The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (SCS) has been working with U of T faculties and divisions to empower leading organizations to upskill their workforce through customized training that aligns with evolving industry demands. 

One of these organizations, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd., recently celebrated a significant milestone in their commitment to providing staff of their headquarters as well as Porsche Centre staff across the country with specialized knowledge on electric vehicle (EV) technology and innovation: the completion of the 500th Porsche Electro-Mobility Certification micro-credential. 

In response to the accelerating shift towards EVs, in 2021 Porsche Cars Canada leadership set out to enhance employee training with a forward-looking approach. They partnered with SCS and the University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering (FASE) to create a custom micro-credential designed to give Porsche Centre staff an in-depth understanding of this bourgeoning technology.

“Creating this micro-credential is really a hallmark of our culture,” explains Derek Tadros, Director of Retail Development at Porsche Cars Canada. 

“Porsche has always strived to be at the forefront of innovation. So I think from the onset, when we looked at the situation and the start of the electrification of our brand, we realized we had knowledge gaps. And we knew we needed a partner to help support us in ensuring we can provide the right skills and knowledge.”

The University of Toronto (UofT) School of Continuing Studies’ Organizational and Corporate Training department and U of T Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) professor Olivier Trescases were the ideal collaborators to provide that support. 

Trescases, who is both a professor in electrical and computer engineering and the director of the U of T Electric Vehicle Research Centre, agrees. “It's been an amazing experience working with Porsche and the School of Continuing Studies. It's been really a team exercise to craft this program according to their needs,” he explains. 

“I think this kind of micro-credential is essential to being competitive in the space of electric vehicles because the workforce really wasn't trained in that area and needs to make a shift. We're seeing major investments in Ontario, and I think this aligns very well with retraining, and retooling in particular.”

The micro-course was originally designed to establish competency in foundational electrical concepts and core EV technologies, as well as more forward-looking innovations such as vehicle-to-grid and wireless charging. Thanks to Trescases’ expertise, the course content has continued to evolve alongside advancements in EV technology.

Trescases says he sees this kind of just-in-time, customized education as increasingly valuable. “Companies don't necessarily have the time for their employees to spend two or four years in an advanced degree, but they want something very targeted that's up to date and that's from a trusted source,” he elaborates. 

“And I think this program really satisfied that requirement and I think we will see more and more of it going forward.”

Now, with electric vehicles selling in higher numbers than ever before Porsche has passed the milestone of 500 micro-credentials earned by Canadian Porsche Centre staff, and they are not stopping there. The ninth cohort of the program began in the fall, and participants say the micro-course leaves them feeling confident in their ability to address any concerns or questions their clients might have. 

“The engineering element brought into this course, which is so much different than what we’re typically used to seeing in the showroom, definitely made my knowledge of all things electric vehicles and batteries, so much broader in terms of my comfort level being able to explain the technology a lot more thoroughly than I did before taking the course,” says New Car Sales Manager at Porsche Centre Oakville, Domenica Giordiano. 

The program’s success is also due to Porsche Cars Canada’s decision to include both front-line staff and senior leadership. Julianna Morris, Senior Manager of Porsche People Excellence in Training believes this inclusivity was crucial, as it demonstrated to staff that members of leadership were willing to ‘walk the talk” when it came to continuing education and upskilling. 

“Having such positive feedback from the Porsche Centre teams has made me realize that continuing education and ensuring that people are skilled and have the knowledge as we progress in electromobility is essential to our success and to their success,” she says. 

“I believe that organizations must actively partner with universities to ensure the workforce of tomorrow is equipped with the skills and knowledge needed for long-term success.”

SCS Dean Catherine Chandler-Crichlow says the School of Continuing Studies’ Organizational and Corporate Training department is prepared to facilitate these kinds of academic-industry partnerships, not just in the automotive field, but across industries. By working with faculties and professors who are doing leading-edge research at the university, SCS can help bring current, highly-sought new skills to the workplace. 

“I think the Porsche Canada partnership is just a fantastic example of where the school, by leveraging our expertise and working with different groups within the university, taps into the strength of the university. So, it's a win, win, win in all directions,” she explains. 

A key strength of SCS is its ability to design, deliver, and evaluate high quality learning for adults, Dean Chandler-Crichlow adds. 

“That means that we can work with adults in any organization and at any level within that organization.” she says. 

