Continuing Professional Development at a Distance

As we continue to encounter challenges of the COVID-19 era, there is no better time to consider enhancing your professional skills through Laurier’s ASPIRE program.

What is ASPIRE?

ASPIRE is the professional skills and development training program at Laurier, tailored to the needs of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Workshops within the program fall under one or more of the ASPIRE pillars: Career, Professional, Research, Teaching, and Wellness. The workshops are facilitated by various teams at Laurier, including: the Career Development Centre, the Library, the Teaching Development Team, Writing Services, the Student Wellness Centre, and the FGPS.  Offerings include workshops, one-on-one consultations, seminars and lectures.

ASPIRE provides a framework to help graduate students and postdoctoral fellows craft an individualized, extracurricular learning plan tailored to their professional journey and entry to the workplace. The program assists participants in identifying, developing and translating knowledge and skills into job competencies for a range of work and career options, including higher education, the private sector, non-profit organizations and government. 

Want to know more about the ASPIRE experience? Check out what some of our ASPIRE students and facilitators have to say about the program.

Online Professional Development 

To comply with health and safety measures, ASPIRE will continue offering workshops through an online virtual presence with each offering having its own unique delivery method. Online methods include scheduled Zoom workshops, self-paced modules on MyLearningSpace, or individual virtual appointments. This information is available through each offering profiles on our ASPIRE website.

Another way ASPIRE has adjusted to the Covid-19 pandemic is by adding enhanced offerings that are relevant and current. Some examples are: Job Search During Physical Distancing, Engagement in a Remote Course, Social Media and Mental Health, and Interview Success – Be webcam ready and ace your virtual interview. We have also expanded wellness offerings to include: Happiness 101, Building Resilience, How to Handle Covid Anxiety, and Avoiding Burnout.

Interested in ASPIRE?

We invite all graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to utilize the tools and support provided by ASPIRE. All information about the program is available through the ASPIRE webpage. If there are topics you would like to see covered by the ASPIRE team, please reach out to the FGPS Communications Coordinator Jessica Hunt at jeshunt@wlu.ca. All feedback is welcome and encouraged as we work to cater to your professional development needs in this time of physical distancing.