Former School of Continuing Studies Creative Non-Fiction student and Toronto ER doctor Dawn Lim has put her writing skills to work on a piece for MacLean’s magazine, sharing a glimpse of what work is like for her and her colleagues on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto.  

The piece is accompanied by photographs Lim says she has taken to document “the day-to-day pulse of the UHN” and to provide herself with some sense of control during the pandemic. One of the photos, a powerful image of medical staff intubating a patient, is the cover photo for the June 2020 issue of the magazine. 

"Healthcare workers don't often get thanked. When I was at the height of my professional burnout, storytelling helped me heal," Lim says of her decision to document and share her experience. "When this pandemic is finally over and we feel tempted to move on and not look back, I hope this photo essay will give us a chance to pause and reflect on the work we did--to really acknowledge to ourselves that the work we do is valuable. I feel incredibly grateful that I was able to share our story with Canadians."

Click here to read Lim’s piece and see her the rest of her photos featured in MacLean's: https://www.macleans.ca/society/health/i-saw-fleeting-moments-no-one-remembers-one-er-doctors-photos-from-the-coronavirus-frontlines/  

*Photo by Dawn Lim

The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (SCS) has launched a $100,000 fund to support learners who are dealing with financial challenges due to COVID-19.

Students experiencing financial need due to COVID-19 can apply for a one-time bursary of up to $750 to finance their SCS course tuition costs. The bursary is available to both new and returning students.

While SCS does offer other bursaries and award programs designed to provide financial assistance, Dean Maureen MacDonald says this fund was developed specifically as part of SCS’s response to the impact of COVID-19 and as a way for SCS to give back to its community of learners during what is an extremely challenging time for many of them.

“We have such a wonderful, dedicated community of people who have taken the skills and knowledge they gain with us and used them to better the wider community we’re all a part of. This is one way we can continue to support their learning journeys, and to support new learners just getting started,” she explains.

“It’s one way we can say thank you.”

Applicants will be asked to demonstrate financial need and share how funding will assist with achieving their learning objectives.

Applicants who meet these criteria will be randomly selected to receive tuition support until the full amount of the Opportunity Fund has been spent.

Applications for the Opportunity Fund bursaries are being accepted now online.

For full eligibility requirement information and to apply, please visit our Opportunity Fund Terms of Reference information page.

We are all living through unprecedented times. COVID-19 has had a staggering impact on every aspect of life for people both here in Canada and around the world. At the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, we are committed to continued communication that is sensitive to the new realities we all face. At the same time, we want to remain connected to all our members of our lifelong learning community.  We appreciate that this new reality may mean that you have pockets of time for self-investment and learning. We also acknowledge that these are times where we all have heightened concerns about our finances.  

With that in mind, we are working to develop some free educational content so that you can have access to trustworthy information delivered by experts to help you learn the skills you need now, maintain a sense of community and keep your mind sharp and engaged.

This is where you come in. We’d like to know what topics you would like to gain free access to. And, as an extra incentive to share your thoughts with us via the survey link below, we will be entering all participants into a draw for free tuition (up to $700, no cash value) for one of our full-length online courses! *Please note that this contest is now closed, although we would still love to hear your feedback via the link below. 

Click here to complete the survey.

The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies Comparative Education Service (CES) has been designated by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to conduct educational credential assessments for the federal Agri-food Immigration pilot program, launching this March.

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is a new federal immigration program designed to help address the labour needs of the Canadian agri-food sector while providing eligible temporary foreign agriculture and agri-food industry workers with a pathway to Canadian permanent residence.

CES will support the pilot project by assessing academic credentials that range from High School diplomas to postsecondary diplomas and degrees and conducts a review of their recognition and comparability to ensure that candidates for the program have achieved the foreign equivalent of a high school level education or greater.

CES will begin accepting applications for this new stream as of March 1st, 2020.