“What really excites me about what we have the potential to do going forward is to continue to broaden our reach along different pathways and with different groups to continue to innovate within the micro-credential space itself. We are highly focused on the technical with Porsche, but there's a whole range of programming there that's just sort of waiting for us to tap into. That's very exciting.”

With this collaboration, U of T and Porsche Cars Canada are proving how customized, cutting-edge education can empower organizations to stay competitive in a fast-changing world. 

To learn how SCS can support your organization’s workforce training and upskilling needs, please visit our Corporate and Organizational Training services page.

Every year, the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies celebrates outstanding instructors who embody excellence in adult education. The SCS Excellence in Teaching Awards are driven by nominations from learners who feel their instructors have gone above and beyond to deliver engaging, impactful, and supportive learning experiences. 

“As educators, these instructors do more than teach – they ignite curiosity and empower learners to pursue their goals with confidence,” says SCS Dean Catherine Chandler-Crichlow. “Their dedication to fostering a love for lifelong learning and their commitment to student success are truly commendable. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and contributions to the school."

The Excellence in Teaching Award winners for the 2022-2023 academic year are: 

Jessica Westhead - Creative Writing
Westhead’s learners describe her as an enthusiastic, encouraging instructor with a genuine commitment to helping them grow and improve their craft. Her inclusive teaching methods and tools keep her class materials engaging, relevant, and accessible. Her dedication, expertise, and innovative teaching strategies make her an excellent educator.

Mary McBride - Languages
McBride is described by her learners as a passionate and dedicated instructor with a wealth of knowledge to share. She ensures that her learners feel comfortable, supported and valued and goes above and beyond to help them master the languages she teaches. 

Laetitia Walbert - Languages
Learners say Walbert is s an exceptional French teacher whose dedication to her craft is demonstrated through her meticulous preparation and her ability to tailor lessons to suit diverse learning styles. With a patient and supportive approach, she offers clear, engaging, and well-structured classes that make learning both enjoyable and effective.

Bernard Feder - Marketing and Communications
Feder’s learners describe him as a dedicated, knowledgeable and kind instructor. He exudes energy and passion for his subject matter and cultivates a respectful classroom environment. He is an excellent communicator and challenges learners to think critically.

J. Kent Messum - Creative Writing
Kent Messum’s learners describe him an instructor who teaches by example. He is  extremely organized and fosters a respectful and supportive environment for the writers in his classes while providing meaningful feedback to help learners’ skills and confidence grow. 

Jayna Grassel - Marketing and Communications
Learners say Grassel is a dedicated, innovative instructor who has a profound impact on their learning experiences. She provides personalized support and creates an inclusive classroom environment. Her enthusiasm and passion for the subject she teaches are infectious, inspiring learners to strive for excellence. 

Stephan Dyer - Career Development and Communications Skills
Dyer is described by his learners as an exceptional presenter who is passionate and motivated to pass along his skills. He fosters a strong sense of community in the classroom and provides detailed, constructive feedback.

Ed Burns - Business, Finance and Management
Burns’ learners say it is immediately clear how much he loves sharing his knowledge and empowering the people in his classrooms to make an impact in their workplaces with the tools he introduces them to. He approaches teaching with enthusiasm, passion, kindness, and humour.

Barbara Isherwood - Visual Art and Architecture
Learners say Isherwood is a gifted instructor who creates an inviting and accessible environment where anyone can learn about art, regardless of their level of knowledge. She is engaging, knowledgeable, passionate, and respectful, and her enthusiasm for her subject matter is infectious. 
 

The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies has launched its accessibility plan for 2024 to 2027. 

In addition to laying out SCS accessibility goals, the plan includes information on the school’s AODA working group, and highlights EDI-related achievements, such as the creation of accessibility guidelines for subject matter experts who develop courses with SCS; participation in the Moving Towards Opportunity (MTO) Program; and a panel on navigating disability in the workplace. 

“EDI is a core value of our division, and we strive to build our culture around these principles. Our purpose is to strengthen human potential one individual, one organization and one community at a time,” says SCS Dean Catherine Chandler-Crichlow. 

“SCS is focused on ensuring all members of our SCS eco-system are supported and can access our working, learning, teaching, and collaboration environments in an inclusive, meaningful, and barrier-free way.”

