t">Read more about early career teaching awards</a>)</p> <p>Biologist<strong> Fiona Rawle</strong>, associate professor, teaching stream, from U of T’s Mississauga campus, and astronomer <strong>Mike Reid</strong>, a lecturer in the department of astronomy and astrophysics at&nbsp;the downtown Toronto campus, share their perspectives on the impact of those approximately 15 minutes of online survey. Rawle and Reid say students can:</p> <p><strong>Shape the geography of teaching at U of T</strong><br> “Students would comment on my course evals that, in large classes, they wish they had more interaction with the prof.&nbsp;Because of this feedback I started to do “walking office hours” wherein students can join me for hikes on campus and talk both about course content and other non-course related things.”<br> <em>Rawle</em></p> <p><strong>Alter the motion of the planets</strong><br> “The thing I most want students to know about course evaluations is that we do read them and make changes based on them. The more detailed and specific students can be on their evaluations, the better. If there’s an aspect of a course that isn’t working for students, we need them to tell us about it so we can fix it. For example, when our students told us on evaluations a few years ago that they didn’t really like the style of planetarium shows we were doing and didn’t find them helpful, we stopped doing them that way. We scour our evaluations every year, looking for trends in the feedback, things we can change to make the course better next year. Then we check the evaluations the following year, looking to see whether the changes we made worked.”<br> <em>Reid</em></p> <p><strong>Make your voice heard – and tell your prof or TA things you might be too shy to mention otherwise</strong><br> “I tend to get really excited about what I¹m lecturing and I know I tend to talk fast sometimes – student opinion surveys remind me to pause and slow down. I really appreciate the time it takes for my students to do these surveys, and I make sure I read through all the comments. Student opinion surveys are valuable for giving the professor a snapshot of how the students are feeling.”<br> <em>Rawle</em></p> <p><strong>Influence whether or not a great teacher gets promoted</strong><br> “Student evaluations are also critical in supporting professors in their careers. In the same way that students try hard to do well on tests, professors try hard to do well on evaluations. I’m not sure if students understand that when professors are considered for tenure or promotion, teaching evaluations play a big role.&nbsp;</p> <p>“For teaching-stream faculty like me, student evaluations are one of the biggest parts of the promotion package we have to submit to the university. When I submitted my promotion package recently, it included literally hundreds of pages of student evaluations spanning about ten years of teaching at two universities. I have to be able to demonstrate that not only am I using modern, evidence-based teaching techniques, but that I’m doing so in a way that students find helpful.”<br> <em>Reid</em></p> <p><strong>Help improve things for future generations (or&nbsp;at least for&nbsp;future students in the course)</strong><br> “Sometimes certain issues will be of interest to students, but aren’t on the professor’s radar. For example, when we implemented active learning tutorials for genetics last year, student feedback showed they didn’t know what to expect about this new format and felt rather nervous about it. As a professor, these comments made me realize that it is important to have very clear expectations – so when we teach genetics next, we will do a “mock active learning tutorial” in lecture first, so that students know what to expect when they go into the active learning classrooms.”<br> <em>Rawle</em></p> <p><em>(Photo below by Blake Eligh, Ƶ Mississauga communications)</em></p> <p><em><img alt="photo of Fiona Rawle walking in forest with students" src="/sites/default/files/2015-11-20-fiona-forest-embed.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 417px; margin: 10px 25px;"></em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-20-walking-office-one.jpg</div> </div> Fri, 20 Nov 2015 14:18:36 +0000 sgupta 7461 at U of T's grads are top ten in the world for employability, survey says /news/u-ts-grads-are-top-ten-world-employability-survey-says <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T's grads are top ten in the world for employability, survey says</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-12T10:24:02-05:00" title="Thursday, November 12, 2015 - 10:24" class="datetime">Thu, 11/12/2015 - 10:24</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(Photo by Johnny Guatto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/future-students" hreflang="en">Future Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rankings" hreflang="en">Rankings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/jobs" hreflang="en">Jobs</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/employability" hreflang="en">Employability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/convocation-2015" hreflang="en">Convocation 2015</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Recruiters from across 21 countries rank U of T one of top three public universities for work-ready alumni </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Ƶ is one of the top ten universities in the world when it comes to the employability of its grads, the 2015 Global Employability University Survey and Ranking says.</p> <p>It’s the fourth year in a row that U of T has placed first in Canada in <a href="http://emerging.fr/">the high-profile survey</a>, which ranks U of T’s work-ready grads in the same cohort as Oxford, Cambridge and various Ivy League institutions.</p> <p>U of T’s rank in the employability survey has climbed 14 places since 2012 – and jumped several spots from last year’s 13th-place finish. The results mean&nbsp;U of T now ranks third in the world for public universities.</p> <p>A German market research firm called Trendence carried out the survey based on a design by Emerging, a French human resources consultancy. More than 2,000 recruiters from 21 countries weighed in on higher education institutions producing desirable employees and the valued characteristics in universities and graduates.</p> <p>What made the top ten universities so attractive to employers on a global level? The survey said key drivers were reputation (based on recruiters<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">’</span>&nbsp;own&nbsp;experience with graduates), international exposure and expertise.&nbsp;</p> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border: 2px solid black; font-family: 'Helvetica','Arial', sans-serif" width="635"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom: 2px solid black; text-align: center; padding: 10px; border-right: 1px solid white; background-color: rgb(0, 42, 92); color: white;" width="15%"><strong>Rank</strong></td> <td style="border-bottom: 2px solid black;padding: 10px; border-right: 1px solid white; background-color: rgb(0, 42, 92); color: white;" width="37.5%"><strong>Institution </strong></td> <td style="border-bottom: 2px solid black;padding: 10px; background-color: rgb(0, 42, 92); color: white;" width="37.5%"><strong>Country</strong></td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid black; border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>2</strong></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-of-cambridge?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>University of Cambridge</strong></a></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;padding: 10px; " width="37.5%">United Kingdom</td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 2px solid black; border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>3</strong></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 2px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-of-oxford?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>University of Oxford</strong></a></td> <td style="border-bottom: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="37.5%">United Kingdom</td> </tr> <tr style="color: #000000; background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(7, 175, 212) 0%, rgb(131, 215, 233) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>10</strong></td> <td style="border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-of-toronto?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>Ƶ</strong></a></td> <td style="padding: 10px;" width="37.5%">Canada</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>“What we understood from employers is that skills help students get the initial job, but creativity, critical thinking, analysis and a broad knowledge base contribute to a successful career,” Professor <strong>Cheryl Regehr</strong>, U of T’s vice-president and provost, said in an interview with <em>Times Higher Education</em> (THE) which published the results on Nov. 6.&nbsp;</p> <p>“We want to help students get a sense of how they can take what they learn in the classroom around things like critical thinking and apply it to various settings.”</p> <p>The survey's findings ring true for&nbsp;<strong>Shahrukh Ahmed</strong>, a Faculty of Arts &amp; Science alumnus who&nbsp;graduated from U of T in June. The&nbsp;geographer and urbanist says his experiential learning, internships and work-study experiences at U of T helped him stand out in New York.</p> <p>“Without the university's strong global reputation for urban thinking, its wide array of research institutes and internship opportunities, and my professors' energy and enthusiasm in connecting me with the right people in Toronto and New York, I would have never had the chance to do what I love –&nbsp;work on major urban planning projects at <a href="http://www.hraadvisors.com/#&amp;panel1-2">HR&amp;A Advisors</a>.”</p> <p>Approximately 70 per cent of students taking a professional experience year course in Engineering receive a job offer during their placement, Regehr said. She also noted job shadowing programs and other employment supports built into programs for students in Arts &amp; Science and other faculties – and that more employment programming is on the way.