For more information, please visit our Agri-food information page here: 

https://learn.utoronto.ca/comparative-education-service/agri-food

The Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM) and the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies envision a bold future for Records and Information Management (RIM).

The Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM), an international certifying body of and for professional records and information managers, sees a bright future for the field of Records and Information Management (RIM), and is excited to expand their new partnership with the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (SCS) with micro courses.

Now, SCS has made it even easier to access RIM’s market-driven content, delivered by expert course developers. SCS’s newly formatted micro courses, are short, rigorous, modular formats of existing courses providing more options for learners. Cheryl Pedersen, Chairman of the ICRM Board of Regents, said “the new micro course format is exactly what people are looking for” and added “these courses will make it quicker and easier for people to develop needed skills and competencies to advance in the growing field of RIM.” With three high-demand micro courses as an option for the SCS Certificate of Records and Information Management, there are more options than ever to earn your ICRM credentials.

The online SCS micro courses include: 

• 3214A Records and Information Management Essentials 
• 3214B Records and Information Management Compliance 
• 3214C Electronic Records and Information Management

Completing the SCS Certificate of Records and Information Management allows you a fast track to earning your ICRM credentials. To qualify for the SCS Certificate of Records and Information Management, you must achieve a minimum of 70% in each of the required courses, including the associated micro courses. If you meet this requirement, you are exempt from ICRM’s three-part Certified Records Analyst (CRA) examinations. If you meet the additional ICRM requirements for work experience, upon submitting an application for the Certified Records Analyst (CRA) and paying the $100 application fee, you would be eligible for a credit for Parts 2, 3 and 4 and be awarded the designation upon payment of your first year of dues.  Once you achieve the CRA, you then have an endless amount of time to take Parts 1, 5 and 6 to become a Certified Records Manager (CRM).

Both ICRM and SCS know that information management professionals are key players in future-facing organizations. Today, this growing and critically important field is all about using technology and intelligent automation to provide knowledge asset management and value preservation¹. This discipline holds significant opportunity and potential for young professionals looking to enter a growing and vital field².

“The future of RIM is all about providing access to the right information at the right time, which is more important than ever in this digital information age. We offer our Certificate in Records and Information Management in collaboration with the University of Toronto Faculty of Information (iSchool), ensuring our curriculum is current and combines theory and practice.” says Maureen MacDonald, Dean of SCS. “This certificate is fully online, making it accessible for anyone wanting to succeed in this dynamic and growing field. SCS Dean MacDonald, added “We are one of the first Canadian university continuing education units to offer micro courses.  ICRM’s designations have strong industry recognition, and we’re delighted to extend our partnership with them.” 

For more information about this collaboration, please visit: https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/association-partnerships/institute-certified-records-managers-icrm 

About the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies

The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (SCS) offers an extensive roster of over 700 courses, over 40 program areas, and more than 125 certificates across a broad range of fields that help learners succeed in their careers, satisfy their curiosities, fulfill their passions, and live their best lives.  Courses are delivered by our team of 700 instructors, all of whom are industry or subject matter experts who are passionate about teaching and learning.

About the Institute of Certified Records Managers 

The Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM), is an international certifying body of and for professional records and information managers. It was established in 1975 to define and document the knowledge, skills, and competencies in the growing field of Records and Information Management (RIM).  ICRM is committed to the professional development of the RIM community, and their designations are a valuable part of this diverse, interdisciplinary, and global constituency.

Contacts

ICRM Administrator
admin@icrm.org 

or
 
Rae Lynn Haliday, MBA, CRM, Chairman
ICRM Strategic Alliance Committee
haliday@stlzoo.org

Amy Baier, University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
Interim Director, Strategic Communications + Marketing
amy.baier@utoronto.ca

¹ Intelligent Records Management: The Future of Information Management (Blog post). Retrieved from Gimmal Blog https://blog.gimmal.com/intelligent-records-management-the-next-phase-of-information-management

² A Profession in Peril: Charting a Way forward for RIM in North America. Retrieved from Bluetoad.com https://bluetoad.com/publication/?i=376190&article_id=2687651&view=articleBrowser&ver=html5#{%22issue_id%22:376190,%22view%22:%22articleBrowser%22,%22article_id%22:%222687651%22}

The School of Continuing Studies recently launched new short, stackable micro courses to make accessing the skills learners need right away more convenient. 

