Peer Beyond Graduate Research Symposium

The Peer Beyond Graduate Research Conference is an annual UCalgary’s multi-disciplinary graduate research conference organized by the GSA. This conference offers UCalgary graduate students a unique opportunity to present your research and to cultivate interdisciplinary collaborations within the graduate community.

February 11 and 12, 2023 | Taylor Institute and Online


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Reconnect and Re-engage through Research

Register to attend this interdisciplinary conference presenting research carried out by graduate students at the University of Calgary, one of the top 10 research universities in Canada.

The Peer Beyond Graduate Research Conference is back in person. This year, the Conference will be hosted at the Taylor Institute (main lobby) on February 11 and 12, 2023! Attend the Peer Beyond Graduate Research Conference, UCalgary’s multi-disciplinary graduate research conference, to present your research. This conference offers UCalgary graduate students a unique opportunity to present your research and to cultivate interdisciplinary collaborations within the graduate community.

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Keynote Speaker: Joshua Whitehead (he/him)

Joshua Whitehead (he/him) is a Two-Spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary where he is housed in the departments of English and International Indigenous Studies (Treaty 7).

He is the author of full-metal indigiqueer (Talonbooks 2017) which was shortlisted for the inaugural Indigenous Voices Award and the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry. He is also the author of Jonny Appleseed (Arsenal Pulp Press 2018) which was long listed for the Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award, the Governor General's Literary Award, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction, the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction and Canada Reads 2021.

Whitehead is the editor of Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction, which won the Lambda Award in 2021.

Whitehead’s latest book Making Love with the Land was published in 2022 with Knopf Canada, exploring the intersections of Indigeneity, queerness, and, most prominently, mental health through a nêhiyaw lens. The book was shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Award for Nonfiction.

You can also find his work published widely in such venues as Prairie Fire, CV2, EVENT, Arc Poetry Magazine, The Fiddlehead, Grain, CNQ, Write, and Red Rising Magazine.

Register as an Attendee

Experience the future of knowledge at the 'Peer Beyond' Graduate Research Symposium, where groundbreaking research and interdisciplinary collaboration converge.
Submit your entry here

View the Conference's Schedule Here

Discover the full spectrum of knowledge and inspiration awaiting you - explore the conference's comprehensive schedule now!
View Conference Schedule
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Congratulations to the Graphic Contest Winner: Megan Ciochetto

The GSA is happy to announce the winner of the Design Contest for Peer Beyond 2023: Megan Ciocchetto, a Master's student in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.

"The drawing overall aims to represent the concept of being 'beyond the screen' seeing as digital means are the foundation of the work of graduate and doctorate students, seemingly regardless of discipline. Therefore, the graphic represents a commonality between fields of study, with 'Peer Beyond' serving as the connection, allowing for an interdisciplinary celebration of graduate work."

Megan Ciocchetto is an M1 student in the Master of Landscape Architecture degree at the University of Calgary. Prior to this, she completed her Bachelor degree of Science in Conservation Biology with a Certificate in Sustainability from the University of Alberta. Megan now continues to blend science and architecture through her work, with an emphasis on storytelling through design.

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Presentation Options

Each presenter will have approximately 10 minutes to speak and an additional 2 minutes for questions. Please remember that this is a multi-disciplinary conference, so keep jargon to a minimum and try to make presentations accessible for all.
Please Note: We have limited capacity for talk presentations. Depending on the number of abstracts received, you may be asked to present your work in another format.

Guidelines for Submissions

  • Titles of presentations are limited to 60 characters.
  • Abstracts are limited to 1,500 characters. 
  • Abstracts must be submitted via this form
  • Abstracts that do not meet the requirements will not be considered.
  • Submission of the abstract constitutes permission for the conference organizers to publish the abstracts in either printed or electronic format.
  • Submission deadline is December 15, 2022 at 11:59 pm, no late submissions will be considered.