</p> <p>“Great universities are always seeking to do things better,” Regehr told THE. “Research wants to find better answers to world problems. Our teaching needs to always remain innovative. So the way in which we connect our students with the city, the country and the world, in order to make them great contributors, has to keep adapting as well.”</p> <p>Canada “appears to be making strides in employability,” Ellie Bothwell wrote in the THE feature, adding that three other Canadian universities in the top 50 – besides U of T – have also risen from last year: &nbsp;McGill (21st), UBC (39th) and University of Montreal (44th).</p> <h2><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/global-employability-university-ranking-2015-results">Read the full <em>THE </em>article on the 2015 rankings</a>&nbsp;</h2> <p>Laurent Dupasquier, associate director of Emerging, told <em>THE</em> that as “recruiters develop a better knowledge and understanding of the global higher education market, reputation plays less of a role and expertise [plays] more.”</p> <p>“The nationality of young graduates, the country in which they studied and the nationality of the company that employs them is becoming increasingly irrelevant,” he said, adding that employers from all continents seek specific skills as the most important factor, then work experience and degree area, with grades at the bottom of their priorities.</p> <p>This is the latest of 2015’s global rankings in which U of T performed highly, including Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings (19th globally, number one in Canada), Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities (25th globally, number one in Canada), U.S. News &amp; World Report’s Best Global Universities ranking (16th globally, number one in Canada) and the National Taiwan University Ranking which set U of T at third place in the world behind only Harvard and Johns Hopkins.</p> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/tags/rankings">Read more about Rankings</a></h2> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border: 2px solid black; font-family: 'Helvetica','Arial', sans-serif" width="635"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom: 2px solid black; text-align: center; padding: 10px; border-right: 1px solid white; background-color: rgb(0, 42, 92); color: white;" width="15%"><strong>Rank</strong></td> <td style="border-bottom: 2px solid black;padding: 10px; border-right: 1px solid white; background-color: rgb(0, 42, 92); color: white;" width="37.5%"><strong>Institution </strong></td> <td style="border-bottom: 2px solid black;padding: 10px; background-color: rgb(0, 42, 92); color: white;" width="37.5%"><strong>Country</strong></td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid black; border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>1</strong></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black; border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/harvard-university?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>Harvard University</strong></a></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="37.5%">United States</td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid black; border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>2</strong></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-of-cambridge?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>University of Cambridge</strong></a></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;padding: 10px; " width="37.5%">United Kingdom</td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid black; border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>3</strong></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-of-oxford?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>University of Oxford</strong></a></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="37.5%">United Kingdom</td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid black; border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px; " width="25%"><strong>4</strong></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/california-institute-technology?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>California Institute of Technology</strong></a></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;padding: 10px; " width="37.5%">United States</td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>5</strong></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/yale-university?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>Yale University</strong></a></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%">United States</td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid black; border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>6</strong></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px; " width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/massachusetts-institute-of-technology?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</strong></a></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%">United States</td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>7</strong></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black; border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/stanford-university?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>Stanford University</strong></a></td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;padding: 10px; " width="37.5%">United States</td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>8</strong></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/columbia-university?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>Columbia University</strong></a></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%">United States</td> </tr> <tr style="color: rgb(0, 42, 92); background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(204, 212, 222) 0%, rgb(235, 238, 242) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 2px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>9</strong></td> <td style=" border-bottom: 2px solid black;border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/princeton-university?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>Princeton University</strong></a></td> <td style="border-bottom: 2px solid black;padding: 10px; " width="37.5%">United States</td> </tr> <tr style="color: #000000; background: transparent linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(7, 175, 212) 0%, rgb(131, 215, 233) 100%) repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> <td style="text-align: center; border-right: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;" width="25%"><strong>10</strong></td> <td style="border-right: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;" width="37.5%"><a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-of-toronto?ranking-dataset=133819"><strong>Ƶ</strong></a></td> <td style="padding: 10px;" width="37.5%">Canada</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-12-employable-grads.jpg</div> </div> Thu, 12 Nov 2015 15:24:02 +0000 sgupta 7444 at These teachers are transforming the learning experience at U of T /news/these-teachers-are-transforming-learning-experience-u-t <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">These teachers are transforming the learning experience at U of T </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-04T06:05:22-05:00" title="Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - 06:05" class="datetime">Wed, 11/04/2015 - 06:05</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(all photos by Johnny Guatto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-education" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Celebrating 2014-2015’s award-winning educators at the Excellence in Teaching Reception</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div>They’ve engaged undergrads by&nbsp;breaking ground in the development of Massive Open Online Courses, technology-enhanced&nbsp;learning, inverted classrooms and more.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>And they've mentored and inspired students at every level, across faculties and divisions.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Vice-President and Provost <strong>Cheryl Regehr </strong>celebrated these pioneering educators&nbsp;at the second annual Excellence in Teaching reception on Nov. 3, welcoming recipients of diverse teaching awards&nbsp;from across the university’s disciplines.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“You find creative ways to transfer your passion for inquiry to the next generation of thinkers and problem solvers,” Regehr said. “You infuse our learning environment with energy and innovation that inspires your students and your colleagues. You exemplify the gift of outstanding teachers who help their students expand their horizons and discover new ways of thinking.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Regehr presented the four inaugural Early Career Teaching Awards to UTM biologist <strong>Fiona Rawle</strong>, UTM historian <strong>Kyle Smith</strong>, UTSC biologist <strong>Aarthi Ashok </strong>and astronomer <strong>Mike Reid</strong> from U of T’s downtown campus. <em>U of T News </em>recently profiled these award-winning early career faculty members whose work demonstrates an exceptional commitment to student learning.</div> <div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p><strong style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><img alt="portrait of Fiona Rawle" src="/sites/default/files/2015-11-03-Teaching-Awards_rawle.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; margin: 10px; float: left;"></strong><strong>FIONA RAWLE, BIOLOGY&nbsp;</strong>(associate professor, teaching stream,&nbsp;department of biology, UTM)</p> <p>“I was able to see how passionate and dedicated she is about eliminating academic barriers and improving student success,” said <strong>Ashna Khanna</strong>, a fourth-year student of biology for health sciences and psychology at U of T’s Mississauga campus, who met Rawle in her first-year class.</p> <p>“Over the years, I’ve gone to Professor Rawle for advice and encouragement. She mentored me and provided me with the confidence to take on challenges in my academic career that I never imagined possible.”