Our Director of Academic Programs Kristine Collins and Dean Maureen MacDonald sat down to discuss the motivation behind the micro course offerings and who they are geared towards.

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For more information or to register for one of our micro courses, please visit our micro courses page here: https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/unique/micro-courses

As part of an ongoing effort to make lifelong learning more accessible, the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies recently launched the first of 24 micro courses geared towards professional development. 

Created to meet market demand for just in time, compact, accessible learning solutions for busy professionals seeking to develop specific skills, the micro courses are essentially shorter adaptations of proven, full-length SCS courses, focussing on specific aspects of the original course. 

The courses can be taken as a one-off or they can be combined with other micro and full-length, part-time courses to earn an SCS certificate. 

“Whether you are working towards one of our popular certificates or simply have an immediate need for a specific skills upgrade, a micro course can help you gain the knowledge you need quickly, conveniently and affordably,” explains SCS Dean Maureen MacDonald. 

For example, learners working towards their SCS Business Analysis Certificate can either take a full-length 12-week Foundations of Business Analysis course, or, they can learn the same content divided between two shorter micro courses (Business Analysis Essentials I: Analyze, Model, Design and Deliver and Business Analysis Essentials II: Assess, Manage and Measure) before going on to complete the rest of the certificate requirements. If all they need for their career right now is a quick and comprehensive grasp of the basics, they might only want to take Business Analysis Essentials I. 

In a further effort to maximize convenience for learners, 19 of the first 24 micro courses will be delivered online. All 24 will also be offered at a lower price point than their full-length equivalents, making it easier for learners or their employers to fit professional development into their budgets. Learners may also wish to consider using the federal government’s new Canada Training Credit to help them fund their lifelong learning goals. 

While the courses are shorter and more specific, the quality of their content and instruction will be aligned with SCS full-length course offerings.  

“As with all SCS courses, the content of our micro courses has been expertly designed to ensure that the knowledge and skills learners gain are immediately applicable to a diverse set of professional environments,” says Dean MacDonald. 

The first 24 micro courses on offer are: 

2379A - Business Analysis Essentials I: Analyze, Model, Design and Deliver
2379B - Business Analysis Essentials II: Assess, Manage and Measure
2699A - Introduction to Lean Six Sigma Methods
2845A - Foundations of Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Strategies to Build Trust & Stand Out on Google
2845B - Foundations of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Management: Tactics and Strategy to Drive Growth
2854A - Cloud Computing I: Analyzing and Recommending Cloud Adoption
2854B - Cloud Computing II: Architecture, Accessibility, Security and Privacy
3197A - Speaking Publicly with Confidence and Clarity
3197B - Presentations with Visual Impact
3213A - Writing Effectively for Business
3213B - Mastering Business Writing
3214A - Records and Information Management Essentials
3214B - Records and Information Management Compliance
3214C - Electronic Records and Information Management
3250A - Using Python I: Organize and Analyze Data
3250B - Using Python II: Clean, Predict and Inform
3373A - Cyber Security Risk Assessment, Treatment, and Reporting
3373B - Cyber Security Third Party Risk, Compliance, and Emerging Risks
3523A - Agile Project Management Basics: Methods and Solutions
3523B - Agile Project Management Basics: Release Planning
2089 - Managing People: Essentials
3401 - Practical Project Management - Part 1
3402 - Practical Project Management - Part 2

To learn more about the micro courses currently being offered at SCS, please visit the micro course page of our website: https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/unique/micro-courses

When the 2019 Governor General’s Literary Awards were announced at the end of October, two of the seven names were particularly familiar to the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (SCS) creative writing community.  

