Kiruthika Baskaran, Yucca Albano, Douglas Kneale, Victoria O’Beid, Taylor Bendig, and Dora Cavallo-Medved celebrate the new student resource centre, the USci Network.
The Faculty of Science unveiled a newly-remodeled home for the USci Network, a student resource centre that is devoted to supporting and enriching the undergraduate science experience, on September 29, in Essex Hall.
Biology professor and USci Network director Dora Cavallo-Medved says the dedicated space is a comfortable, versatile area that houses both the resources needed to prepare students for academic success, as well as a place to carry out extracurricular activities in science. It allows students to connect with graduate students and faculty in leading student-centred science initiatives.
“The USci Network is a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach to improving learning resources and opportunities available to students in the sciences, while encouraging both student and faculty engagement within this dedicated resource space,” says Dr. Cavallo-Medved. “The goal is to enrich the overall student experience and success in science.”
Second-year health and biomedical student Victoria O’Beid works within the network on science career workshops and says the network reminds science students that they all matter.
“It is a welcoming space that is open to all students and the ideas they have to offer,” says O’Beid. “I am excited to see the space grow into its fullest potential.”
Provost Douglas Kneale says he is impressed with the resources.
“If experiential education is to have students learn through doing and to have them reflect on their experiences, then the suite of hands-on opportunities that the Faculty of Science has developed through the USci Network is exemplary in providing an enriched environment in which our students gain skills and knowledge to help them navigate from classroom to lab to career,” says Dr. Kneale.
Some of the USci Network initiatives that support science students include:
- First-Year Transition
- Work-Ready Skills
- Science Study Skills
- Science Communications Skills
- Technical and Experimental Design Skills
- Exploring Science Careers
- Women in Science (WiNS)
- Science Undergraduate Research Experience
- Science Meets Art (SMArt)
- Student-Alumni Connections
The USci Network was established with funding from both the UWindsor Strategic Priority Fund and the Faculty of Science. It is located in room 335, Essex Hall.