About the Conference

The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) will host its 61st Annual Conference at the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort in Victoria, British Columbia, from 7 to 10 November 2023. The title of this year’s conference is Inclusive Excellence in Graduate Supervision and Mentorship.

Today’s graduate students and postdoctoral scholars face enormous challenges, including financial and family stresses, job market uncertainty, housing precarity, and the increasing toll on their everyday mental health and wellness. More than ever before, graduate students and postdocs require high quality, inclusive, and compassionate supervision and mentorship as they work to achieve their educational and professional goals. Excellent supervisors and mentors encourage work-life balance, inspire their trainees to be creative in their thinking, to push their research in new directions, and to contribute positively to their communities and to Canadian society more broadly. They are essential to graduate student and postdoc success – in the classroom, the laboratory, and beyond. The 61st Annual CAGS Conference will explore and celebrate the highest standards in inclusive supervision and mentorship.

The conference will be a primarily in-person event with selected sessions and special events being live-streamed on the CAGS YouTube channel. Presentations will be delivered in both English and French, with the goal of creating a truly bilingual environment. The conference hotel and event spaces are fully accessible and CAGS staff will be on site to assist with any accessibility requests. All necessary measures will be taken to ensure the health and safety of conference attendees.

The conference will feature a variety of panel discussions, roundtables, lightning presentations, and workshops, as well as daily plenary sessions dedicated to inclusive excellence in graduate supervision and mentorship. The conference will feature CAGS’ annual general meeting (AGM) and the 2023 National 3MT Showcase. A pre-conference workshop for deans, associate deans, and directors will be held in afternoon on Tuesday, 7 November (separate registration required), followed by the conference opening ceremony. The annual CAGS Awards Banquet will be held in the evening on Wednesday, 8 November. A guided walking tour of Victoria will be hosted by CAGS on Saturday, 11 November. Opportunities for networking and reconnecting with colleagues will be a feature of the conference experience.