Grad Slam 2017
Dear Colleagues,
I am delighted to announce UCLA’s third annual Grad Slam.
With support from the Office of the Chancellor, Graduate Students
Association and Student Fee Advisory Committee, the Graduate Division
will host this campus-wide competition that showcases and awards prizes
for the best 3-minute research presentations by graduate students. The
competition aims to strengthen their presentation and networking skills,
as well as their ability to simplify and articulate their research
concisely and effectively to a non-specialist audience.
Grad Slam will take place April 11 - 25
with the campus winner advancing to a UC-wide competition that will be
held in San Francisco on May 4, 2017. The UCLA competition will be
comprised of preliminary and semi-final rounds, culminating in a final
competition and celebratory reception on April 25, 2017. First, second
and third place winners will receive fellowships in the amounts of
$3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 respectively. There will also be an Audience
Choice award in the amount of $500.
There will
be information sessions, workshops and small group coaching sessions to
assist students in their preparation for the competition.
To help
make Grad Slam another great success this year, I would like to formally
invite your participation in one or more of the following ways:
1.
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Please assist us with our outreach by encouraging your graduate students to enter the competition. Please direct them to the Grad Slam website
for further information and to sign up. We have already emailed all
graduate students about the competition and will be sending follow-up
communications. However, your assistance in getting the word out will be
greatly appreciated. Again this year we would especially like to
increase participation from students in the Social Sciences and Humanities. The Grad Slam registration deadline is Tuesday, March 8th at 12 midnight PST. They can sign up on the website.
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2.
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Sign-up to be a Grad Slam judge.
The time commitment for each round will be 3 hours. We will be provide
each judge with a scoring rubric in advance, along with other pertinent
information. If you are able to participate as a judge for any of the competition rounds (schedule below), please complete this online form by Friday, March 31st. Based on your response, we will assign you to a competition round.
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3.
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Post and/or circulate the attached flyer to help get the word out about Grad Slam.
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4.
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Engage key alumni, donors and professional contacts to become involved in Grad Slam,
either by attending the events or serving as a judge. Grad Slam is a
wonderful cultivation opportunity to expose UCLA associates directly to
our graduate students and the impactful research they are conducting.
Please contact Sonya Gavin (contact info below) if you would like to
receive specific messaging to send to your associates.
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5.
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Attend
one or more of the competition rounds to support our students and learn
about the remarkable research achievements taking place on this campus
every day! They are free and open to the entire campus community and
general public. To view the schedule, visit the Grad Slam website and click on the Competition Schedule tab.
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6.
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Forward this message to encourage others in your organizations and departments to get involved in these same ways!
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We are very
excited about the 2017 Grad Slam and the opportunity it will provide
for our graduate students to showcase their remarkable research
achievements and to hone their presentation skills.
Should you have any questions, please contact Sonya Gavin, Director of Operations and External Relations at sgavin@grad.ucla.edu or 310.206.3269.
Sincerely,
Robin L. Garrell
Vice Provost, Graduate Education
Dean, Graduate Division
Vice Provost, Graduate Education
Dean, Graduate Division