SYP Atlantic regional workshop: Navigating complexity in turbulent waters

Have you been involved in a meeting that lost focus or had difficulty staying on track?

Or been a member of a group that struggled to meet its goals?

Navigating complexity: Leading ourselves and others in turbulent waters, a regional workshop for students and young professionals in Atlantic Canada, will help you develop the communication and facilitation skills to work and engage with others toward a common goal.

Water issues are increasingly complex and touch everyone and everything. In your water management career you will be called upon to support clear and decisive action in the face of diverse perspectives and competing goals.

Working with facilitators Sera Thompson and Crane Stookey, you will participate in a variety of indoor sessions and outdoor winter activities that will focus, enrich and support you as a person and leader in the ever-expansive and multidisciplinary world of water stewardship.

Workshop goals and objectives

• Work with the human factor in groups and teams: Learn perspectives and practices for communication, facilitation and forming relationships needed to realize collective goals
• Develop personal leadership skills to stay grounded and effective in today’s changing, complex work environment
• Connect with other water practitioners and lay the groundwork for ongoing community engagement with participants

Accommodation and food

Participants will stay at Windhorse Farm in New Germany, Nova Scotia.

Rooms are double occupancy, so you will be sharing a room with another participant.

Accommodation will be booked and paid for by CWN. All meals will be provided. Please note any food allergies or if you have any special dietary requirements on the application form.

NOTE: Each participant must stay with the group at Windhorse Farm for the duration of the workshop. Those leaving for anything other than medical reasons will not be allowed to rejoin the workshop.

Who should apply?

This workshop is open to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and young professionals studying or working on water management issues in the Atlantic provinces, although preference may be given to students in the Atlantic region who are working or studying in CWN-funded labs.

The workshop is limited to 25 participants.

CWN workshops are interdisciplinary. Applications are encouraged from students in any water research or management discipline.

Application deadline

You must apply by January 6, 2012, 5 p.m. EST. (How to apply) Please note that the deadline has been extended to accommodate holiday schedules.

CWN will review all applications and notify applicants by e-mail about the status of their application by January 9, 2012.

Registration fee

You will be charged a nominal registration fee of $75 (which includes applicable taxes), payable upon acceptance into the workshop. Payment options are by VISA, MasterCard or a cheque payable to Canadian Water Network c/o University of Waterloo.

The payment deadline is January 13, 2012.

Travel guidelines

Participants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements and must do so no later than January 13, 2012 (if air travel is required). Please make sure that you arrive at Windhorse Farm no later than 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 25. The workshop will end around 1 p.m. on Friday, January 27.

Reimbursement

Allowable expenses — Travel claim forms will be circulated at the workshop and must be returned with original receipts and boarding passes. The University of Waterloo Finance Department will not process travel claims without original receipts.

Travel claims must be submitted within 30 days from the end of the workshop.

Reimbursable travel costs include airfare (economy rate) and/or ground transportation (airport transfer, bus/train ticket or car mileage) as well as meals during travel. If participants can reasonably use ground transportation, that option should be exercised.

Meals taken in transit to and from the workshop will be reimbursed up to a maximum of $50 per day ($12.50 for breakfast, $12.50 for lunch and $25 for dinner).

Original receipts must be provided.

Travellers will be reimbursed for actual airfare, not to exceed economy airfare. Flights must be booked at the earliest possible time to reduce travel costs. Mileage will be reimbursed at 40 cents/km. Flights booked after January 13 will be reimbursed based on the cost of economy airfare before this date.

Application process

Apply by January 6, 2012, 5 p.m. EST. (Please note: The deadline has been extended to accommodate holiday schedules.)

Incomplete applications or those submitted after the deadline will not be accepted. Participants who are accepted for the workshop may be required to submit a biography and a suitable work- or study-related photo.

CWN will review all applications and notify applicants by e-mail about the status of their application by January 9, 2012.

• Download the workshop application form (Microsoft Word .docx file).

Please complete the form and send it as a Microsoft Word attachment to Stacey M^cFadzen, Events and Student Programs Manager, CWN.

IMPORTANT: You may experience difficulties downloading the application form if you use Microsoft Internet Explorer as your web browser. If you have a problem, we suggest you download the file using Firefox.

If you do not have Firefox installed, you may download a free copy from Mozilla. You are also welcome to contact Stacey, who will send the application by e-mail.