Invest in your future and earn the Aspire Certificate, which is designed to complement your academic program by providing opportunities to develop a range of skills and competencies.
To earn the certificate, complete five workshops in at least two Aspire pillars.
Learn more details about the Aspire Professional Development Certificate.
Some of the workshops are self-directed on MyLearningSpace.
Take charge of your personal well-being. Our workshops provide you with the skills to manage your time, mental health, and work-life balance. Foster self-awareness and mindfulness in your personal, scholarly, and professional life.
All sessions are virutal, 1 hour in length and open to all students.
The comparison trap is a common experience, where we compare ourselves to others, leading to experiences like imposter syndrome and FOMO. In this workshop, we will learn about how the comparison trap shows up in our lives, and strategies for noticing and managing it.
Skills Acquired:
Facilitator: Claire Howarth, MPH, MSW, RSW, Wellness Education Coordinator
Sessions offered: Mar. 31, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. Register for the Mar. 31 Zoom workshop.
Join us to learn about growth mindset, and the power of self-reflection. We will celebrate and reflect on your journey through the term, explore the meaning of success, and learn about how growth mindset can support us in our journeys.
Skills Acquired:
In this workshop, you will...
Facilitator: Claire Howarth, MPH, MSW, RSW, Wellness Education Coordinator
Sessions offered: Apr. 7 at 2:00 p.m. Register for the April 7 Zoom workshop.
Knowing yourself, and your values, helps connect you with who you are, and helps you make decisions in line with your values. Join us for this interactive workshop, where we will explore why it is important to know your values, and how to get to know yourself and your values. You will come away from the workshop with an understanding of how your values informs your student journey, how it helps with staying well during stressful times, and tangible strategies.
Skills Acquired:
Facilitator: Claire Howarth, MPH, MSW, RSW, Wellness Education Coordinator
Sessions offered: May 14, 2026 at 12:00 noon. Register for the May 14 Zooom workshop.
In this workshop, we will explore the concept of balance in all areas of our lives. We will talk about the roots of balance and develop skills and strategies to make balance work for you. This workshop is for graduate students only. It is eligible for the Aspire Certificate.
Skills Acquired:
You will...
Facilitator: Claire Howarth, MPH, MSW, RSW, Wellness Education Coordinator
Sessions offered: June 16, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Register for the June 16 Zoom workshop.
The comparison trap is a common experience, where we compare ourselves to others, leading to experiences like imposter syndrome and FOMO. In this workshop, we will learn about how the comparison trap shows up in our lives, and strategies for noticing and managing it. This workshop is for graduate students only.
Skills Acquired:
In this workshop you will...
Facilitator: Claire Howarth, MPH, MSW, RSW, Wellness Education Coordinator
Sessions offered: July 8, 2026 at 12:00 noon. Register for the July 8 Zoom workshop.
Our teaching development workshops offer transferrable teaching skills and foundational teaching knowledge that can be used for both the classroom and the workplace. Learn about different pedagogies and hear from experienced staff and colleagues as they reflect on their experiences and share their knowledge.
All sessions are 90 minutes in length.
Self-paced Microsoft Stream recorded workshops:
Does the room go quiet when you ask a question? Do you see blank stares when you try to get students talking? Knowing how to actively engage your students to enhance learning is an important skill. This workshop will introduce you to some strategies to both inginte and sustain student engagement.
Skills Acquired: Student Engagement, Active Learning, Motivation Strategies, Classroom Communication
Facilitators: Inderjit Saini and Savannah Lesperance
Sessions offered:
For teaching assistants, recognizing how and when to provide feedback to learners can be a tricky task. Concerns about how much and the quality of the feedback provided is fundamental to students' success. In this introductory session, participants will spend time exploring the complexity of providing guidance to learners as a TA and explore the idea of feedforward to support ongoing student development.
Skils Acquired: Reflective Practice, Communication Skills, Student Development Feedback/Feedforward Strategies
Facilitators: Inderjit Saini and Savannah Lesperance
Sessions offered:
In any academic or professional environment, strong communication and leadership skills are critical. Perfect your writing and oral presentation skills with help from specialists in the field.
On-going self-paced learning on MyLearningSpace:
First, register for the workshop in MyLS by selecting "Self Registration," then select the workshop Library Research Workshops link and select "Register" in MyLS as in the example highlighted below:
Navigating the peer-review process can be one of the most challenging parts of getting your research published. This workshop will explain how the peer-review process works in academic publishing and provide strategies on how to successfully work with editors of academic journals. In doing so, we will look at ways to integrate peer-review feedback and improve your article manuscript. The Zoom link for the workshop is included below. The Zoom link will also be emailed to all registered participants prior to the workshop. You can register for the workshop on the Student Success Portal.