&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-biologist-fiona-rawle">(Read Q&amp;A with Fiona Rawle)</a></p> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><img alt="portrait of Kyle Smith" src="/sites/default/files/2015-11-03-Teaching-Awards_7-smith.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; margin: 10px; float: left;"></strong><strong>KYLE SMITH, HISTORICAL STUDIES&nbsp;</strong>(assistant professor, department of historical studies, UTM)</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“His uniqueness in teaching is his ability to expand the material beyond the books,” said <strong>Hammad Khan</strong>, a sociology PhD and one of Smith’s former Christian history undergraduate students. “His use of pop&nbsp;culture, art, literature and material from other academic disciplines in topics of religion make his lessons insightful and fun.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-historian-kyle-smith">(Read Q&amp;A with Kyle Smith)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong><img alt="portrait of Reid" src="/sites/default/files/20151103_ExcellenceinTeachingAwardsReception_10-reid.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; margin: 10px; float: left;">MIKE REID, ASTRONOMY&nbsp;</strong>(lecturer, department of astronomy and astrophysics, Faculty of Arts &amp; Science)</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“Mike conveys the sort of enthusiasm you dream about from all teachers,” said<strong> Jesse Hildebrand</strong>, a recent U of T alumnus and founder of Science Literacy Week. “He shares many inspiring opportunities, such as looking through a telescope at the rings of Saturn. My favourite university experiences happened in his class.”&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-astronomer-mike-reid">(Read Q&amp;A with Mike Reid)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong><img alt="portrait of Ashok" src="/sites/default/files/2015-11-04-ashok-teaching-award-reception-crop.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; margin: 10px; float: left;">AARTHI ASHOK, BIOLOGY&nbsp;</strong>(associate professor, teaching stream,&nbsp;in the department of biological sciences at UTSC)</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“Professor Ashok promotes abstract thinking and inquiry by constantly reminding students that anything is possible in the field of science and that we have still much to uncover,” said <strong>Aarushi Bansal</strong>, a fourth-year human biology and psychology student who learned cell biology with Ashok.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-biologist-aarthi-ashok">(Read Q&amp;A with Aarthi Ashok)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Shafique Virani</strong>, Distinguished Professor of Islamic Studies at the Ƶ’s Mississauga campus and former winner of the President’s Teaching Award, said he nominated Kyle Smith for the Early Career Teaching Award.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Virani explained that as past chair of the department of historical studies, he sought to recruit faculty with a passion for teaching undergraduates. He worked with <strong>Carol Rolheiser</strong>, director of U of T’s Centre for Teaching Support &amp; Innovation, to develop a hiring process that would let teachers shine – this included a sample lecture to undergrads with student evaluations contributing to the final decision.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“That protocol helped bring in a number of amazing people, including Kyle Smith, who is a brilliant researcher as well as a brilliant teacher. And the two really shouldn’t be thought of as separate,” said Virani. “Kyle is such a great teacher because he’s able to communicate cutting-edge research endeavours he’s involved with to his undergraduates – and I think that excites students a lot.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><img alt="Reid, Rawle and Smith at reception" src="/sites/default/files/2015-11-03-Teaching-Awards_winners.jpg" style="width: 680px; height: 486px; margin: 10px;">“That connection between research and teaching is what sets U of T apart from many places,” he said. “For a professor to come in and let students know about the newest discoveries – What are things that we know now that we never knew before? – teachers like Kyle bring those questions to life because they’re involved in answering them right now.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Re-thinking and re-inventing the undergraduate experience is one of three priorities recently announced by Ƶ’s President <strong>Meric Gertler</strong>. <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/university-toronto-and-three-priorities">(Read more about the Three Priorities)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>His one-pager describing U of T’s refreshed approach to undergraduate education sets out the goals of preparing students effectively for lifelong success, demonstrating how teaching programs prepare students for successful careers and create larger social benefit, anticipating and leveraging recent developments in teaching and learning technologies and more.<a href="http://threepriorities.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Undergraduate-One-Pager.pdf"> (Read the one-pager)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/tags/undergraduate-education">Read more about transforming undergraduate education at U of T</a></h2> <div>Also recognized at the Excellence in Teaching reception were a diverse range of teaching-stream&nbsp;faculty, including winners of:</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <ul> <li>Faculty and divisional teaching awards</li> <li>University-wide awards</li> <li>Teaching awards from student groups</li> <li>Awards from external organizations (e.g., 3M Teaching Awards, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, etc.)</li> <li>Early Career Teaching Awards</li> </ul> <div>Regehr noted Gertler’s keynote remarks from the 2014 Teaching and Learning Symposium, where he spoke of many tens of thousands of students emerging from the classes, tutorials, libraries, labs and offices of U of T’s outstanding teachers “better prepared for a lifetime of learning.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“I want to thank you for being the pedagogical pioneers and innovators that make the Ƶ a fantastic place to learn,” concluded Regehr.</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-04-award-winning-teachers.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 04 Nov 2015 11:05:22 +0000 sgupta 7410 at Meet undergrad Frank Gu, one of the U of T interns lighting up Nanoleaf /news/meet-undergrad-frank-gu-one-u-t-interns-lighting-nanoleaf <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Meet undergrad Frank Gu, one of the U of T interns lighting up Nanoleaf</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-04T01:01:59-05:00" title="Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - 01:01" class="datetime">Wed, 11/04/2015 - 01:01</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Frank Gu says the energy at Nanoleaf shouts “We are going to do great things, so if you are ready, hop aboard!” (photo courtesy Blue Sky solar racing)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergrad" hreflang="en">Undergrad</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startup" hreflang="en">Startup</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/education" hreflang="en">Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/nanoleaf" hreflang="en">Nanoleaf</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/intern" hreflang="en">Intern</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/engineering" hreflang="en">Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/bbcie" hreflang="en">BBCIE</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Travelling to Shenzhen, China, the second-year Engineering student discovers he has no limits</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div>&nbsp;</div> <div>How does&nbsp;a second-year undergraduate student&nbsp;nab a coveted&nbsp;internship with a global lighting startup like Nanoleaf?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>It helps&nbsp;to offer critical thinking, creativity and boundless energy – but&nbsp;having the boss&nbsp;share your&nbsp;intellectually impressive hobby&nbsp;doesn't hurt.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>When Nanoleaf CEO <strong>Gimmy Chu</strong> met electrical and computer engineering student&nbsp;<strong>Frank Gu</strong>, he discovered that the young applicant was a member of U of T's Blue Sky Solar Racing Club. Chu had worked on the acclaimed Blue Sky&nbsp;car almost a decade earlier.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“Gimmy gave me an assignment to prove my capability for the intern position,” Gu says.&nbsp;“Then, Gimmy and I proceeded to talk about&nbsp;Blue Sky Solar Racing&nbsp;at U of T.”&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><em>U of T News</em>&nbsp;is profiling some of the interns helping to power&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nanoleaf.me/">Nanoleaf, an LED startup&nbsp;from U of T Engineering alumni</a>&nbsp;that recently announced a new product launch in partnership with Apple. (<a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/these-undergrad-interns-are-helping-power-nanoleaf-jeanny-yao-and-josh-hwang">Read about the fourth-year math and statistics undergrad and the science undergrad working for Nanoleaf</a>.)</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“The U of T presence is still very strong at Nanoleaf, and I believe it always will be,” says Nanoleaf spokesperson&nbsp;<strong>Leslie Chen</strong>. “When we were looking for interns to join our team, the first place we looked was at U of T.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>(<a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/nanoleaf-launches-new-product-apple-home-system">Read the latest news&nbsp;about Nanoleaf and Apple</a>)</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><em>U of T News</em>&nbsp;writer <strong>Brianna Goldberg</strong> spoke with Gu about his experiences at&nbsp;Nanoleaf, which he joined in early 2015.