Please visit our EDI page to read the full accessibility plan.   

Created by award-winning poet Janice Colbert in 2012, the Janice Colbert Poetry Award honours SCS learners who have created a piece of poetry that moves us. 
Janice, who is an SCS Creative Writing Certificate earner, helps us celebrate the journey towards creative discovery through her generous award. This annual honour is valued at $1,000, plus two finalist awards of $500 each.

1ST PLACE/$1,000 AWARD WINNER: Hannah Lee

Hannah Lee is a lawyer who has spent most of her career advising, representing, and advocating for persons with disabilities. She lives with her inter-generational family in the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. 

Lee says that “Writing poetry isn't sticky like a bad habit. Yet. But that's something I'm currently working towards. Changing. I'm cautiously thrilled to be this year's winner of the Janice Colbert Poetry Prize; for the metaphoric kick in the pants from this bit of encouragement.”

“Hannah Lee’s poetry is at once familiar and new. Her poems play in a space of contradictions, demanding on one line and disarming in the other. Lee's writing beckons us to peer into someone else’s world, and in doing so, recognize our own. - Sheeza Sarfraz, Editor, The Quarantine Review and Janice Colbert Award juror

FINALISTS/$500 AWARD WINNERS: Maude Abouche and Antigone Oreopoulos

Maude Abouche is a queer, neurodivergent, and half-Moroccan writer from Montreal. She draws inspiration from her mixed cultural heritage and identities to explore the liminal and interstitial through speculative fiction. Her story “Blabbermouth” received an honourable mention in the 2023 Penguin Random House Student Award for Fiction, and her short fiction has appeared in Hexagon Magazine, Haven Speculative, and Augur Magazine under her pen name, Madi Haab. She is also communications coordinator for the French-language speculative magazine Brins d’éternité, where she has published book reviews and essays. Find her at lamotdite.com or on Instagram, Bluesky, and Twitter @lamotdite.

“With visceral imagery and pared-back language that packs a punch, Maude Abouche’s suite of poems pulls the contemporary human condition into conversation with the world: a butterfly is “a dry leaf fluttering about my feet” and there are “sizzling server farms guzzling drinking water in Arizona to keep chatbots running.” Striking, spare, and sparky, these poems serve as a reminder that art can be both a mirror and, as famously espoused by Bertolt Brecht, a hammer with which to shape reality." - Leigh Nash, Publisher, Assembly Press and Janice Colbert Award juror

Antigone Oreopoulos is a caregiver, physical therapist, disability advocate, mom, and poet living in Edmonton, Alberta with her two children. When her son was three, he was diagnosed with nonspeaking autism but misdiagnosed with low receptive language and cognition. One day while writing a poem related to her grief from never truly getting to know her boy, a Google search landed her on an organization’s website that teaches students just like her own son to write poetry and song lyrics through text-based communication and a communication support partner. Finding communication for her son opened the door to knowing the real person inside the uncooperative body. These days, Antigone’s primary job is home schooling her son and being his communication support partner. Outside of that, she coaches other nonspeaking neurodivergent individuals in motor skills learning, exercise, and sport. She writes about violence against women, feminism and social justice, and, when lost, Antigone finds home again in a garden, on a dance floor, or at the edge of a lakeside dock.

"In these formally inventive and bravely vulnerable poems, we witness moments of innocent teenage crushes and sexual encounters that quickly turn to sex shaming and humiliation. We see the cycle of violence escalate inside a marital home swallowed by a black hole of domestic abuse. By courageously confronting these past traumas and memories, the speaker reclaims her power, finding strength, resilience, healing, and hope. Oreopoulos powerfully casts a spell for survivors 'to rid the pain that has built a home / in their body.'” - Hazel Millar, Publisher, Book*hug Press and Janice Colbert Award juror

For more information about the Janice Colbert Award, please visit our bursaries and awards page. 
 

Each year, the Penguin Random House Canada Student Award for Fiction is awarded to an SCS creative writing learner whose work and commitment to creative expression inspires us. This year’s first place prize has been awarded to Ruth Taylor.

Two prizes have also been awarded to this year's runners up: Joanne Lam and Katarina Young .
 

WINNER ($2,500 PRIZE):

HONOURABLE MENTIONS ($1,000 PRIZE EACH):

Records disposal manager Cori Cirolia knew she wanted to become a part of the Institute of Certified Records Managers, but found herself at an impasse.

