NSERC CREATE ContRoL Training Program
The NSERC CREATE ContRoL Training Program aims to equip trainees with both technical and professional skills to enable them leverage these new technical advances to create real-world products that make an impact both in Canada and worldwide. We aim to achieve this goal through a combination of diverse partnerships and training initiatives that will give trainees a comprehensive background across all aspects of the field of controlled release and transitioning technologies from the lab to the market.
| Term | Year 1 | Year 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Fall Term | Career Mentoring (initial audit) | Job readiness workshop |
| Development of activities plan | Course #2 | |
| Winter Term | Industry discovery | Industry placement |
| Podcast Interview | ||
| Course #1 webinars | Online modules (microcredentialed) | |
| Summer Term | Course #1 practicum | Design sprint |
| AGM | AGM/3MT | |
| Industry skills workshop | Career mentoring (final review/feedback) | |
| Lab exchange |
| Term | Year 1 | Year 2 | Years 3/4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Term | Career mentoring (initial audit) | Job readiness workshop | Podcast interview |
| Development of activities plan | Course #2 | Grant writing collaboration | |
| Winter Term |
Industry discovery | Industry placement | Lab exchange |
| Course #1 webinars | Online modules (microcredentialed) | Online modules (microcredentialed) | |
| Summer Term | Course #1 practicum | Design sprint | Design sprint mentorship (1 year) |
| AGM | AGM/3MT | AGM (annually) | |
| Industry skills workshop | Career mentoring (review activities plan) | Career mentoring (final review/feedback) |
| Term | Year 1 | Year 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Fall Term | Career mentoring (initial audit) | Job readiness workshop |
| Development of activities plan | Grant writing collaboration | |
| Winter Term |
Industry discovery | Industry Placement |
| Podcast interview | ||
| Education 600 teaching course | Online modules (microcredentialied) | |
| Summer Term |
Co-instruct Course #1 | Design sprint |
| AGM | AGM/3MT | |
| Industry skills workshp | Career mentoring (final review/feedback) | |
| Lab exchange |
| Term | |
|---|---|
| Summer Term |
Career mentoring |
| Industry skills workshop | |
| Podcast interview | |
| Design sprint | |
| AGM/3MT |
Within the NSERC CREATE ContRoL Training Program, trainees will experience:
Career Mentoring
Customized career mentoring from start of the program to ensure that the program activities match with the goals of each individual trainee.
Integrative Courses
Two integrative courses, Collaborative Design in Controlled Release and Leadership for Innovation, that aim to build technical and professional skills to design, fabricate, and translate controlled release technologies, incorporating directed training in design thinking strategies and leadership and teamwork fundamentals and partnering with our industry collaborators to ensure our solutions have commercial relevance.
Design Sprint
A Design Sprint in which the controlled release solution developed in the courses is validated with potential customer input.
Industry placements
Industry placements for graduate students to gain hands-on experience outside of academia as an integrated part of their graduate school experience.
Exchanges
Exchanges to other labs within or outside of the ContRoL network (both local, national, and international) to develop hands-on experience in an area outside your own research expertise.
Entrepreneurship modules
Entrepreneurship modules, including the option to take a graduate certificate program in Health Innovation, to gain competencies and immersive experience in the entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystem.
Scientific communications training
Scientific communications training, including participation in a 3 Minute Thesis competition to learn how to clearly describe a core research project and a podcast aiming to make science relatable to the general public.
Industry Skills
Workshops on Industry Skills, aiming to develop an understanding of concepts not often covered in academia but important in industry (e.g. industrial health and safety, regulatory issues, ISO/Six Sigma, societal impacts), and Job Readiness, giving practical advice on interviewing skills, resume building, and networking strategies.
Annual General Meeting
An Annual General Meeting featuring presentations from ContRoL trainees and internationally-recognized experts in the area coupled with monthly trainee meetings to share technical ideas and develop collaborative research projects that leverage the diverse expertise within ContRoL.
Mentorship Circle
Access to the ContRoL Mentorship Circle to build links with industry leaders in the field and address individual challenges on each trainee’s path to success.
External conferences
Travel to external conferences to share your research with experts in your field.
Partnerships
Opportunities to partner with the Canadian Chapter of the Controlled Release Society (CC-CRS) to develop and/or participate in national workshops and networking events.