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <hr> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>How did Nanoleaf recruit you?</strong></div> </div> <div>I met the Nanoleaf team during the <a href="https://yourenext.ca/">You’re Next </a>startup career fair 2015. They had a booth in the lower level of the MaRS building, and a <em>very </em>bright light bulb for demonstration. I remember the first thought that flashed past my mind when I saw what they were doing: “MY EYES!” So that blinding experience was how the Nanoleaf people made their impression on me. <a href="http://alumni.engineering.utoronto.ca/news/youre-next-career-network-resource-alumni/">(Read more about the You're Next career fair)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>I did the standard routine of shaking some hands, taking a card, and dropping off a resume. After one day, no reply, not even a confirmation. One week, still nothing. Finally, I emailed <strong>Gimmy Chu</strong>, Nanoleaf's CEO, and he got back to me pretty quickly wanting to schedule a meeting to chat. We spoke briefly about some current technological trends. Gimmy gave me an assignment to prove my capability for the intern position. Then, Gimmy and I proceeded to talk about&nbsp;Blue Sky Solar Racing&nbsp;at U of T. Gimmy also worked on the Blue Sky&nbsp;car almost a decade ago, and I am an active team member of the&nbsp;Blue Sky team.&nbsp;I guess that’s how Nanoleaf recruited me!&nbsp;<a href="http://www.blueskysolar.utoronto.ca/">(Read more about Blue Sky Solar Racing at U of T)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Why did you want to work with them?</strong></div> <div>At first I just wanted a job for some additional learning experience and a challenge. But after meeting with Gimmy, I was immediately attracted to Nanoleaf. Of all the CEOs/managers/bosses that I have dealt with in the past, I can confidently say that Gimmy is the most “chill” (excuse my slang). At the time, I was merely a frosh in school for only half a year. Gimmy did not seem to mind.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>He was interested in two things: what I can offer, and what I want to obtain from working with Nanoleaf. It is almost a feeling of urgency, a liveliness that shouts, “We are going to do great things, so if you are ready, hop aboard!”&nbsp;I think it’s this energy that drew me to them, and it’s because of this energy that I am staying with them. The first day at work, I stayed till 8 p.m. because I felt like I was finally in a place I belonged.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Does your work at Nanoleaf connect with or supplement what you’ve learned at U of T?</strong></div> <div>The projects I work on at Nanoleaf give me an opportunity to convert theoretical knowledge obtained in the classrooms into real applications that serve real purposes. Specifically, the project management and strategies I learned in my&nbsp;Engineering Strategies and Practice course were used heavily during the discussion and design of a solution at Nanoleaf. Computer Fundamentals taught the basics of the C/C++ programming language, and writing kernel drivers at Nanoleaf allowed me to apply this&nbsp;abstract knowledge. These are some aspects that connect directly with my courses.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>I believe university is also a place to learn how to socialize and form new connections and friendships. Beyond the scope of courses at U of T, working at Nanoleaf has exposed me to an exciting cross section of different social groups in our society: programmers, PhDs, electrical engineers, artists, writers, marketing and strategists. As a surprise, during my stay in the Shenzhen office, I was also offered the opportunity to visit Nanoleaf’s production facility, providing me with a rich first-hand experience of the modern electronics manufacturing industry.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>So yes, I would say working at Nanoleaf complements my academic and social pursuit at U of T greatly!</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What have you learned in working with Nanoleaf that surprised you?</strong></div> <div>Your “limit” is where you define it to be.&nbsp;When I first started working at Nanoleaf, I had only a preliminary knowledge of the programming languages used:&nbsp;C, Javascript and&nbsp;Swift. However, Gimmy let me begin with a highly experimental project that involved networking, servers, databases, cloud architectures, and whatever other jargon that’s out there in the industry. I took it up as a challenge. A month into the project, and I was already comfortable with the technologies involved. Two months in, I began cooperating with the rest of the team in the main program development. By May, I was patching up kernel drivers (advanced development) with guidance from Tom.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>At Nanoleaf, I was surprised by my “limit.”&nbsp;I have no limit. We all have no limits. If I take something as a challenge, I can always push myself ever harder and further to accomplish it no matter how daunting the task. The key is to always believe in yourself&nbsp;and acknowledge that you can be your own greatest enemy.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/">Interested in entrepreneurship and startups at U of T? Visit the Banting &amp; Best Centre for Innovation &amp; Entrepreneurship&nbsp;</a></h2> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-26-nanoleaf-frank-2.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 04 Nov 2015 06:01:59 +0000 sgupta 7388 at These undergrad interns are helping to power Nanoleaf: Jeanny Yao and Josh Hwang /news/these-undergrad-interns-are-helping-power-nanoleaf-jeanny-yao-and-josh-hwang <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">These undergrad interns are helping to power Nanoleaf: Jeanny Yao and Josh Hwang</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-02T05:59:15-05:00" title="Monday, November 2, 2015 - 05:59" class="datetime">Mon, 11/02/2015 - 05:59</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(image courtesy Nanoleaf)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/nanoleaf" hreflang="en">Nanoleaf</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-education" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergrad" hreflang="en">Undergrad</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/math" hreflang="en">Math</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/lighting" hreflang="en">Lighting</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/engineering" hreflang="en">Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/bbcie" hreflang="en">BBCIE</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Why would a fast-growing LED lighting startup&nbsp;hire a statistician and a scientist as business development interns?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Nanoleaf – a global startup from U of T Engineering alumni&nbsp;–&nbsp;says it was for their&nbsp;different perspective&nbsp;and critical mindset.<a href="http://www.nanoleaf.me/"> (Read more about Nanoleaf)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“The U of T presence is still very strong at Nanoleaf, and I believe it always will be,” said spokesperson&nbsp;<strong>Leslie Chen</strong>. “When we were looking for interns to join our team, the first place we looked was at U of T.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The interns,&nbsp;who hooked into Nanoleaf's team through a specialized new venture internship course called<a href="http://www.impactcentre.ca/undergraduate/imc390"> IMC390</a>, get to earn course credits while exploding all conventions of what they can do with their degree.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/nanoleaf-launches-new-product-apple-home-system">Read more about Nanoleaf on U of T News&nbsp;</a></h2> <div><em>U of T News</em> is profiling some of the&nbsp;interns helping to power the company as it continues to innovate with clean tech products in Canada and around the world. Below,&nbsp;writer <strong>Brianna Goldberg</strong> talks with&nbsp;<strong>Jeanny Yao</strong>,&nbsp;a fourth-year science student at U of T’s Scarborough campus and&nbsp;<strong>Josh Hwang</strong>,&nbsp;a fourth-year mathematics and statistics student who just began working with Nanoleaf this September.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <hr> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>How did Nanoleaf recruit you and why did you want to work with them?</strong></div> <div><strong>Yao</strong> IMC390 is a venture course that allows students to work in a startup company for eight months, gaining entrepreneurship experience as well as university credits. I recently co-founded a biotechnology company that aims&nbsp;to save the oceans&nbsp;so I was very excited about this business learning opportunity. Nanoleaf particularly caught my eye because of their belief in green technology and sustainable energy, which perfectly align with my values and interests. <a href="http://www.impactcentre.ca/undergraduate/imc390">(Read more about IMC390)</a></div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Hwang</strong> I applied for an internship at Nanoleaf through the Impact Centre at U of T<a href="http://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/"> (read more about the Impact Centre and the vast network of accelerators and startup supports at U of T)</a>. I thought this was a great way for me to gain new experiences and learn outside of the classroom while earning one course credit. The IMC390 course allows students to gain work experiences with a startup while in school and I’m fortunate to be able to contribute to the business development of such a cool green-tech company.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Does your work at Nanoleaf connect with or supplement what you’ve learned at U of T?