Campus Notices
UPEI staff and faculty, take part in the new "Panther Wellness Prowl" on May 28 between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. Tour three of our campus locations to learn more about the programs, services, and resources our UPEI departments offer to support your health and well-being.
Help the UPEI Healthy Campus Committee celebrate the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre's recent accreditation with commendation! Enjoy a slice of cake and healthy refreshments along the way. Visit all three locations (UPEI Athletics and Recreation, UPEI Health and Wellness Centre, and UPEI EDI/SV-PRO office), have your card stamped at each spot, and submit for a chance to win a gift basket valued at over $250!
This is a great opportunity to connect with resources available to help you thrive at work and beyond!
The campus community is cordially invited to attend teaching presentations by candidates for the assistant professor (term) position in the Faculty of Nursing. Details for each presentation are as follows:
Dr. Ria Torr
Presentation Title: Evidence-informed Approaches to Promote Resiliency in Nursing Education
Date and time: Monday, May 26, 2025, 1:00 p.m.
Location: FSDE 128B
Dr. Jean Coffey
Presentation Title: Evidence-informed Approaches to Promote Resiliency in Nursing Education
Date and time: Tuesday, May 27, 2025, 9:00 a.m.
Location: Virtual (Please see the link below)
All members of the campus community are encouraged to attend.
Title: Advanced Mechanized Systems for Sustainable Food Production
Presenter: Dr. Travis Esau, Associate Professor, Dalhousie University
Date and Time: May 23, 2025 1:00 pm (Atlantic Time)
Registration:Click here to receive the Zoom link. The webinar is free.
Abstract: Wild blueberries are a perennial crop native to northeastern North America and are one of eastern Canada’s most economically important crops, with a 2021 farm gate value of $134.7 million CAD. Despite this, the industry faces significant challenges, especially in combating the more than 200 weed species that limit yield and interfere with harvesting equipment. Currently, producers predominantly rely on the uniform application of costly liquid herbicides for weed control, which is inefficient because weed instances occur intermittently, not uniformly. Traditional agricultural farming is not sustainable and requires new engineering advancements to remain competitive in local and global markets. The Canadian government’s new framework focuses on reducing the overall risk from pesticides by at least half by 2030. This research explores the development of a novel approach to weed management using smart applicators, including aerial drones, for spot-specific weed management.
Welcome to the following new employees who joined the University of Prince Edward Island community in April 2025!
- Jing Bai, Registrar’s Office
- Jasmine Brown, Ancillary Services
- Hannah Callbeck, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Atlantic Veterinary College
- Annie Compton, Faculty of Nursing
- Kristian Dart, Facilities Management
- Jesus De Anda, Facilities Management
- Justin Dunn, Facilities Management
- Andre Gayle, IT Systems and Services
- Emily Gillis, Faculty of Nursing
- Isabelle Keeler, Office of the Vice-President Academic and Research
- Courtney Kennedy, Faculty of Nursing
- Arjeena Lama, Ancillary Services
- Sannu Lawt, Office of the President
- Emily MacAulay, Diagnostic Services, Atlantic Veterinary College
- Dale McIsaac, Dean’s Office, Atlantic Veterinary College
- Charanpreet Singh, School of Climate Change and Adaptation, Faculty of Science
- Tim Walker, Vice-President Administration and Finance
We are excited to have you join the UPEI team!
Do you know that you can partner in health research to help make it more relevant? Hear from patients and academic researchers about how working together makes health care research better.
This workshop is supported by the Centre for Health and Community Research, and will interest people from all backgrounds - patients and caregivers, curious members of the public, researchers, trainees, and research staff.
June 10, 5:00-6:30 pm at the Charlottetown public library! Find out more and register: https://sites.google.com/cihr-ig-irsc.ca/workshop-pei-2025/home
A strategic enrolment management (SEM) plan for UPEI is currently under development by a Steering Committee and subcommittees. This plan will provide a forward-thinking approach from 2025–2030 to promote student success and achieve desired enrolments, retention and graduation rates, while aligning with UPEI’s overall mission and strategic goals.
All members of the University community are invited to attend a consultation session on Thursday, May 22, from 1:00–2:30 pm, in the lecture theatre, Room 104, of the K.C. Irving Chemistry Centre. An overview of the draft SEM plan, including five overarching goals, underlying strategies, and tactics will be presented. Following the session, feedback is welcomed and should be sent to the Steering Committee Chair, Dr. Melissa James, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs and Student Success, McDougall Faculty of Business at mjames@upei.ca, or the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research (VPAR) at vpar@upei.ca, by Friday, May 30.
The campus community is cordially invited to attend teaching presentations by candidates for the assistant professor (term) position in the Faculty of Nursing. Details for each presentation are as follows:
Dr. Ria Torr
Presentation Title: Evidence-informed Approaches to Promote Resiliency in Nursing Education
Date and time: Monday, May 26, 2025, 1:00 p.m.
Location: FSDE 128B
Dr. Jean Coffey
Presentation Title: Evidence-informed Approaches to Promote Resiliency in Nursing Education
Date and time: Tuesday, May 27, 2025, 9:00 a.m.