“I was struggling to understand the prep exam coursework and they suggested that I attend the U of T School of Continuing Studies Records and Information program School of Continuing Studies Records and Information program to assist with understanding the information and to also be able to join after the successful completion of the courses,” she explains.

Cirolia works at a police department in the US as a Records Disposal Manager & FOIA Manager, where she is responsible for implementing a department-wide retention schedule, maintaining the department’s paper records storage room, completing digital records disposal certificates, and working with the IT department to ensure her department is compliant with all state mandates. She also works alongside the department’s Information Services to ensure all FOIA requests are received and processed according to the law.

“I like keeping things organized and on a system. I also like helping the police department maintain their integrity and fostering open communication with the public,” she says.

The coursework in the SCS Records and Information Management certificate encouraged Cirolia to understand records management from a more ”big picture” perspective with regards to how integral it is to work with everyone in the department to ensure efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to the retention of public documents in a government building.

Cirolia says the instructor who taught Records & Information Management Strategies gave learners the choice of personalizing all assignments so they could essentially be a practice run for their real work.

“It really was so helpful with understanding the content when I was able to bring the assignment to my work environment,” she says.

“The instructor even took the time to approve rough drafts and provided much needed suggestions, etc. I really learned a lot and I felt so much more comfortable when we finally presented our assignment.”

The school’s user-friendly learning platform, and engaged instructors who replied to questions regularly and in a timely fashion and really took the time to explain things thoroughly, fostered a welcoming learning environment, says Cirolia. Her biggest challenge was balancing her work, home life, and studying.

“I found that working fulltime and being a mother of three children has all of its own demands,” she explains, “but the information that was provided for reading and class preparation was excellent and was able to be completed on our time so that when we had to attend a scheduled live discussions, the class presentations were very organized, detailed enough to get the points across, and all professors stayed within their timeframe so I was able to still get all family and work obligations completed without too much stress.”

This month SCS marketing instructor Alison Garwood-Jones launched “I Miss My Mommy”, a graphic novel for orphaned adults. 

Following the back-to-back losses of her parents in 2011 and 2012, Garwood-Jones originally started working on the drawings that would eventually fill her book as a way for her to process her own experience. 

“For a long time I focused on writing as my main art, largely because I was earning a living as a magazine feature writer, but after my parents passed, I picked up my pen again. Drawing, for me, and I think for all people, is an easy way into different kinds of emotions,” she says.

At the time, Garwood-Jones wasn’t ready to deal with big emotions, and found the idea of processing them through large-scale art, whether it be large, intimidating paintings, or epic orchestral music, didn’t work for her. 

“That’s how some big pieces of art made me feel during the height of the grief, is remoteness, like big orchestral numbers, I can't listen to Wagner or even Mozart when I'm grieving, that's too big, I need to go small. I've always loved the expression ‘think small’.  We live in a culture that's very ‘go big or go home’, and I think when it comes to tough topics, thinking small is actually more powerful, because it gives people a way into something tough through something manageable,“ she explains.

“I found that spot illustrations, which is what this book relies on, were an effective way for me to process my own emotions.”

When Garwood-Jones shared those illustrations on social media she found that other people dealing with grief could instantly relate and connect emotionally to what the illustrations represented. For example, one illustration simply features a pile of boxes. 

“I thought, Gen Xers who've lost their parents, same with Baby Boomers, are going to understand boxes, because on these boxes, you're going to have labels like kitchen supplies, books, office supplies, this is all the stuff that's left behind after a life,” she says. 

“Part of grief is dealing with the admin tasks, with the storage units, and if I can show those responsibilities that the kids take on afterwards, just through a drawing of a pile of boxes, then maybe I can connect with people on a level that makes them feel seen, or maybe sometimes just gives them a bit of a chuckle. I don't know if I achieved it but I'm going for, not just comfort and compassion, but a little comic relief maybe.”

Garwood-Jones says these days she looks at grief as two things. “It’s dealing first with absence, like, ‘oh, my God, mom and dad are gone, they're never coming back’. And then it's dealing with presence. And the rest of your life, you're dealing with their presence,” she explains.

