Yap about your research A graduate research exchange | GRTC404

Graduate research can often feel lonely, uninspiring, and many graduate students and researchers have limited opportunities to talk about their work outside their department. In collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP),  GradProSkills invites graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to participate in this interdisciplinary research-sharing session. What started as a small workshop called "Interrogating Our Own Work” grew into a bigger graduate student concern.

This 90-minute session offers students to “yap” (talk) about their research, ideas, or work in progress in a friendly and supportive environment. Each presenter will have five minutes to share their work followed by ten minutes of discussion and peer feedback.

Participants may choose to present slides, discuss a research challenge, practice a conference or thesis presentation, or simply talk through an idea they would like feedback on. This session also encourages participants to engage with research beyond their own disciplines, practice giving and receiving constructive feedback, and reflect on research communication from an audience perspective.

This session includes a special guest: Vassilia Kassamia, PhD, who will also provide sessions on presentation skills and techniques on August 4 and August 6. Vassilia will provide practical pointers and individualized suggestions as participants share their work and exchange feedback in a supportive environment. Participants do not need to have attended another presentation-skills session to take part.

After participating in this session, participants will be able to:

• Communicate their research, ideas or academic work to a diverse interdisciplinary audience

• Engage in a constructive scholarly dialogue by giving and receiving supportive peer feedback to each other

• Reflect on how audience perspectives and discussions can strengthen research communication and development

• Network with other students from other disciplines from different departments

Althea Thompson (she/her) is a PhD candidate in the Department of History; an Academic Workshop Facilitator for GradProSkills; and the Team Lead for Concordia’s Writing Centre. Her doctoral research focuses on the ways popular audiences set out to learn history in non-“traditional” ways, using the Romanovs, social media, and museums as a case study as well as investigating what role content creators and museum staff see themselves having in this process.

Special guest: Vassilia Kazamia, PhD, is a Senior Teaching Fellow at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an Academic Tutor at the Hellenic Open University. She holds an MA in Linguistics and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Leeds and has extensive international experience teaching presentation, communication, and professional skills in higher education. Vassilia is joining Concordia as a visiting professor through Concordia International, supported by a teaching mobility award that enables her to come to Canada and share her expertise with the Concordia community. Her work focuses on English for Specific and Professional Purposes, curriculum development, and helping students and professionals communicate effectively across academic, professional, and intercultural contexts.