Location: Virtual (Please see the link below)
All members of the campus community are encouraged to attend.
ACENET is offering a free online Digital Research Summer School from June 2 to 20, 2025, for faculty and students across disciplines, from Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 3:30 pm AT (9:00 am to 4:30 pm ET).
ACENET has joined with the Compute Ontario Summer School (COSS 2025) and 11 other partners to offer a wide-ranging curriculum packed with over 40 courses. Delivered by experts in the field, sessions will cover topics in advanced research computing (ARC), high performance computing (HPC), research data management (RDM), and research software (RS).
Highlights:
- Participants pick and choose the course(s) they want to attend.
- Many courses include hands-on components.
- Courses range in length from 1.5 hours to three days.
- Course levels range from beginner to advanced.
- Topics include AI, machine learning, bioinformatics, GPU programming, advanced research computing basics, high-performance computing tools, programming languages, neuroanalytics, visualization, research data management, and more.
Space is limited, so we encourage you to register for your desired course(s) as soon as possible in order to avoid missing out. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to chat with your local research consultant, or reach out to us at support@ace-net.ca with the subject line “COSS 2025”. For details and registration, go to https://training.computeontario.ca/coss2025.php
The school is presented by ACENET, CAC, Compute Ontario, SciNet, and SHARCNET, in partnership with Bioinformatics ca, Digital Research Alliance of Canada, HPC4Health, Ontario Brain Institute, OICR, RDM Network of Experts, and Scholars Portal.
The Sherlock Lecture is a free public lecture open to all. Pope Francis' biographer Austen Ivereigh will join virtually to share on the “From Francis to Leo: Reflections on the style of Church in the ‘change of era’", and will explore how Francis sought to reshape the Church to evangelize today’s very different era, and that the choice at the 2025 conclave was whether to continue in the direction defined by Evangelii Gaudium; the decisive election of Leo confirmed it. The Sherlock Lecture will take place on Tuesday, May 27, at 7:00 pm in Don and Marion McDougall Hall, Room 242. This lecture is in conjunction with the Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry National Conference being hosted by the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre.
Hello Everyone,
Cyber security is often seen as something that’s inflicted on a community of users in ways that make their digital lives much more difficult, but there is a train of thought that says better outcomes come from a process of inclusion and consultation. Toward that end, I am inviting any and all members of the UPEI community to an "ask me (or tell me) anything" session on Thursday, May 22, at 12:00 pm in AVC 207N. Anyone who is interested in anything at all to do with cyber security in general, or at UPEI specifically, is encouraged to join the session with questions, suggestions, or complaints. I will do my best to answer any questions, some of them truthfully.
This will be an in-person session. For those who are unable to be on campus, I will be hosting similar sessions in the future, alternating between online and in-person.
Who I am: My name is Dave Kubert, and I’m the new(ish) Director of Information Security and Information Management here at UPEI. I’ve worked in higher university IT and cyber security for my entire career and have been with UPEI since late January.
The Department of Student Affairs is offering drop-in academic advising for undergraduate students.
Drop-ins will be held from 2:00–4:00 pm and 5:00–7:00 pm on
- Tuesday, May 20
- Wednesday, May 21
- Thursday, May 22
Robertson Library, Room 264 – LINC Lab.
Advising will be offered on a first come, first served basis.
**These are short, drop-in sessions so please do as much planning as possible before you attend.
For questions, please contact Student Affairs at: studentserv@ upei.ca or 902-566-0488.
Title: Advanced Mechanized Systems for Sustainable Food Production
Presenter: Dr. Travis Esau, Associate Professor, Dalhousie University
Date and Time: May 23, 2025 1:00 pm (Atlantic Time)
Registration:Click here to receive the Zoom link. The webinar is free.
Abstract: Wild blueberries are a perennial crop native to northeastern North America and are one of eastern Canada’s most economically important crops, with a 2021 farm gate value of $134.7 million CAD. Despite this, the industry faces significant challenges, especially in combating the more than 200 weed species that limit yield and interfere with harvesting equipment. Currently, producers predominantly rely on the uniform application of costly liquid herbicides for weed control, which is inefficient because weed instances occur intermittently, not uniformly. Traditional agricultural farming is not sustainable and requires new engineering advancements to remain competitive in local and global markets. The Canadian government’s new framework focuses on reducing the overall risk from pesticides by at least half by 2030. This research explores the development of a novel approach to weed management using smart applicators, including aerial drones, for spot-specific weed management.
The "Spring into Wellness Challenge" is designed exclusively for UPEI staff and faculty to prioritize well-being through fun, themed, daily activities. This exciting four-week individual challenge starts on Monday, May 26, and ends on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
Each week, registered participants are sent a form outlining the associated wellness activities for the week under a daily theme. Participants are encouraged to complete at least one activity per day related to the themes of wellness for that day and then submit their completed wellness activities form by noon the following Monday. These activities will correlate with the themes of
- Mindful Mondays
- Tasty Tuesdays
- Wellness Wednesdays
- Thoughtful Thursdays
- Fitness Fridays
- Social Saturdays
- Self-Reflection Sundays
Participants who submit their forms will be entered into a weekly draw of a gift bag valued at over $50. Registered participants will also be entered in a grand prize draw (valued at approximately $500) that will take place on June 23. The winner has a choice of a Mysa Nordic Spa Package (one-night accommodation and two thermal spa passes) OR a Mill River Resort golf package (one night stay for two people and two rounds of golf per person).