</strong></div> <div><strong>Yao</strong> Indirectly, yes. I am a science student a U of T. My role at Nanoleaf is in business development. The two may not seem connected&nbsp;but definitely complement one another. The technical side of an idea or research project is essential but there are countless number of technicalities that could keep a person occupied. To be able to bring this research to the real world, there must be an appropriate market fit and strategic plan. I believe in the importance of academic research for fundamental understanding of how the world functions but I also believe that application is the key to bringing benefit to society through science.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Hwang</strong> My work at Nanoleaf as a business development intern is quite different from my studies in mathematics and statistics at U of T, but I’m able to supplement my hard skills with varied soft skills. I haven’t had any experiences with group work at university, but my work at Nanoleaf allows me to work in a team and interact with many different people, such as potential clients, and further develop my people skills.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What have you learned in working with Nanoleaf that surprised you?</strong></div> <div><strong>Yao</strong> Everyone is extremely intense and passionate about his/her work but the setting is quite casual and the atmosphere is friendly. When physical and laborious work needs to be done fast, everyone gets on the ground and helps out.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Hwang</strong> As an intern, I expected I would have to give a lot to the company, but the company is also interested in helping the interns learn and grow, and make the most out of the internship. Everyone at Nanoleaf is very friendly and supportive, and the managers have been invested in my personal growth as well.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/">Interested in learning more about startups and entrepreneurship at U of T? Visit the Banting &amp; Best Centre for Innovation &amp; Entrepreneurship</a></h2> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HCFg5n1JI2M" width="640"></iframe></p> <p><em><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nanoleaf-smarter-kit-lights-you-control-with-siri#/">(Video courtesy Nanoleaf's Smarter Kit Indiegogo)</a></em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-27-nanoleaf-interns-1_0.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 02 Nov 2015 10:59:15 +0000 sgupta 7387 at Early Career Teaching Award spotlight: Q & A with biologist Aarthi Ashok /news/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-biologist-aarthi-ashok <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Early Career Teaching Award spotlight: Q &amp; A with biologist Aarthi Ashok</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-02T05:08:27-05:00" title="Monday, November 2, 2015 - 05:08" class="datetime">Mon, 11/02/2015 - 05:08</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Peer discussions can provide students with an authentic experience of how ideas and findings are debated within the scientific community," says Ashok.</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/our-faculty-staff" hreflang="en">Our Faculty &amp; Staff</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-education" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/teaching" hreflang="en">Teaching</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/biology" hreflang="en">Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/awards" hreflang="en">Awards</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Heated in-class student debates may seem the territory of political science classes&nbsp;but they’re just as crucial to communicating the how’s and why’s of cell biology, says&nbsp;<strong>Aarthi Ashok</strong>.</p> <p>Ashok is an associate professor, teaching stream,&nbsp;in the department of biological sciences at U of T’s Scarborough campus.</p> <div>“Professor Ashok promotes abstract thinking and inquiry by constantly reminding students that anything is possible in the field of science and that we have still much to uncover,” said <strong>Aarushi Bansal</strong>, a fourth-year human biology and psychology student who learned cell biology with Ashok.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“Her ability to break down and convey information regarding various topics in biology, and explain them in accordance with my level and background was exceptionally valuable, as she was able to simplify complex ideas through analogies and questions.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Ashok is one of four teaching leaders receiving the first-ever Ƶ Early Career Teaching Awards this year. They are:</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Aarthi Ashok</strong>, associate professor, teaching stream, department of biological sciences, UTSC</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-biologist-fiona-rawle"><strong>Fiona Rawle</strong></a>, associate professor, teaching stream,&nbsp;department of biology, UTM</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-astronomer-mike-reid"><strong>Michael Reid</strong></a>, lecturer, department of astronomy and astrophysics, Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-historian-kyle-smith"><strong>Kyle Smith</strong></a>, assistant professor, department of historical studies, UTM</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>This is the fourth and final instalment of the <em>U of T News </em>series profiling&nbsp;each of the winners (read about <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-biologist-fiona-rawle">biologist Fiona Rawle</a>; <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-astronomer-mike-reid">read about astronomer Mike Reid</a>; <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-historian-kyle-smith">read about historian Kyle Smith</a>). They are set to receive their certificates at the Ƶ Excellence in Teaching Reception on Nov. 3 from 5:00pm-7:00pm in the Common Room at Massey College.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <hr> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What drew you to teaching?</strong></div> </div> <div>The opportunity to continually learn with my students about the ever-evolving field of biology.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What do you love most about it?</strong></div> <div>The chance to inspire and connect with my students through in-class activities. I design interactive discussions and activities to spark dialogue with my students in all my courses. Eventually, even some of the most reticent students join the conversation.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>One particularly introverted student once told me at the end of the term – and this is of course paraphrased from what I recollect – something like, “I thought you were nuts trying to get us to talk to you, act out cell biology, and discuss ethical dilemmas. I just wanted you to get on with the class. But you seemed to really want to hear what we had to say and I eventually started talking to people around me. Now, at the end of the term, I want to talk in all my courses. I remember what you teach in the class if I have the chance to think and discuss it while I’m learning.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>I believe peer discussions can provide students with an authentic experience of how ideas and findings are debated within the scientific community. Modeling this in my classes, however imperfect my technique, is what I really love to do!</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>How would you describe your teaching style?</strong></div> <div>My classrooms are spaces for mutual learning. I strive to create an atmosphere where learning is a group activity from which I am not exempt. My philosophy is firmly rooted in active, participatory learning through discussion.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Why is integrating research and teaching important?</strong></div> <div>In order to nurture students to have a lifelong appreciation of biology, I believe we need to ensure the biology they learn in class has significant implications for the societal or personal problems they encounter every day. My students appreciate their ability to evaluate scientific evidence in making personal life decisions about vaccinations, health treatments or even political stances (when scientific funding or concerns are part of political platforms).</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Students learn how to evaluate evidence through the scientific process: proposing hypotheses, experimenting, rigorously analysing data and describing conclusions as evidence that supports or negates the original hypotheses.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Engaging students in original research at the bench or engaging them with active discussions of recent scientific findings in literature are both key to developing necessary scientific and critical thinking skills. I believe that by integrating research and teaching we make students part of the scientific community. It helps them learn how to think critically about the best approach to address future problems. It also helps them develop a positive attitude towards scientific research in general.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>I continually incorporate research data and findings into my teaching materials&nbsp;as well, and continue to approach teaching with the same sense of inquiry I acquired through my scientific training.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What have you learned from your students?</strong></div> <div>I’ve learned a great deal! First, I’ve learned to listen and evolve. My courses have often morphed into much better versions of the original when I do my best to consider student opinions and provide them with opportunities for feedback in my courses.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>My students have also helped me appreciate the human connection to learning. Showing students I genuinely care about their learning, and that I believe they can meet the high standards of a course, can have a big impact.