Priority Two: Teaching and Learning
Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW)
The Forge, in partnership with the Student Success Centre, led the coordination of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) at McMaster in November 2022. This initiative was a week-long celebration of innovative thinking and entrepreneurial talent on campus through events, resource sharing and more, facilitated in collaboration with Faculties, departments and student clubs across campus.
Tim Nolan Testing Centre Honourific Naming and Launch
In recognition of Tim Nolan’s 30+ years of accessibility advocacy, Student Accessibility Services (SAS) launched the Tim Nolan Testing Centre in August 2022, providing multiple solutions to enhance the administration of testing accommodations. In Fall 2022, SAS administered 7,500 tests and midterms (not including final exams).
Graduate Writing and Career Services
The Student Success Centre (SSC) and School of Graduate Studies (SGS) received Strategic Alignment Funding to provide customized writing services for graduate students as they undertake research and scholarship within their fields of study. This includes supporting students to share their work within their discipline and across universities, locally and globally.
Experiential Learning Opportunities Resource (EXPLORE)
In partnership with the Office of the Vice Provost (Teaching & Learning) and the Student Success Centre, EXPLORE was launched in 2022. The web page was developed in consultation with more than 50 staff, faculty and students alongside a proposed student ambassador program. The web page and future pilot ambassador program are designed to help McMaster undergraduate students in all programs and Faculties better navigate experiential and interdisciplinary opportunities in alignment with the ongoing Strategic Alignment Fund (SAF) project to Integrate and Scale McMaster’s Capacity for Experiential and Interdisciplinary Learning (May 2022–April 2024) and McMaster’s Teaching & Learning Strategy (2021–2026).
Therapy Dog Sessions
The Student Wellness Centre (SWC) hosted therapy dog sessions with Rev. Allison Barrett’s dog, Biscuit, in the Student Wellness Lounge once a month throughout Winter 2022. Students were encouraged to drop in to help alleviate feelings of stress, depression, burnout and more.
The McMaster Holiday Market
The Student Success Centre (SSC), in partnership with the Alumni Association and McMaster Students Union (MSU), facilitated the McMaster Holiday Market from November 28 to December 2, 2022. This in-person event featured 25+ local vendors, 16 international student performers and two cultural recipes featured at La Piazza in partnership with Hospitality Services.
The Black Student Mentorship Program (BSMP)
Through the Black Student Mentorship Program (BSMP), professors from within the African and Caribbean Faculty Association of McMaster (ACFAM) mentor graduate students, graduate students mentor upper-year undergraduate students, and upper-year undergraduate students mentor first-year undergraduate students. In 2021, the Black Student Mentorship Program became integrated within the Black Student Success Centre, under the direction of Professors Alpha Abebe and Lydia Kapiriri.
The program’s core objectives include improving Black student academic performance, strengthening awareness of resources, creating a safe space for relationship building among peers and faculty, and fostering a sense of belonging within the wider McMaster community.