For detailed information and to register, please go to Spring into Wellness Challenge.
UPEI staff and faculty, take part in the new "Panther Wellness Prowl" on May 28 between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. Tour three of our campus locations to learn more about the programs, services, and resources our UPEI departments offer to support your health and well-being.
Help the UPEI Healthy Campus Committee celebrate the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre's recent accreditation with commendation! Enjoy a slice of cake and healthy refreshments along the way. Visit all three locations (UPEI Athletics and Recreation, UPEI Health and Wellness Centre, and UPEI EDI/SV-PRO office), have your card stamped at each spot, and submit for a chance to win a gift basket valued at over $250!
This is a great opportunity to connect with resources available to help you thrive at work and beyond!
A strategic enrolment management (SEM) plan for UPEI is currently under development by a Steering Committee and subcommittees. This plan will provide a forward-thinking approach from 2025–2030 to promote student success and achieve desired enrolments, retention and graduation rates, while aligning with UPEI’s overall mission and strategic goals.
All members of the University community are invited to attend a consultation session on Thursday, May 22, from 1:00–2:30 pm, in the lecture theatre, Room 104, of the K.C. Irving Chemistry Centre. An overview of the draft SEM plan, including five overarching goals, underlying strategies, and tactics will be presented. Following the session, feedback is welcomed and should be sent to the Steering Committee Chair, Dr. Melissa James, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs and Student Success, McDougall Faculty of Business at mjames@upei.ca, or the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research (VPAR) at vpar@upei.ca, by Friday, May 30.
The campus community is cordially invited to attend teaching presentations by candidates for the assistant professor (term) position in the Faculty of Nursing. Details for each presentation are as follows:
Dr. Ria Torr
Presentation Title: Evidence-informed Approaches to Promote Resiliency in Nursing Education
Date and time: Monday, May 26, 2025, 1:00 p.m.
Location: FSDE 128B
Dr. Jean Coffey
Presentation Title: Evidence-informed Approaches to Promote Resiliency in Nursing Education
Date and time: Tuesday, May 27, 2025, 9:00 a.m.
Location: Virtual (Please see the link below)
All members of the campus community are encouraged to attend.
Please join us on June 18 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Chaplaincy Centre for a celebration for Inge Dorsey, who is setting off on a new adventure after 18 years of dedicated service to UPEI. The event will be hosted by the instructors of University 1030.
Let’s gather to celebrate her remarkable contributions, share memories, and wish her all the best in this next chapter.
There will be cake and warm wishes—hope to see you there!
ACENET is offering a free online Digital Research Summer School from June 2 to 20, 2025, for faculty and students across disciplines, from Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 3:30 pm AT (9:00 am to 4:30 pm ET).
ACENET has joined with the Compute Ontario Summer School (COSS 2025) and 11 other partners to offer a wide-ranging curriculum packed with over 40 courses. Delivered by experts in the field, sessions will cover topics in advanced research computing (ARC), high performance computing (HPC), research data management (RDM), and research software (RS).
Highlights:
- Participants pick and choose the course(s) they want to attend.
- Many courses include hands-on components.
- Courses range in length from 1.5 hours to three days.
- Course levels range from beginner to advanced.
- Topics include AI, machine learning, bioinformatics, GPU programming, advanced research computing basics, high-performance computing tools, programming languages, neuroanalytics, visualization, research data management, and more.
Space is limited, so we encourage you to register for your desired course(s) as soon as possible in order to avoid missing out. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to chat with your local research consultant, or reach out to us at support@ace-net.ca with the subject line “COSS 2025”. For details and registration, go to https://training.computeontario.ca/coss2025.php
The school is presented by ACENET, CAC, Compute Ontario, SciNet, and SHARCNET, in partnership with Bioinformatics ca, Digital Research Alliance of Canada, HPC4Health, Ontario Brain Institute, OICR, RDM Network of Experts, and Scholars Portal.
Grab a cup of fresh coffee at the UPEI Bookstore for $2.50 plus tax. The bookstore, which is located in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre, is open from 9:00 am-4:00 pm, Monday to Friday. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see all the new items arriving this month. Shop online 24/7 at upei.ca/bookstore.
On Wednesday, May 21, ITSS will conduct a short maintenance on the myUPEI portal and related services from 8:00 to 11:00 pm. During this time, there may be intermittent access to and performance issues with myUPEI, Self-Service, and Colleague.
We encourage students, faculty, and staff who may need documents or links located on myUPEI to plan ahead and bookmark or download the resources they may need during this period.
As a reminder, you can access Moodle directly using https://moodle.upei.ca and Outlook email using https://outlook.office.com.
If you have any questions, please contact the ITSS help desk at 902-566-0465.