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>I will never forget the time I had a face-to-face meeting with a student to communicate that I was concerned about her performance on assessments and was deeply concerned about her learning experience. The student’s sullen expression broke into a smile as she said “You care? Really?” I won’t credit my one private interaction with this student as the sole reason for a grade change from a D to a B+ in the course, but I’ll certainly hold on to the message that communicating genuine concern for individuals, and expressing a firm belief in their potential, is exceedingly important!</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Why have you chosen to teach at U of T?</strong></div> <div>My colleagues at U of T are amazing educators and researchers. And, while I am excited to be part of this community, what I enjoy most about teaching at U of T is the challenge and exhilaration that comes from guiding our outstanding students.</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-02-ashok-teaching-award.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 02 Nov 2015 10:08:27 +0000 sgupta 7402 at Macleans 2015 University Rankings: U of T tops in reputation, research output and impact and faculty awards /news/macleans-2015-university-rankings-u-t-tops-reputation-research-output-and-impact-and-faculty-awards <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Macleans 2015 University Rankings: U of T tops in reputation, research output and impact and faculty awards</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-29T14:41:25-04:00" title="Thursday, October 29, 2015 - 14:41" class="datetime">Thu, 10/29/2015 - 14:41</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rankings-2015" hreflang="en">Rankings 2015</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rankings" hreflang="en">Rankings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/macleans" hreflang="en">Macleans</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/education" hreflang="en">Education</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><em>Macleans</em> magazine released its 2015 university rankings on Oct. 28, placing&nbsp;U of T first in such categories as Faculty Awards, Reputation, Medical/Science Research Grants, Citations and&nbsp;Total Research Dollars.&nbsp;</p> <p>The magazine groups universities into three categories: medical/doctoral (for&nbsp;institutions hosting a broad range of PhD programs, research and medical schools); primarily undergraduate and comprehensive. In the category of medical/doctoral, Macleans ranked&nbsp;the top three universities in Canada as&nbsp;McGill, U of T and UBC.&nbsp;</p> <p>Macleans ranked U of T #1 for reputation (followed by UBC and McGill) across all categories of universities,&nbsp;based on its&nbsp;survey of business people, high school guidance counsellors and university faculty and senior administrators across the country. Respondents were asked to assess&nbsp;universities' reputation for&nbsp;innovation, quality and&nbsp;“leaders of tomorrow”.</p> <p>“The specific results for U of T are in the same range as results from previous years,” said <strong>Marny Scully</strong>, assistant vice-president, government, institutional and community relations. “In the most prestigious international rankings from this year – Times Higher Education, National Taiwan University, Shanghai and US News &amp; World – the Ƶ placed first in Canada in each ranking and between third and 25th in the world, again consistent with previous years.”</p> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/tags/rankings">Read more about U of T and international rankings&nbsp;</a></h2> <p>The <em>Macleans</em> methodology differs from the global rankings in that it highly weights input measures (such as financial investment) rather than output or impact measures (such as citations), Scully said. She added that it also differs in its focus on undergraduates rather than a more complete view that includes graduate metrics.</p> <p>Despite these methodological limits, Scully said <em>Macleans</em>’ latest ranking includes a new metric on research impact. &nbsp;</p> <p>“For the first time, a citations metric has been added that measures research output and impact. While this is a positive change, the new metric is still one measure out of 14 used by <em>Macleans</em>.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-29-rankings-macleans-sized.jpg</div> </div> Thu, 29 Oct 2015 18:41:25 +0000 sgupta 7393 at Early Career Teaching Award spotlight: Q & A with historian Kyle Smith /news/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-historian-kyle-smith <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Early Career Teaching Award spotlight: Q &amp; A with historian Kyle Smith</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-28T07:56:56-04:00" title="Wednesday, October 28, 2015 - 07:56" class="datetime">Wed, 10/28/2015 - 07:56</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">“There is little use in knowing every plot twist of a given text if one has no knowledge of the interpretive strategies at work, no idea of how to read the text within a larger rhetorical agenda, and no way of situating the text within a broader historica</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/our-faculty-staff" hreflang="en">Our Faculty &amp; Staff</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utm" hreflang="en">UTM</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-education" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergrad" hreflang="en">Undergrad</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/teaching" hreflang="en">Teaching</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/religion" hreflang="en">Religion</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/awards" hreflang="en">Awards</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Facilitating self-directed learning and analysis, helping students see material from a different angle</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div>Teaching analysis of reality TV alongside early Christian religion is one of the many ways assistant professor <strong>Kyle Smith</strong>&nbsp;of historical studies&nbsp;engages his students at U of T’s Mississauga campus.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“His uniqueness in teaching is his ability to expand the material beyond the books,” said <strong>Hammad Khan</strong>, a sociology PhD and one of Smith’s former Christian history undergraduate students. “His use of pop-culture, art, literature and material from other academic disciplines in&nbsp;topics of religion make his lessons insightful and fun.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Khan said Smith&nbsp;“teaches with clarity and challenges his students to think critically” and&nbsp;inspired him to pursue a&nbsp;career in teaching.&nbsp;“His influence gave me the direction and motivation I needed in my own life.”&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Smith is one of four teaching leaders receiving the first-ever Ƶ Early Career Teaching Awards this year. They are:</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-biologist-aarthi-ashok"><strong>Aarthi Ashok</strong>, associate professor, teaching stream, department of biological sciences, UTSC</a></div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-biologist-fiona-rawle"><strong>Fiona Rawle</strong>, associate professor, teaching stream, department of biology, UTM</a></div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-astronomer-mike-reid"><strong>Michael Reid</strong>, lecturer, department of astronomy and astrophysics, Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div><strong>Kyle Smith</strong>, assistant professor, department of historical studies, UTM</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>This is the third instalment of<em>&nbsp;</em>the<em> U of T News</em>&nbsp;series of profiles on&nbsp;each of the winners (<a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-biologist-fiona-rawle">read about biologist Fiona Rawle</a>; <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/early-career-teaching-award-spotlight-q-astronomer-mike-reid">read about astronomer Mike Reid</a>.)&nbsp;They are set to receive their certificates at the Ƶ Excellence in Teaching Reception on Nov.&nbsp;3&nbsp;from 5:00pm-7:00pm in the Common Room at Massey College.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <hr> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What drew you to teaching?</strong></div> <div>I didn't know too many academics when I was growing up but there was one father of a neighborhood friend who was influential. He was a law professor at the University of Kentucky. He had this very quiet and pensive demeanour. Unlike a lot of parents, he never told us anything. He'd just question us all the time and lead us to think about our own thinking.</div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>For some reason, the trappings of an antiquarian academic life were also exotically appealing to me as an eleven-year old. My friend's father embodied all the old-fashioned, Oxbridge stereotypes of the university professor: he wore jackets with elbow patches; he rode a creaky bicycle to campus (years before bike-commuting was “green” or fashionable); his book- lined study smelled of old wood, pipe tobacco, and bourbon; and he rarely had any idea where he had left his keys. That seemed like an intriguing life to me, although it's far from the one I lead now!</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Later on, when I was in high school, I spent a lot of time at Korean Zen Buddhist monastery in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky. I'd drive there and camp out on their land for the weekend and spend most of the time reading rather than meditating in the zendo at 4 AM. That was very influential, too. I already knew that I wanted to study philosophy in university and, hopefully, become a professor someday, but those trips to the monastery confirmed it.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Why is integrating research and teaching important?</strong></div> <div>Although my research is focused mainly on Christian martyrdom literature from late antiquity, my teaching is not located solely in antiquity.