Graphic & Slogan Contests

The GSA is hosting graphic and slogan contests for this year's GSA Peer Beyond Graduate Research Conference with total prizes of $750 ($500 for the graphic contest, and $250 for the slogan contest). This contest has passed.
Contest Rules
Submit your entry here

Hear From Our Past Presenters

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Lisa Zhao

MSc. Student in Electrical Engineering
"Peer Beyond was the first official conference I did in graduate school and it was an amazing opportunity to test my limits and grow. As a first-year master’s student, I had a lot of ideas for my thesis but not a lot of structure or places to put them! By preparing to present at the Peer Beyond Conference, I was given the opportunity to structure myself and my research then present my ideas professionally. Preparing the presentation allowed me to get feedback on how others understood my research and to improve my ideas. I was also able to practice presenting at a conference full of like-minded peers, which was helpful and made me feel more confident in my work. Through this opportunity, I had the experience to participate in other events at the university such as 3MT and eventually present at IEE VTC conference in the fall of 2021."
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Harrison Campbell

PhD Student in Education

"Honestly, the greatest help is getting feedback from your peers and faculty members in attendance. I attended Peer Beyond during my MA and received a ton of feedback on my project - much of which went into enriching my proposal. Now, in my PhD, I am excited to attend again as it will be close to my candidacy exam, so the opportunity to practice speaking about my work will be very helpful! "

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Brittany Lindsay

PhD Student in Experimental Social Psychology

"I had the privilege of attending and presenting at the 2021 Peer Beyond Virtual Conference. The conference itself was well organized, and the additional support for presenters was very helpful. At Peer Beyond, you get the opportunity to hear about what other students at UCalgary are working on, and it was really interesting to learn about research that is so different from mine! Peer Beyond also has many different award opportunities, and that encouraged me to present to the best of my ability - I was even fortunate to win a Best Talk Award! This conference is also a great way to practice your research presentation skills if it is something new to you - I definitely wish I had attended in my previous Master's degree!"

Award Winner for 2022 Peer Beyond Conference

We would like to announce and congratulate our Award winners for our 6th annual Peer Beyond Graduate Research Conference
Best Talk Awards
  • 1st place: Laura Sosa Ponce - Science
  • 2nd place: Amber Dukart - Social Work
  • Tie 2nd place: Julie Deleemans - Cumming School of Medicine
  • 3rd place: Lisa Yamaura - Cumming School of Medicine
Best Posters and Exhibits
  • 1st place: Laura Sosa Ponce - Science
  • 2nd place: Amber Dukart - Social Work
  • Tie 2nd place: Julie Deleemans - Cumming School of Medicine
  • 3rd place: Lisa Yamaura - Cumming School of Medicine
Program/Year
  • 1st year, Master’s: Aurelia Mir-Orefice
  • 2nd Year, Master's: Andrew Pires
  • 3rd Year, Master's: Danielle Fuchko

  • 1st Year, PhD: Elaine Atay and Chelsie Hart + Jenelle Morgan
  • 2nd Year, PhD: Brittany Lindsay
  • 3rd Year, PhD: Mario Cordova
  • 4th Year, PhD: Luke Brown
  • 5th Year +, PhD: Rachel Kratofil
Faculty Awards
  • Architecture, Planning & Landscape: Alima Pal
  • Arts: Chelsea Rozanski. & Michael Gavin, Elaine Atay & Chelsie Hart, Jenelle Morgan
  • Law: Joe Byram
  • Education: Sonia Johnston, Harrison Campbell & Andrea Madsen
  • Kinesiology: Shrushti Shah
  • Engineering: Mohammadali Ahmadi, Ali Mohammadi, Atul Koshy John
  • Medicine: Hina Qureshi, Emily Wachoski-Dark, Nabilah Gulamhusein
  • Nursing: Jasmine Hwang
  • Science: Amy Du, Milanpreet Kaur
  • Social Work: Brooke Alleman, Kaltrina Kusari
  • Veterinary Medicine: Filip Rakic
EDI Awards
  • John Gabriel Cabayao
  • Tinuke Ghineme
  • Amber Dukart
  • Feyi Adebayo
Creative Exhibit Awards
  • Janine McCalder - Science
  • Owen Brierley - Science
Early Submission Contest
  • $100 Amazon Gift Card Winner - Milanpreet Kaur
  • $100 Owls' Nest Books Gift Card Winner- Elaine Atay and Chelsie Hart
  • $100 Best Buy Gift Card Winner- Angela Pochakom
  • $100 Walmart Gift Card Winner- Lauren Bowron
  • $100 Loblaws Gift Card Winner- Kasha Talaga
  • $300 E-reader Winner- Tori Green-Harrison
  • $700 Nintendo Switch with Gift Card Winner- Amy Du
Empower Me
$651.00

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Add One Dependent (spouse OR child)
for an additional$651.00

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Add One Dependent (spouse + unlimited number of children)
for an additional$1,302.00

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Please note: The fees listed is in effect starting September 2023.