“For some people, that's an inspiration, because it carries you forward, the lessons they taught you, and what they showed you in terms of how they were resilient in life and how they handled challenges. If they did it in a way that was level -headed and strong, that is a gift that keeps on giving. So somehow in the aftermath of death, you're left with inspiration, if you're lucky. But a lot of people are left just feeling plain injured. You know, and because their parents, for whatever reason, again, couldn't be the parents they needed. Some people are not meant to be parents, but they still have kids, and it leaves behind a lot of injured souls. So I wanted my book to show that as well. There's a lot of walking wounded out there.”

Marketing a book on grief is a particularly delicate operation, and Garwood-Jones says that while of course she hopes the book will reach people it might help, she wants to connect with her audience in a way that feels authentic. 

“I'm part of that generation of writers now, and it's picking up steam big time, who wants to bypass Amazon, and sell directly to my readers. We live in an age where you can bypass the middlemen and the middlewomen. We've seen that in music with Taylor Swift and Beyonce. And I think writers are catching on now that there's a lot of technology out there, from a content platform point of view, from an e-commerce point of view, from a distribution point of view, that we can handle this on our own,” she says. 

“It's a steep learning curve. But I mean, legacy media is burning, and there are other ways. From burnt earth, there comes little green shoots. And I think one of the green shoots that is growing right now is this growing awareness from authors, by authors, that I can have this direct relationship with my audience and I can grow that. It's not the route to go if you want to be rich and famous. But if you care about your topic, and you care about what your audience would need from you in terms of your topic, you can grow something on a very sort of one-on-one basis slowly. It's a marathon, not a sprint.”

Garwood-Jones says it all makes for the perfect case study she can take back to her SCS classes. 

“Right now is a very, very interesting time to be putting something new out onto the internet because the internet is a mess right now. It's scrambled eggs, and part of the reason it's scrambled eggs is that it's been flooded with AI-generated content. There's a ton of synthetic content out there that's been trained on content by humans,” she says. 

“So the question is how do I rise above the noise and create something unique with a new point of view and a unique voice and a more compelling approach to a particular topic. This is where I've got to test things out. I can take this back to class and say, ‘okay, when I went really super long tail on the topic of grief, did that help with my ranking in terms of, not being necessarily an expert, but being someone who is joining the conversation online about grief?’”

Another thing Garwood-Jones says she will take back to her class is that she is taking a very one-on-one approach to marketing such a personal book. “I actually do want to have a meaningful one-on-one connection with every single person that purchases from me and sends me a note,” she says. 

“So I'm writing handwritten notes, sending them back a thank you with a custom bookmark for their book. I do that because I want them to feel good, but being kind makes me feel good. One of the best remedies for when you're feeling depressed or sad or stuck is to help somebody else. Do something nice for somebody else,” she says. 

“I know that that doesn't work for clinical depression and I'm not an expert at all, but for when we've got the blues or the mean reds, as Audrey Hepburn used to like to say, doing something kind for somebody else and connecting with them can really help.”

Alison Garwood-Jones is a Toronto-based author, illustrator, and podcast host. She started her career as an art historian working at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Musée d'Orsay in Paris and The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and went on to become a magazine editor (Elle) and feature writer with a focus on culture, technology, and health. 

She currently teaches: Foundations of Digital Communications Strategy and Social Media; Digital Communications Strategy: Defining Your Business Objective; Digital Communications Strategy: Content Marketing and Distribution; and Writing Digital Content. 
 

This week, the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (SCS) marked the successful conclusion of the BRIEF-Law program with a ceremony and celebration recognizing the hard work of women law professionals from around the world who took part in the program. 

BRIEF-Law is a pre-bridging program designed to prepare women who are internationally-trained law professionals for entry into specialized bridging or employment programs in Canada. 

Participants had their education and transferable skills, as well as their English language proficiency assessed. Then they attended a personalized selection of School of Continuing Studies English language classes, micro courses, and career coaching hand-picked to help prepare them to apply their unique skills and experience to successfully transition into the Canadian labour market. 

“It is so exciting to have SCS be a part of these brilliant women’s pathways from successful law careers in their countries of origin to what we have no doubt will be equally valuable and impressive work here in Canada,” says SCS Dean Catherine Chandler-Crichlow. 

