This past August, iBioMed hosted its first-ever skills workshop for iBioMed students. Both first year and upper-year iBioMed students had an opportunity to get a head start by taking a week’s worth of workshops. Topics ranged from MATLAB, Raspberry Pi and Python to presentation skills and how to conduct research. With over 60 registrants, this week proved to be a success with students showing great initiative and eagerness for the new school year!
Here are the highlights from this week.
Day One: Kick-Off and an Introduction to CAD and 3D Printing
Day One gave students an opportunity to network with their peers as well iBioMed faculty and staff. Representatives from Engineering Co-op & Career Services, The Student Wellness Centre and The Student Success Centre introduced their services to students.
Later in the day, students had the opportunity to engage with our student panel, which consisted of upper-year iBioMed students. After they learned all kinds of tips and tricks from their peers, they attended an introductory workshop to CAD and 3D printing while also having an opportunity to tour iBioMed’s Design Studio.
MATLAB and Python and Pi’s, oh my!
With the help of a number of volunteers from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Days Two, Three and Four introduced students to MATLAB, Python and Raspberry Pi. In MATLAB, students were introduced to importing data, plotting and matrices, while in Python they learned about datatypes and structures, programming constructs and syntax and more! Raspberry Pi was also a hit with students, as they got to have some fun with audio and cameras while learning about Arduino and ADC’s.
Day Five: Presentation Skills and Research
How could you not want to particiapte in a workshop with someone who looks this cool?! The iBioMed Program was very lucky to have Dr. John Bandler, Professor Emeritus, Electrical & Computer Engineering, facilitate one of these workshops. Dr. Bandler’s workshop, “Connect with Your Audience: Deliver Your Best in Three Minutes or Less,” gave students an introduction to presentation skills. Presentations and poster sessions are a large part of iBioMed courses, so this was a great way for students to learn how to engage with their audience while boosting their confidence.
This day ended at H.G. Thode Library of Science & Engineering for a session called “Following the Evidence: How to Review and Evaluate Research Articles.” This workshop was developed and facilitated by the Librarians from McMaster’s Health Sciences Library. Students then had a chance to go on a tour of the Thode Library Makerspace.
Thank you to all iBioMed students who took part in this day including our Ambassadors and volunteers. Students showed great initiative and motivation by participating in this week’s events!
