After two years of engagement, exploration, and evaluation, McMaster University’s first Research Data Management (RDM) Institutional Strategy is ready. 

This document was created through the contributions, writing, input, and feedback of hundreds of members of the McMaster research community under the leadership of McMaster’s Institutional Strategy Working Group.

By Maureen Lawlor, McMaster University

For Neha Dhanvanthry, having access to menstrual hygiene products while on campus comes down to equity.

“We get toilet paper and soap in our washrooms, can’t we also be provided these?” said the fourth-year life sciences student. “They are things that people need to support their health and well-being on campus.”

By Kate Whelan, Academic Sustainability Programs

An effort to get McMaster community members to adopt a free search engine that donates its ad revenue to reforestation projects is starting to take root, says a group of students.

The students, members of Zero Waste McMaster — a sustainability-focused student group, have been promoting and encouraging the use of the browser extension Ecosia. For every 45 searches, approximately one tree is planted, according to the search engine.

The arrival of spring provides a timely setting for a virtual talk that will dig into rich soil: a lavish selection of rare botanical books recently added to the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections.

The LinkedIn Learning Club @ McMaster is coming full circle.

Launched in spring of 2022, the campus-wide initiative was developed to encourage McMaster University students to take advantage of free, unlimited usage of their LinkedIn Learning accounts.

To mark the one-year anniversary, Eline Gonzalez and Maggie Chan, McMaster students and LinkedIn Learning ambassadors, have released a campaign that offers helpful tips for succeeding in the workforce.

A team of experts has come together under one virtual roof to help ensure those involved in research at McMaster University have access to the digital tools, services, and supports that they need.

The Digital Research Commons Pilot is a three-year project that will lay out how McMaster can create a more connected, capable, and user-focused approach to digital support for research. The goal of the pilot is to improve access to systems, services, software, and training for researchers across the institution.

A new pilot program offered by a group of McMaster University librarians is providing undergraduate students with the opportunity to access drop-in research support.

Erin Stienstra, teaching and learning librarian (social sciences and humanities), Carly McLeod, teaching and learning librarian (engineering), and Ines Perkovic, business librarian, are leading the initiative to help ensure student success.

McMaster University’s Research Software Development team has a new home.

Established in 2018 through initial funding from the Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research Industry and Education and the Office of the Vice President, Research, the group provides software development support for researchers, groups, and facilities at McMaster.

As of January 2023, the team relocated to McMaster University Library to support the Digital Research Commons Pilot, a three-year initiative to advance digital user support for McMaster’s research community.

The LinkedIn Learning Club @ McMaster is helping students develop their professional writing skills through its latest campaign.

During the month of March, McMaster University students using their free LinkedIn Learning accounts will have access to the campaign, which features a collection of instructional videos surrounding professional writing.

This month’s collection was curated by Maggie Chan and Eline Gonzalez, McMaster students and LinkedIn Learning ambassadors.

I have vivid memories of reading Rabbi Bernard Baskin’s various essays and letters in the Hamilton Spectator and talking with my parents about them around the kitchen table.

Raised in a Catholic household in Hamilton, I was captivated by his writings on some of the most challenging social issues of the time. I was moved by the clarity and openness of his thinking, and his strong sense of social justice.

As I grew older, I gained a better understanding of the Rabbi’s profound influence on the community.