In addition to the English classes, micro courses, and career coaching, participants took part in mentorships with senior legal professionals, networking events with justices of the Ontario Court, Supreme Court of Canada and law students, leadership skills workshops, and a series of law career-related conversation workshops featuring Faculty of Law alumni; academic advising and workshops; presentations from diverse sectors to provide insight into alternative careers; and occupation-specific job search and employment preparation, including resume writing and interview skills through ACCES Employment’s How to Find a Job program.

“I have loved seeing the women go through each component and seeing them communicate in a way that’s more confident the further they moved through the program,” says SCS Career Services program administrator Carla Gomez.  

Participant Freshta Karimi studied law in Afghanistan and was the founder and executive director of a Legal Aid Organization there for 17 years before relocating to Canada. She was excited to join the BRIEF-Law program to foster her network and connections in the Canadian law field and learn more about the legal system here. 

Karimi says she would highly recommend that other women legal professionals newly arrived in Canada seek out a program like BRIEF-Law. 

“This program provides a lot of good information and learning in a short period of time which is a career-accelerating opportunity for professionals,” she explains. 

“It is not easy to start everything from the beginning, but as legal professionals who we spent most of our lives working in the legal field, it would be a waste of knowledge if we don’t continue to achieve and catch up on our past experience and knowledge. There are good opportunities for women such as this program and we have to use these opportunities to get back on our path.”

One of SCS’s new courses being offered this spring is The Writer as Entrepreneur. We asked course instructor Neil Seeman to share a bit about the inspiration behind the course, and some of the benefits he feels it will bring to our learners.

SCS: “You’ve been an entrepreneur in different fields and an author. What inspired you to meld these different identities to teach a new course in the Creative Writing Program?”

Neil Seeman: “I saw that writers work harder and are more entrepreneurial than most start-up entrepreneurs I know. But writers need supports on how to go from conceiving their idea to selling it to agents, publishers, and to readers across the world. Writers face far tougher market tests than business entrepreneurs. It’s harder to secure a decent publishing deal than to secure venture capital. You have more high highs and low lows in any day as a writer. Rejection meets you at every turn. Steve Jobs said an entrepreneur seeks to dent the universe. That sounds like every writer I’ve known. It’s also Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, Solzhenitsyn, Toni Morrison, and George Orwell.”

SCS: “What differentiates this course from others like it across the world?”

Neil Seeman: “First, I’m inviting students to reconsider authors like Mary Shelley and Dickens as struggling “ideas entrepreneurs”. Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities were vehicles for Dickens to advocate for social policy reform. Shelley rebuked prevailing social and scientific assumptions through the power of storytelling. Taking learners through the prickly path that the great authors before us took will humanize and make possible what may, at first, seem impossible. Second, I distill the work of great business strategists and entrepreneurs – like the late Clayton Christensen – into how to mould what I call a “baby-steps strategy” to meet an author’s personal goals. These goals will be different for each author. That may be landing an amazing agent or publisher, or amplifying one’s voice for a new, bigger stage across the world. A strategy will dictate how to allocate your scarce time and resources. Third, our intimate classroom will insist that we listen to one another, offering shareable insights into self-care amid periods of solitude and self-critique.”
 
SCS: “What other things can people learn from this course that they cannot learn from artificial intelligence or other existing courses?”

Neil Seeman: “Writing a book of meaning is a high-touch experience. A successful author needs to be vulnerable, to lie on an operating table under the gaze of agents, publicists, editors, publishers, distributors, reviewers, fans, and critics. You’ll learn to love the critics. Writing is the opposite of an anodyne interaction with an AI. Learners will have their individual strategic plans for their writing projects poked at by peers in class. Learners will emerge emboldened. I will hold learners accountable, just like a board of directors would hold any entrepreneur to account. That means ensuring that we design short- and long-term goals that are measurable and meaningful.”

Neil Seeman is teaching a new course at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies called “The Writer as Entrepreneur” — drawing on his work as a serial entrepreneur, writer, publisher, and mental health advocate. Learners will apply entrepreneurship, business strategy, and self-care principles to conceive, plan, and publish their book. The course runs May 7, 2024 - July 9, 202, in-class, Tuesdays, St. George Campus, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM.
 

After fifteen years as an elected official, Michelle Mungall was ready to try something new. She discovered the Creative Writing program at SCS, and after honing her skills with us, will now be featured as a regular opinion contributor for the Vancouver Sun.

Mungall developed a passion for politics early in life.