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>No matter what course I am teaching, I make a point of explaining how religious studies can be broadly important and applicable beyond seemingly discrete corners of abstruse research. For this reason, I am committed to integrating instruction in methodological approaches to religious studies alongside the primary material on which a course is based. My hope is that students do not passively receive the history of Christianity as an amusing catalog of dead antiquities, but actively engage it as a living object of inquiry with contemporary relevance.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>My principal goal is to lay a foundation of primary material that orients students to a field of study. Upon that foundation, I seek to build a framework of analysis upon which students can rely to evaluate and synthesize the material they have learned. There is little use in knowing every plot twist of a given text if one has no knowledge of the interpretive strategies at work, no idea of how to read the text within a larger rhetorical agenda, and no way of situating the text within a broader historical context.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Uniting methodological instruction with primary material helps build direct and indirect links to a larger curriculum of study and the interstices between courses where the truest learning often occurs.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>I can recall my own experience as an undergraduate in this regard: a course I took on The Brothers Karamazov came alive through a course on early modern philosophy that I was taking simultaneously. I intentionally design my syllabi along thematic and comparative lines to help facilitate this same sort of self-directed learning and analysis among my students. I often pair ancient texts with secondary sources that examine the thought-world of the primary texts, but then I integrate tertiary sources that may be temporally, culturally, or religiously distinct from the world of the primary sources. Introducing this third component is not intended as a way of making a blithe comparison, but rather of seeing the primary material anew and from a very different angle.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>For example, in my seminar on early Christian asceticism we spend one session discussing the literary re-fashioning of female bodies that occurs in late ancient accounts of “harlots” who become holy women. Our primary sources are Greek and Latin hagiographical texts; our secondary sources are gender theory readings of these ancient texts; and our tertiary source is a chapter about the construction of female gender normativity from a recent study of “makeover” reality TV.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>This approach allows students to use the primary sources to become familiar with the ancient texts themselves, the secondary sources to understand the primary texts more fully, and the tertiary sources to go beyond (and yet return to) both the primary and secondary sources to ask, in this case, fresh questions about gendered discourses in the late ancient Mediterranean world as well as twenty-first-century America and Canada.</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-16-teachings-awards-smith.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 28 Oct 2015 11:56:56 +0000 sgupta 7365 at Nanoleaf launches new product for Apple home system /news/nanoleaf-launches-new-product-apple-home-system <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Nanoleaf launches new product for Apple home system</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-27T12:25:27-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - 12:25" class="datetime">Tue, 10/27/2015 - 12:25</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The Nanoleaf Ivy bulb (hanging) and hub (on table) work in connection with Apple HomeKit</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startup" hreflang="en">Startup</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/nanoleaf" hreflang="en">Nanoleaf</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/lighting" hreflang="en">Lighting</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/led" hreflang="en">LED</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/engineering" hreflang="en">Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/bbcie" hreflang="en">BBCIE</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/apple" hreflang="en">Apple</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Siri lets users wirelessly control alumni’s award-winning super-efficient LED bulbs </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Nanoleaf, the&nbsp;fast-growing startup from Ƶ alumni, launched a new product Oct. 27 tied to Apple's&nbsp;HomeKit line.</p> <p>“We've received Apple's approval to join the HomeKit ecosystem,” said Nanoleaf spokesperson <strong>Leslie Chen</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <div>The Nanoleaf Smarter Kit combines “the world’s most energy efficient smart bulb” and a stylish, connected hub with Apple’s Siri-enabled HomeKit, Chen said. This&nbsp;will allow&nbsp;users to wirelessly control the startup’s award-winning LED bulb designs by simply using their voice.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nanoleaf.me/">(Read more about Nanoleaf and the new Nanoleaf Smarter Kit)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“With the emergence of smart home products, lighting is entering a whole new territory,” said Chen,<strong>&nbsp;</strong>one of a&nbsp;growing number of recent U of T grads&nbsp;recruited to&nbsp;Nanoleaf.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <div><img alt="image of ivy bulb" src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-26-nanoleaf-main-ivy-embed.jpg" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; width: 232px; height: 300px; margin: 10px; float: left;">“Imagine sitting in the living room and being able to control all of the lights in your home with just a few words,” she said. “Pretty revolutionary to say the least!”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Chen said the Ivy is an app-controlled bulb that users can turn on, off and dim using their Apple phone, tablet or smart watch. The Nanoleaf Smarter Kit&nbsp;is set for release in selected Best Buy locations in early November, she added, with&nbsp;more details still to come.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“Integrating technology like this, especially through a company as famed as Apple, is a great way to reach a wider audience and get access to a new market,” said <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/meet-karen-sievewright-managing-director-u-t-new-entrepreneurship-hub"><strong>Karen Sievewright</strong></a>, managing director of U of T's <a href="http://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/">Banting &amp; Best Centre for Innovation &amp; Entrepreneurship</a>. “It’s a smart move by Nanoleaf.”</div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The green tech startup founded by Engineering alumni <strong>Gimmy Chu</strong>, <strong>Christian Yan</strong> and <strong>Tom Rodinger</strong> has grown from a massively successful Kickstarter project in early 2013, based on the strength of their stylish “world’s most energy efficient” bulb, to a bustling company with approximately 40 employees spread between its Toronto and Shenzhen, China, offices.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The venture recently scored funding from ‘Asia’s richest philanthropist,’ debuted&nbsp;products at fairs in New York, Shanghai and Tokyo and won a reddot design award for 2015.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/fiat-lux-alumni-launch-nanolight">Read about Nanoleaf’s Kickstarter surpassing its goal by 500 per cent</a></div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/asia-richest-philanthropist-major-silicon-valley-firm-invest-alumni-nanoleaf-light-bulb">Read about ‘Asia’s richest philanthropist’ investing in Nanoleaf</a></div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/alumni-startup-nanoleaf-creating-green-jobs-toronto-china">Read about Nanoleaf creating green jobs in Canada and China</a></div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/new-dimming-bulb-does-not-need-special-light-switch-and-is-still-world-most-energy-efficient">Read about Nanoleaf’s revolutionary dimming bulb</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Chen says the next big step for Nanoleaf will be releasing a product they believe will change the way people think about lighting.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><img alt="image of bulbs and hub" src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-26-nanoleaf-main-ivy-embed-2.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 434px; margin: 10px; float: right;"></div> <div>“Light is not merely illumination. Light is atmosphere, it wakes you up after a night of sleep, it keeps us safe and content, just as much today as two million years ago,” said Chu, CEO of Nanoleaf. “We want to make products that will transform simple lighting solutions into meaningful experiences.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Nanoleaf made the announcement as U of T's Impact Centre prepared to host a&nbsp;symposium celebrating the International Year of Light. <a href="http://www.impactcentre.ca/light2015">(Read more about the IYL Symposium)</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Chen says the gains of Nanoleaf rely on the team members they continue to recruit from U of T.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“The U of T presence is still very strong at Nanoleaf, and I believe it always will be,” said Chen. “When we were looking for interns to join our team, the first place we looked was at U of T.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Watch for <em>U of T News</em>&nbsp;stories profiling Nanoleaf's three undergrad interns, <strong>Jeanny Yao</strong>, <strong>Frank Gu</strong>&nbsp;and<strong> Josh Hwang</strong>&nbsp;in the coming week.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“Nanoleaf will always be very closely connected with U of T: our three founders are all alumni and without the school, they would have never met in the first place,” said Chen.