Former student Amanda Parris won the drama category for her play, Other Side of the Game, while current instructor Don Gillmor took top spot in the non-fiction category for his book To the River: Losing My Brother.

Awarded by the Canadian Council for the Arts, the Governor General’s Literary Awards celebrate the best in Canadian literature. Parris says that receiving the Governor General’s Award is an incredible honour as well as an affirmation that extends beyond her own craft to the subject matter of the play. “Other Side of the Game puts a spotlight on voices, stories, histories and cultures that are rarely seen on Canadian stages. It is humbling and exciting for it to receive this platform.”

Inspiration to write the play, which focusses on Black women who support incarcerated loved ones, came to Parris in pieces, starting with a visit to a friend who was incarcerated in the Don Jail. “While sitting in the visitors’ waiting room, I looked around and realized that it was filled with mostly women. I immediately became curious about their stories, wondering who they were there to see and how they were feeling in this moment.” She explains. 

Parris began informally interviewing women that she knew had supported a loved one who was incarcerated before poet and writer Keisha-Monique Simpson helped her see how much bigger the story could be. “She had a recurring dream that the two of us worked on a play about the experiences of Black women in activist communities of the past. In a moment of inspiration (which came while I was washing the dishes - as many great ideas do), I realized that we could bridge these two seemingly disparate stories… Although she went on to work on other things and I forged on alone with the play, I am forever grateful to her for sharing those recurring dreams with me.”

Writing Other Side of the Game was part of the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition for Parris, who says the first dream she ever had for herself was being a writer. Seeing her debut play brought to life on stage took that dream to another level. “It was incredible and torturous and magical and nerve-wracking all at once. I was blessed with one of the best directors working in theatre today - Nigel Shawn Williams…Nigel assembled an all-star cast and crew that together manifested a production that far exceeded what I had imagined and crafted on the page. I couldn’t have asked for a better and more talented and dedicated team of people.”

In addition to playwriting, Parris is a CBC television host and writes a weekly column for CBC Arts. She has also written a screenplay. While her processes for each of these forms of writing are distinct, she says one critical element that remains consistent across all writing styles is silencing her inner critic while writing her first draft and giving herself permission to write without judgement. 

SCS course offered a supportive sounding board 

In turning her sights from stage to screen, Parris attended the SCS Screenwriting: Introduction course. She says that the course offered value beyond providing her with a useful understanding of story structure and a formula for writing which she applied to writing her first short film. “It also gave me a class of peers who provided incredibly valuable feedback, asked great questions and also encouraged me to keep going when I was ready to throw my entire idea in the trash.”

A writing community is something Parris recommends any new playwright or screenwriter endeavor to find. “Writing is often a solitary craft but theatre requires a community. Find a circle of support that will give you honest and critical feedback on your work. Trust me, it will elevate your ideas and your practice.”

A good writing class can transform learners

Don Gillmor has seen this play out in the creative writing classes he teaches at SCS, with members of the class bolstering each other’s confidence and pushing each other to improve their work. “I think sometimes there’s a sort of alchemy in a class, especially with creative nonfiction, because people are often writing about very personal things and you don’t know any of the people in the class and you’re a little reluctant to put things forward,” he explains. “You sometimes see people really come to life in that environment…in a good class you see people kind of transformed in a fairly short period of time.”

As for his own writing, Gillmor is elated to have received the Governor General’s Literary Award for his most recent book, which delves into the life and death by suicide of his late brother. “I think it’s a thrill to win for any book but I think when it’s a book that’s so personal there’s something extra as well. So that was very gratifying.”