“I fell in love with politics as a six year-old girl in pigtails listening to the grown-ups in my family talk about Brian Mulroney and the 1984 election. Something about the whole conversation and idea of voting hooked me instantly,” she explains.

“About the same time, I discovered I was an ardent feminist when a neighbourhood boy pushed me off the snowbank to declare he was the king of the castle and I was to clean up after the dirty rascals.”

That passion followed her into adulthood, where Mungall was determined to blaze many trails for women in politics, which included being the first Member of the Legislative Assembly to bring her baby into British Columbia’s Legislative House.

While she had always enjoyed writing, Mungall says she never thought of herself as a writer.

“It was just something I did, and wanted to do well, as part of my other responsibilities,” she says.  

“When I retired from public life, though, I wanted to do something more creative, and found myself buying a new laptop and signing up for the creative writing certificate program.”

Mungall says she will certainly be able to apply what she learned through the program in her pieces for The Sun, as well as a memoir she has in the works.

“My writing has leveled-up more than I could have imagined. I’m a way better storyteller now,” she says.

“I really started to think about the voice and tone I use when telling a story. As a politician, there’s always an element of distance when communicating with your audience, even when being as open as you possibly can. That was deeply ingrained in me, and my instructors and classmates really forced me to look at this over and over again, challenging me to let readers into the story more deeply. I can still hear them and am rewriting sentences all the time with this in mind.”

As a working parent to young children, Mungall says one of the challenges of writing is simply finding the time to do it, and that getting her memoirs down on paper is its own particular hurdle.

“Accessing memories for a memoir is tricky, especially when you’re a tired mom of toddlers. I mean, it’s a win to remember to turn on the dishwasher,” she says.

“My instructors had excellent ways to dig into my own mental files for great stories.”

Mungall has kept in touch with those SCS instructors who have helped her along in her learning and writing journey. “It’s something special when you find people who are genuinely interested in supporting your success,” she says.

Getting feedback from her fellow students in class was also incredibly valuable, says Mungall.

“It was like a testing ground for ideas on how to tell a story and make a piece even better.”

Her advice to anyone considering taking an SCS creative writing course or certificates is simple:

“Dive in and soak up as much as you can.”

Mungall’s opinion contributions  on everything from workplace issues for politicians or minimum wage workers, to energy transition, to human rights, housing, childcare, healthcare and parking will be featured in the Vancouver Sun beginning this spring. She hopes to tackle hot topics in a thought-provoking way that gets conversations going.

Hospital administrator Haleh Rahimi only had a basic understanding of what project management entailed when she started her first course at the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) just a couple of years ago. Now she has successfully completed the notoriously challenging Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. 

While her natural affinity for project management was evident to her colleagues at Mount Sinai even before she began studying the subject, Rahimi credits her SCS Project Management certificate courses, and in particular the PMI® Authorized PMP® Exam Prep course, and instructor Peter Monkhouse with her success in earning her official PMP designation from the Project Management Institute. 

“This course is so worth it,” she says. “It’s a professor-taught course where you are led through the modules and the exam application process, and like the other SCS project management courses, the modules are recorded so you can go back and review them at your convenience.”

Despite hearing how challenging the exam could be from friends and colleagues who had attempted it in the past, after taking the course and following Monkhouse’s advice, Rahimi says she felt ready to tackle it. 

“I’ve heard roughly 30% of people who write it actually pass the exam. It’s very panic-inducing when you hear that but I had so much confidence that I wouldn’t have had trying to achieve this without the guidance Peter offered. He even looked over my resumé before I sent in my application,” she explains. 

“It feels like I had a one-on-one personal trainer for passing the PMP.”

The SCS PMP prep course includes over 3000 up-to-date practice questions and 6 simulated PMP® practice exams, which learners have access to for 12 months. 

When she submitted her exam, Rahimi says she felt confident. “I hadn’t run out of time, and the questions had been so familiar after doing the prep course mock exams. It was tricky but I knew how to apply the knowledge. So by the end, I just wanted to go lie down on my bed and do nothing for the rest of the day, but I felt good, she laughs.”

PMP hopefuls have the option to write online or in person, and Rahimi says that in addition to walking them through the application process, Monkhouse even gave her and her classmates advice on which option would suit their individual needs. “I wrote it in person at a test centre, and they give you your results on the spot. It’s very scary, but Peter had prepared us with advice on everything from what to expect on your 10-minute break to what kind of snacks to bring, so there were no stressful surprises,” she says. 