Skills Acquired: Professionalization & Communication
Facilitator: Elliot Worsfold
Sessions Offered:
Are you writing a major research paper, Master’s thesis, or PhD dissertation? In this workshop, we will share strategies for approaching large writing projects. We will discuss a range of writing habits, including goal setting, outlining, and writing techniques (e.g., Pomodoro Technique and freewriting). Participants are encouraged to share their uncertainties, challenges, and successes for approaching large writing large projects. The Zoom link for the workshop is included below. The Zoom link will also be emailed to all registered participants prior to the workshop. You can register for the workshop on the Student Success Portal.
Skills Acquired: Professionalization & Communication
Facilitator: Elliot Worsfold
Sessions Offered:
Graduate students are often tasked with writing a literature review during their coursework or graduate studies. This workshop will provide MA and PhD students with strategies on how to organize, structure, and write a literature review. We will also discuss how to frame your literature review around a research gap or scholarly problem. The Zoom link for the workshop is included below. The Zoom link will also be emailed to all registered participants prior to the workshop. You can register for the workshop on the Student Success Portal.
Skills Acquired: Professionalization & Communication
Facilitator: Elliot Worsfold
Sessions Offered:
The ability to write clearly and concisely is an essential academic skill. This workshop examines approaches that graduate students can employ to express complicated ideas in a clear and straightforward manner. We will discuss how students can use concision exercises and writing strategies to produce clear and concise manuscripts. The Zoom link for the workshop is included below. The Zoom link will also be emailed to all registered participants prior to the workshop. You can register for the workshop on the Student Success Portal.
Skills Acquired: Professionalization & Communication
Facilitator: Elliot Worsfold
Sessions Offered:
In this 90-minute workshop, you will develop the tools to write effective scholarship proposals. Working from samples of winning graduate student proposals (from OGS, SSHRC, and NSERC grants), we will examine common features of successful research statements, and you will learn how to apply these writing strategies in your own proposal. This workshop is targeted to MA and PhD students in all disciplines. The Zoom link for the workshop is included below. The Zoom link will also be emailed to all registered participants prior to the workshop. You can register for the workshop on the Student Success Portal.
Skills Acquired: Professionalization & Communication
Facilitator: Elliot Worsfold
Sessions Offered:
Move successfully into your next career phase. ASPIRE workshops, run by Career Centre professionals, can help you to market your transferable skills, build your resumé, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile, and network and interview with confidence, among many other skills.
All sessions are virtual on Zoom.
Be prepared and ace your interview. What are employers really looking for from candidates? Join us as we discuss how to prepare for a successful job interview. Participants will learn how to identify and present your best qualifications, formulate effective answers to common interview questions and strategies to help reduce stress and maximize your performance. This session is offered on Zoom. Please register to receive the event link.
Skills Acquired: skills articulation, interview strategies
Facilitator: Lisa Roy, Career Centre
Sessions offered:
Discover Your Knowledge, Skills and Attributes. Can you identify what competencies you have and what employers are seeking? Align your skills with your career goals in this workshop. You will be able to identify and assess your personal competencies, identify areas for development and learn how to showcase the value of your experiences to an employer. This session is offered on Zoom. Please register to receive the event link.
Skills Acquired: competencies identification and articulation
Facilitator: Lisa Roy, Career Centre
Sessions offered:
In today's professional context, an online presence is essential. Participants in this workshop will learn about tools and strategies to build your LinkedIn profile, represent yourself professionally, maximize your career research and build your online networks.
This session is offered on Zoom. Please register to receive the event link.
Skills Acquired: Digital tools for networking, professional branding and job searching.
Facilitator: Lisa Roy, Career Centre
Sessions offered:
You've nailed the interview and landed the job. Congratulations! Now, it's time to shift gears and discover how to flourish in your new work environment.
In this workshop, we'll explore strategies to help you thrive: navigating policies, procedures, and unwritten rules, managing expectations, and building meaningful professional connections. Our checklists will help you prepare. By asking the right questions and fully understanding your responsibilities, you'll hit the ground running and start adding value to your new team immediately! This session is offered on Zoom. Please register to receive the event link.
Skills Acquired: Navigating workplace culture and expectations
Facilitator: Lisa Roy, Career Centre
Sessions offered:
Research is a huge component of many Masters, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow programs. Workshops in our research pillar can help you to complete the work that you are doing at Laurier and help prepare you for future research opportunities. Through workshops ranging from how to develop a research question, to managing your data, our research experts will teach you how to translate your technical work for non-specialist audiences.
Self-paced MyLearningSpace modules:
Students must self-register for "Libary Reserach Workshops" on MyLearning Space to gain access to these courses.
