The RAS-NSA is happy to host its Intensive Professional Retreat for Emerging Scholars at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, from May 27 to May 29, 2024. Participants will get the occasion to hone their skills related to research development and execution, knowledge mobilization, outreach, and communications, while at the same time receiving concrete briefings and trainings through modules about what researching in the field of Canadian security and defence truly entails. Over the course of two days, they will participate in a series of modules that touch every step of the research enterprise, from start to finish. On the third, they will engage in training familiarizing at CFB-Kingston before traveling to the RAS-NSA’s annual colloquium, taking place on May 30, 2024.
Preliminary Schedule
Day 1 – May 27, 2024
9:30 am – 10:30 am: Intro and Icebreaking
Welcoming remarks and goal setting.
10:30 am – 10:45 am: Health Break
10:45 am – 12:15 pm: Module 1, Military Operations and the Defence Community
How does research and strategic analysis inform military operations and defence activities? This session focuses on the interaction between research and practice with this important question in mind. Through the MINDS program, the integration of external expertise is encouraged, but there are both opportunities and challenges to academic-military engagement. This session is designed to provide examples of how research and military affairs can connect, as well as strategies to improve communication across professional divides.
12:15 pm – 13:15 pm: Lunch Break
Speed mentorship.
13:45 pm – 15:15 pm: Module 2, Research Ethics and Challenging Fieldwork Environments
How should students approach the ethical and safety aspects of their research? How can they prepare effectively for the more complicated and challenging aspects of fieldwork? This module is designed to give an overview of what considerations should keep in mind when given sensitive information, traveling to more volatile areas, and navigating unpredictable local contexts.
15:15 pm – 15:30 pm: Health Break
15:30 pm – 17:00 pm: Module 3, Organizing/Logistics of Field Work
A sometimes neglected, but equally important component of a successful research project ties in to planning and logistics. Knowing who to contact, how to approach them, and what steps a researcher should take when organizing fieldwork is essential. This module is designed to equip Emerging Scholars with realistic expectations of what doing fieldwork entails on a practical level and provides tips on how to develop research networks beyond academia to advance their research agenda to the next step.
18:00 pm – 20:00 pm: Welcome Dinner
Day 2 – May 28, 2024
9:30 am – 10:30 am: Module 4, Military 101
To the uninitiated, military operations are shrouded by complicated concepts and inaccessible terminology (and acronyms!). This module is designed to familiarize Emerging Scholars with military terminology and experiences, as well as to provide them with the knowledge needed to work and study within the defence community in Canada.
10:30 am – 10:45 am: Health Break
10:45 am – 12:15 pm: Module 5, Taking Your Project Further: Publications, Outreach, and Spin-Off Projects
What comes after data collection and analysis? How can Emerging Scholars make the most of their research and intellectual work? This module is designed to equip Emerging Scholars with ideas on how to take their projects further through new publications, outreach to the general public, and spin-off projects.
12:15 pm – 13:15 pm: Lunch Break
Headshot photo station.
13:45 pm – 15:15 pm: Module 6, Part 1, Media Training
An essential aspect of the academic enterprise is now the ‘public-facing’ work scholars have to do. An important component of this are Op-Eds and short pieces written to address and inform the general public while being responsive to the news of the day. This module is designed to train Emerging Scholars in identifying where and how to pitch their ideas, how to write quickly, and how to cultivate their reputation as a public intellectual with journalists and different media.
15:15 pm – 15:30 pm: Health Break
15:30 pm – 17:00 pm: Module 6, Part 2, Media Training
Giving interviews on the radio and on television can be daunting, yet more and more, universities and the government value the public-facing work their researchers do in order to publicize research to the general public. This module seeks to train Emerging Scholars in how to prepare for such an interview, anticipate questions, decide the key messages they wish to convey, and make sure to stay on message in the moment.
18:00 pm – 20:00 pm: Dinner
Day 3 – May 29th
9:30 am – 2:00 pm: Training familiarization at CFB-Kingston
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