“He even goes above and beyond and keeps a schedule of which of his students are writing when and he texted me in the morning to say good luck and to remind me that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I didn’t pass the first time.”

Rahimi says she was thrilled to find that she had indeed passed. With just over a minute per question, her main concern in writing the exam was time management. “But Peter had taught us how to read the questions efficiently,” she explains. 

“He told us not to write the exam until we were getting a particular percentage on the mock exam, without running out of time, and only when you can do that, are you ready to attempt the real thing.” 

Rahimi’s first call after getting her passing result was to her father, a project management engineer. “He couldn’t believe it because he knows how hard the exam is. He has even had workers who were offered raises if they would go and get their PMP designation and they couldn’t do it.”

Rahimi plans to put her new certification to good use. “I love my job but I’m ready for a new challenge,” she says. “I knew I could have started applying for full-time roles after I completed my first three SCS courses, but when you do a little bit of research, everyone is talking about the PMP,” she says. 

“Every time you see a project management-related job posting, it says the PMP designation will be a great asset to your application.” 

Rahimi is now hoping to find a permanent project management role. She feels confident that by adding the PMP designation to her previous education and experience, she is now well-positioned to find her dream PM role within healthcare. 

Given her experience, Rahimi says that her first piece of advice for anyone else hoping to pass the PMP exam is to take the PMI® Authorized PMP® Exam Prep course at SCS. “I kept in touch with a few people from my certificate courses and we checked in with each other after a few months to ask if anyone had done the PMP exam, and most of them had tried and failed,” she shares. 

“The only one who had passed was a guy who had taken the SCS PMP prep course.”

“The only other advice I would give to anyone wanting to take the PMP exam would be that when the instructor tells you that you need to practice, take it seriously, because sitting down for four hours and answering practical questions is something you really need to prepare for,” Rahimi says.

It's a very tough exam, she emphasizes. “It would be so tough to do on your own, I would almost use the word impossible, but I feel like if you take the PMP prep course, follow the instructor’s guidance exactly, and commit to those invaluable mock exams, you will be successful.”

Networking can be a powerful tool for career advancement. It can help you build your confidence, exchange ideas, and provide pathways to new opportunities. Networking expert and SCS instructor Jean Chow shares three tips for networking in multicultural settings. 

1. Consider The Platinum Rule vs The Golden Rule

Most people know The Golden Rule – Treat others how you want to be treated. Yet it’s not always the best way to approach people. You only know how you want to be treated, your background, your cultural upbringing, your standards.

The Platinum Rule is an important shift in perspective which challenges you to treat others how they want to be treated.

So how do we know how they want to be treated? Applying the Platinum Rule involves understanding and respecting the unique preferences of individuals in various contexts, (including cultural context), developing meaningful relationships, and offering helpful collaboration.

2. Humility helps

Don’t think you’re the smartest person in the room. Listen more. Have a beginner’s mindset. In Japanese, the word “shoshin” means “beginner’s mind.” You may find it refreshing and freeing when you learn to let go of your preconceptions and have an attitude of openness when learning

3. Be culturally curious and sensitive

Do you work on a multicultural team and/or work for a multinational company? Often, the answer is “Yes!” Look around. In our professional and personal lives, we may all speak the same language but this doesn’t necessarily translate into engagement and collaboration. Communication is not so straightforward. English is widely spoken in the following countries: Canada, U.S., U.K., Ghana, and Australia, and yet our cultures are different.

Whether you are an emerging or established leader, our course Fearless Networking – Connecting Across Cultures can help you learn more about your own communication style and discover how it can be further developed to facilitate successful professional networking and meaningful relationships. 

Super connector and SCS instructor Jean Chow is currently focused on her successful professional coaching practice, aptly known on social media as @MsBizWiz, she also hosts the “Dream Network”, a highly diverse, international professional networking organization, which she founded in 2018. Jean knows instinctively what could be and is excited by the prospect of connecting people, ideas, and projects to get things done or to create something bigger and better. No longer active on the squash court (now Pickleball!), she is delighted her squash network continues to thrive and help others. Jean enjoys spending time as a volunteer mentor helping youth recognize and realize their potential and is writing a field guide about her intelligent approach to successful networking.