Putting such deeply personal and painful history to paper was a therapeutic exercise for Gillmor. “I’m one of those people who sort of works things out by writing about them and I find out more things writing than I do jus thinking or talking to somebody,” he says. “I had written a magazine piece about it and I thought that maybe I had kind of gotten it out of my system but it kept nagging at me. I thought if I sit down and do a book then that will maybe solve the problem and I think to some degree it did. I think I’ve laid it to rest as much as you can with something like this.”

The challenges of wading through sometimes difficult memories and determining how sharing these memories could affect his loved ones was balanced by the insights he gained into his musician brother’s life in the Yukon. “I talked to so many people when I was there and I was going to the places where he would have played.” He says. “I got a much better sense of his world, because we were separated by 3500 kilometers and so I didn’t really know that much about it, but that I think was one of the most powerful things I got out of it.”

Gillmor, who teaches Creative Non-fiction classes at SCS, advises any writer grappling with personal subject matter not to leave anything out, at least for their first draft. “I always counsel people to be as brave and bold as possible and to reveal more than they would like to, because if you’re too careful then the story won’t have the resonance that it might,” he expands. 

Teaching at SCS has helped Gillmor further hone his own considerable writing skills. “You don’t actually know what you know about writing until you have to tell other people about it and so you have to just sit down and articulate to yourself how you solve certain problems and how you approach things and a lot of that I realized was purely instinctive,” he says. “I had never actually sat and thought this is how you structure a book or this is how you conduct research. So by sitting down and thinking about it and putting together these lectures, it forced me to think more analytically and in a more technical way and I think it’s been very helpful actually.”

As for advice he would offer someone just getting started in writing non-fiction, Gillmor says that aside from trying to develop a practice of writing every day, he recommends being as honest as possible and not being afraid to tell your story. “Be ruthless with yourself - and sometimes you have to be ruthless with other people - but to put it all down as honestly as you can and then take a look at it. Maybe there are things you have to pull out but at least to know everything and be able to see it on the page, I think you have to be able to do that,” he says.  

“Sometimes you have students who think that their own story is too prosaic or mundane and they wonder who would want to read about it but there are dozens of examples of stories that are just about someone growing up somewhere and they’ve just rendered it so beautifully and hauntingly that that story becomes really meaningful to potentially a very large audience. So don’t deny your own experience.”

Else Grech, who teaches Accounting: The Fundamentals, and Business Ethics, recently received our Excellence in Online Teaching Award. She was nominated by her learners for her outstanding instructional presence, her ability to create an inclusive digital learning environment, and her talent for encouraging meaningful online interaction.

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Else is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), and a member in good standing at the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. A graduate of the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) Commerce program, Else has worked in a wide range of senior accounting positions, as well as in recruitment, publishing, and retail web sales. She has taught continuing education courses in-class since 1998, and online since 2003. Else completed her Bachelor of Education in 2007, and is an Ontario Certificated Teacher (primary).  In 2013, she completed her Master’s in Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE).  Else plans to continue her studies in the near future in order to obtain her Ph.D. in Education at OISE. 

One of the courses she instructs, Accounting: The Fundamentals, grounds learners in the basics of financial accounting. Else begins by sharing an introduction to basic financial statements, then moves through the accounting cycle and the notion of debit and credit. Learners end the course knowing what questions to ask about a company's financial statements and how to make better business decisions based on sound analysis.

Else is also passionate about instructing Business Ethics, teaching learners that ethics and communication are central to the credibility of those who analyze financial information for employers, clients, and other financial users. She introduces the CPA’s Advanced Certificate in Accounting and Finance (ACAF) Method, which is a road map learners can use to navigate accounting and finance problems.

Originally from California, Leslie lived in England for many years before settling in Toronto. She is a medical anthropologist, and a research associate in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto.

Her prize-winning short story, Natalie, Happy, follows the life of a Canadian anthropologist named Natalie who lives in a fictional town in northern England. The story revolves around her marriage to a man named Erik, a fellow anthropologist from Zimbabwe, and their journey toward building a family and their careers.  Natalie, Happy explores the meanings and challenges of being a mother, a woman, a wife, and an academic.

