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As grad students, I hope that we are proud as what we do. We are in the cutting edge of research and knowledge, emerging leaders of our field. I’ll stop sounding like my program director now, but you get the point. At some point in our time here, we would be showcasing our work, educating others about the things we do. And there’s no better time to do it than now.

There are a lot of research-related events happening right now. As far as I know, many graduate divisions have their own version of research day. For some, it’s the highlight of their academic year. My own home division’s research day is on May 7, and everyone in IHPME is excited, even those of us in the professional programs. I might even present something myself! If your division doesn’t have a research day, or if you’re looking for other events to share your work, there are also school and nation wide competitions you can enter. In fact, the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is happening right now!

I don’t think I need to go into why you should enter a research day competition. We all know and can probably recite them in our sleep. Instead, I’m going to take the spectator’s side. Why should those of us who don’t have a thesis ready be attending these events, other than to support our friends and colleagues, maybe network a bit more? It’s got to be interesting. It’s got to be mind-blowing. If there were 3 topics/these (probably non-existent papers) that would make me feel the absolutely need to attend a research day event, they would be…

1. The impact of YouTube videos on eating habits

Hear me out on this one. There have been studies (don’t quote me) about poor eating habits and TV dinners. Now that things like YouTube and smart TVs are becoming more popular, how is that going to impact the length of time we spend eating, and what we are eating? I’ve heard people say that things like ads and full hour episodes can be bad for health, since you’re primed to eat junk food or to spend more time munching. What happens when you’re marathoning the Food Wishes YouTube channel?

2. A New Brand of Canadian Celebrities: Justin Beiber and Rob Ford on the World Stage

The world is fascinated with our two most infamous celebrities. Why? No, seriously. Why? How?

Follow-up study: Parallels of the rise of Beiber and Ford and their (perhaps) inevitable fall.

3. Wow. Such research. Much impressed: The efficacy of presenting complex ideas in meme

I imagine the presentation for this topic going a lot like this…

Presenter

Me

Presenter

 So, are any of you presenting this season? What are your topics? Share your division’s research day events in the comments below!