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“It will always be part of our identity and I think that’s why U of T grads are a good fit for us.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HCFg5n1JI2M" width="640"></iframe></p> <p><em><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nanoleaf-smarter-kit-lights-you-control-with-siri#/">(Video courtesy Nanoleaf's Smarter Kit Indiegogo)</a></em></p> <h2><a href="http://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/">Learn more about entrepreneurships and startups at U of T:&nbsp;visit the Banting &amp; Best Centre for Entrepreneurship.</a></h2> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-26-nanoleaf-main-lead.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:25:27 +0000 sgupta 7386 at These eight U of T undergrads were invited to Dublin thanks to their research: global Undergraduate Awards /news/these-eight-u-t-undergrads-were-invited-dublin-thanks-their-research-global-undergraduate-awards <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">These eight U of T undergrads were invited to Dublin thanks to their research: global Undergraduate Awards</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-27T10:47:14-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - 10:47" class="datetime">Tue, 10/27/2015 - 10:47</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"> Misha Boutilier, Roshaan Wasim, Dominic Liao-McPherson, Tim Liu, Raghav Singal, Winnie Lieu, Ira Halpern and Dean McHugh)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-education" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dublin" hreflang="en">Dublin</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/awards" hreflang="en">Awards</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Papers explored fuel savings in space, mindfulness and the student experience, pacemaker tech and more</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>As U of T undergrads, their research explored such diverse topics as the properties of things, fuel-efficient satellites, the role of&nbsp;botany in <em>The Faerie Queene</em> and&nbsp;improved&nbsp;cancer tests.&nbsp;</p> <div>Their papers, written during&nbsp;their final years of undergraduate study at U of T,&nbsp;were so impressive they made the&nbsp;Highly Commended list at this year’s Undergraduate Awards –&nbsp;the international competition for&nbsp;top students from around the world.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>To make that&nbsp;list and receive an invitation to the awards’&nbsp;Global Summit in Dublin starting Nov.&nbsp;10,&nbsp;a student's academic paper or research must be ranked in the top 10 per cent of more than 5,000 submissions. The competition is open to students in their final or penultimate year of studies, which means U of T's eight participants are already alumni.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Over the years, U of T students have regularly numbered among this elite group. <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/nine-u-t-students-invited-dublin-undergraduate-awards">(Read more about previous Highly Commended U of T alumni)&nbsp;</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>This year’s finalists and their categories are:</div> <div><strong>Raghav Singal</strong> - Engineering and Built Environment</div> <div><strong>Dominic Liao-McPherson</strong> - Engineering and Built Environment</div> <div><strong>Xiyu [Tim] Liu</strong> - Engineering and Built Environment</div> <div><strong>Misha Boutilier </strong>- History</div> <div><strong>Ira Halpern</strong> - Literature Pre-1710</div> <div><strong>Roshaan Wasim</strong> - Literature Pre-1710 &amp; Literature 1710-Present</div> <div><strong>Dean McHugh</strong> - Philosophy &amp; Theology</div> <div><strong>Winnie Lieu</strong> - Psychology</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><em>U of T News</em> profiled all of this year’s Highly Commended alumni in a series on the Undergraduate Awards. Below is a wrap-up of all participants.</div> <h2>&nbsp;</h2> <hr> <h2>&nbsp;</h2> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/cancer-research-student-mindfulness-global-undergraduate-awards-recognizes-u-t-alumni"><strong>RAGHAV SINGAL &amp; WINNIE LIEU<img alt src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-06-undergrad-awards-1.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: right;"></strong></a></h2> <p>The series began with a look at Raghav Singal's improved model for cancer scanning&nbsp;and Winnie Lieu's&nbsp;work on psychology and student mindfulness.</p> <div><em><strong>Singal</strong>&nbsp;(right)&nbsp;“I believe in making the world a better place, and cancer is one of the biggest problems faced by us.”</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><em><strong>Lieu</strong>&nbsp;(left) “I wanted to see what research had been done on mindfulness in higher education settings, given that mindfulness has been gaining momentum in university campuses as a method to better address student mental health needs.”</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/cancer-research-student-mindfulness-global-undergraduate-awards-recognizes-u-t-alumni">Read about Singal and Lieu</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <hr> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/philosophical-theory-faerie-queene-botany-u-t-alumni-recognized-global-undergraduate-awards">IRA HALPERN &amp; DEAN MCHUGH<img alt src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-06-undergrad-awards-2.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: right;"></a></h2> <p>Next, <em>U of T News</em> spoke with Ira Halpern about his paper on botany in the Faerie Queene, and with Dean McHugh about his paper on tropes and properties in philosophy.</p> </div> <div><em><strong>Halpern</strong>&nbsp;(right) “I found that botanical imagery served as a way of accessing themes in The Faerie Queene such as decay, the transience of pleasure, and death – great stuff for an English specialist.”</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><em><strong>McHugh</strong>&nbsp;(left) “Some philosophers talk about properties as abstract things (red-ness or atom-ness, for example) existing above and beyond the physical world. But I think that’s a bit too mystical. Theory should strive to be grounded in concrete reality.”</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/philosophical-theory-faerie-queene-botany-u-t-alumni-recognized-global-undergraduate-awards">Read about Halpern and McHugh</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <hr> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/post-apocalyptic-life-and-medieval-plays-alumna-recognized-twice-global-undergraduate-awards">ROSHAAN WASIM<img alt src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-13-undergraduate-awards-roshaan-wasim-double-win.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: right;"></a></h2> <p>Roshaan Wasim’s work research was recognized twice by the awards, once for her work on medieval plays and again for an exploration of post-apocalyptic literature.</p> </div> <div><em><strong>Wasim</strong> “I became interested in [post-apocalyptic literature] after reading about several landmark legal cases in which judges around the world stopped deforestation projects by specifically citing the right of future generations to survive in centuries to come.”</em></div> <p><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/post-apocalyptic-life-and-medieval-plays-alumna-recognized-twice-global-undergraduate-awards">Read about Wasim and her research</a></p> <div> <hr> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/us-foreign-policy-and-responsibility-protect-u-t-alumnus-recognized-global-undergraduate-awards">MISHA BOUTILIER <img alt src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-14-undergraduate-awards-boutilier.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: right;"></a></h2> <p>Misha Boutilier, commended for his work on foreign policy, roundly thanked U of T supporters including <strong>Tina Park</strong>, <strong>Mairi MacDonald</strong>, <strong>Robert Bothwell</strong> and colleagues from his work with the university’s Canadian Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.</p> </div> <div><em><strong>Boutilier</strong> “By exploring misperceptions that led to [U.S. involvement with the 1971 India/Pakistan crisis], the essay may shed light on other cases in which great powers support states actively committing mass atrocities for strategic reasons.”</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/us-foreign-policy-and-responsibility-protect-u-t-alumnus-recognized-global-undergraduate-awards">Read about Boutilier and his research</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <hr> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/satellites-and-body-implanted-electronics-u-t-alumni-recognized-global-undergraduate-awards">DOMINIC LIAO-MCPHERSON &amp; TIM LIU</a><img alt src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-19-liaomcpherson-liu-undergraduate-awards.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: right;"></h2> <p>The Undergraduate Awards series wrapped with a look at Dominic Liao-McPherson’s research on satellites and Tim Liu’s work on body-implanted electronic devices.</p> </div> <div><em><strong>Liao-McPherson</strong>&nbsp;(left) “Unfortunately, it costs fuel to keep spacecraft in a desired orbit. So we looked at ways of reducing the amount of fuel needed by taking advantage of forces caused by the Earth’s magnetic field. The control strategies to accomplish this were the main focus of my research.”</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><em><strong>Liu</strong>&nbsp;(right) “As a biomedical systems engineer, I am extremely passionate about bringing these implantable devices to life and providing new treatment options for those in need.”</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/satellites-and-body-implanted-electronics-u-t-alumni-recognized-global-undergraduate-awards">Read about Liu and Liao-McPherson</a></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <hr> <div>&nbsp;</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-22-undergraduate-awards-wrap-up.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 27 Oct 2015 14:47:14 +0000 sgupta 7376 at