Leslie sat down with SCS to discuss her story inspiration and passion for creative writing.

SCS: What inspired you to take Creative Writing at SCS?

LC: I loved creative writing when I was younger. When my family moved to Toronto nine years ago, I was struggling to finish a paper I was writing, and at the same time felt overwhelmed by the task of keeping all my friends and family in England up-to-date on my new life in Toronto. A friend suggested I start a blog to keep everyone updated on my new adventures, which inspired me to explore fun ways to reinvigorate my writing.  I took a class at SCS and got hooked, and just this year completed my Certificate in Creative Writing.

SCS: What was your inspiration for this story?

LC: Natalie, Happy wasn’t inspired by one particular event. It’s an amalgamation of many stories and people I have known throughout my life, mixed with my own original ideas and twists. It’s also the product of my personal interrogations of motherhood, professionalism, marriage, and family.

SCS: How has winning this award influenced your creative writing future?

LC: It’s still so fresh, but it’s wonderful. I’d entered other stories in this competition in the past, and had been a runner up more than once. It was becoming an ‘always a bridesmaid, never a bride’ situation, so winning was really special. I’m inspired to carry on writing and taking courses at SCS.

SCS: Any advice for aspiring writers?

LC: I would highly recommend the SCS Creative Writing program; there’s really something for everyone here. Classes are flexible, so you can learn in-person or online (which I chose to do in the dead of winter to avoid the cold)! I also suggest finding a writing community. Being an author isn’t just about learning the practical aspects of writing, but finding a community and becoming part of a conversation around writing, reading, and creative possibilities.

Dave Jailal, who teaches Financial Management at SCS, recently received an Excellence in Teaching Award. Learners were inspired by his love of instruction and mentorship, and nominated Dave for his industry expertise and use of tangible, real-world examples to highlight and explore course content.

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Dave is currently a Director in the Banking Supervision area at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), and a part-time post-secondary instructor. He has over 19 years of experience in progressively responsible roles within the financial services industry, ranging from external auditor to bank supervisor. He has been an instructor for the last 10 years with a specialization in Accounting, Corporate Finance, and Auditing courses. At OSFI, he leads a team of bank supervisors involved in the assessment of risks, governance, and risk mitigation processes for a portfolio of 21 financial institutions. Dave holds an Executive MBA degree, with distinction, from Ivey Business School at Western University, a Chartered Professional Accountant designation, and a Chartered Investment Manager designation.

He has a strong interest in mentorship, and is inspired by the commitment of his Financial Management learners. In his course, Dave introduces learners to the principles of finance and their application. He explores topics such as the time value of money, valuation of financial securities, capital budgeting, determining appropriate discount rates, and short- and long-term financing.

Gabriel Musso is the recent recipient of our Outstanding New Instructor Award. Learners in his course, Statistics for Data Science, nominated Gabriel for his ability to tailor challenging content, and meet the needs of diverse learning styles. His talent for teaching innovative, adaptive, and current material, while being highly accessible to his learners, earned him this exciting honour.

As Chief Scientific Officer at BioSymetrics Inc., Gabriel is focused on growing the company’s AI platform and applying it in the areas of genomics, drug discovery, imaging, and clinical diagnosis. Prior to joining BioSymetrics, Gabriel was a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School where his work focused on using machine learning frameworks to predict gene and small molecule function, and identification of disease-causal genes using large-scale genomic datasets. Gabriel received his PhD in Molecular Genetics and Computational Biology from the University of Toronto (U of T). He also received his Master of Science and undergraduate degrees from U of T.

Gabriel is passionate about teaching data science at SCS. In his course, learners explore probability and descriptive statistics, and cover data analysis from both a classical and contemporary viewpoint while learning how to extract insight from datasets. The course content also covers part of the body of knowledge of INFORMS’ Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) certification.