Job Title: MGEM Assistant
Position Classification: Project Assistant
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Master of Geomatics for Environmental Management (MGEM) program is a 9-month, course-based graduate program within the Faculty of Forestry with curriculum focusing on landscape ecology and geospatial skills. The program has a student cohort of around 30 each year and takes place primarily in UBC’s Forest Science Center (FSC).
We are looking for one highly motivated student to provide assistance with maintaining critical program resources and assisting Faculty. Student responsibilities will include managing content and design on the MGEM website, providing constant activity on social media pages, handling communications on behalf of the program, gathering information from students, and assembling necessary program documents.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
The successful candidate will assist and collaborate with MGEM faculty and members of the Integrated Remote Sensing Studio (IRSS), with guidance from the supervisor. Within the MGEM program, the student will have the following duties:
- Communicating with the entire MGEM cohort to share important updates and gather information
- Finding and documenting geospatial data sources, training opportunities, mapping tools, and more on the program website to improve resources for MGEM students
- Managing the program’s social media accounts to ensure daily activity and engagement
- Assembling and distributing orientation material to students
- Planning and coordinating program events with students, faculty, and other groups
- Preparing the MGEM lab space for student use
- Assembling research project proposals in conjunction with faculty
- Designing graphics and visual aides for program presentations and other documents
- Assembling and displaying MGEM student profiles
- Formatting, standardizing, and editing coursework such as labs and handouts
Qualifications:
This Work Learn position calls for the following competencies.
- Initiative: Identification of obstacles and opportunities for taking effective actions.
- Proactivity and seeking guidance from faculty and lab members to efficiently resolve problems
- Ability to be creative and independent; and a willingness to ask questions for improved outcomes.
- Analytic Thinking: Comprehension of tasks through deconstruction and identification of key or underlying mechanisms to resolve problems in a sound and decisive manner.
- Teamwork and Cooperation: Ability to work cooperatively within small groups and to collaborate with people of diverse backgrounds to achieve goals.
- Flexibility: Ability to adapt approaches as situations develop and for more effective outcomes; comfort in a dynamic working environment.
- A basic understanding of GIS and remote sensing, with general knowledge of computer systems, word processing, and image processing to better understand desired imagery and procedures.
- A basic understanding of forest ecology and natural resources.
The successful candidates must have interest in forestry science and remote sensing image processing to be a good fit for the position. We invite students with a background forestry, geography, or computer science at the 3rd or 4th-year level. General knowledge of ENVI, ArcGIS, or some programming experience (Python, R, Matlab, IDL) is beneficial but not essential. Photoshop and Illustrator skills would be appreciated.
STUDENT LEARNING COMPONENTS:
Orientation and training:
The successful applicants will be supervised by the coordinator of the MGEM program in conjunction with program faculty and members of the IRSS research team. Interaction between the student, faculty, and IRSS members will be frequent and intensive. Support will include dedicated computer workstations for analysis, a desk and workstation area, and access to one of UBC’s leading research environments and some of its best resources.
Feedback, Ongoing Support & Reflection
Throughout the term, the student will receive thorough feedback on their contributions both from the Faculty and IRSS staff members. Regular check-ins with the program coordinator will be made with a combination of weekly agendas, in-person meetings, and web correspondence.
The student will be able to make visible contributions to MGEM curriculum and resources, as well as to remote sensing research.
Mentorship, Encouragement, Support, and Networking Opportunities:
The students will receive mentoring from the program supervisor, Faculty, and IRSS graduate students.
In addition, the student will meet and work alongside an internationally and culturally diverse group of MGEM students with various research interests. The MGEM lab and IRSS are a positive and inclusive environment where the student will receive constructive feedback and peer support. The student will work alongside leading professionals on and off-campus. Specifically, the student will be introduced to the network of remote sensing, ecology, and biodiversity experts, as well as researchers in other groups on and off-campus. The student will also meet and be encouraged to develop relationships with researchers from other organizations involved in similar research.
Personal, Professional & Academic Development:
- The student will gain writing and presentation skills through assembling student profiles, research project proposals, and coursework.
- The student will organize events and coordinate with all faculty members and MGEM students, thereby gain organizational and communication skills
- The student will gain networking skills through outreach and collaboration with program faculty, guest speakers, and researchers.
- The student will gain web design and content management skills from overseeing and adding content to the course website.
- The student will directly learn about geomatics research, and will gain hand-on experience as well as learning theory.
- The student will gain knowledge of the MGEM program and experience that may benefit them if they are interested in this or other similar graduate programs in the future. Additionally, the IRSS has a long successful tradition of hosting work-learn students, with a number eventually undertaking graduate studies within the group.
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