CEW prides itself on providing an amazing Student Program by giving students ample opportunities to network, learn, and exchange ideas at a reduced registration cost and lower short-course fees. Just indicate which events you are interested in when you sign up via the online registration form, show up, and we will do the rest!
Student Program Overview
Signup for all student program activities is available upon registration.​
For any student program questions, please contact the Graduate Student Advisors.
Adding these programs to your registration form help us to better track expected headcounts and these can be added at any time.
Student-Mentor Activities
Evening Networking | October 5th, 2025
​
During our speed-networking style event, mentors and mentees will be seated such that mentees rotate to new tables/breakout rooms every few minutes. Each “table” will have some suggested questions covering a wide range of topics including but not limited to job/postdoc search tips, work/life balance, early career advice, science communication and media, and inclusivity in science that the seated parties can discuss.
This is a great opportunity to identify mentors that you would like to get to know over the course of the workshop. Additional details about the event’s logistics will be sent to the participants ahead of the workshop. Light snacks and a beverage will be served.
Student-Mentor Lunch | October 7th, 2025
​
The Tuesday networking event will consist of mentees choosing or being assigned to mentor tables on various themes (e.g., early career advice, women in science and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in STEM, science communication, work-life balance, travelling for research continuing in academia, tips for publishing, and working in industry or government). Each table will be given ice breaker questions to facilitate conversation. Details about the event’s logistics will be sent to the participants ahead of the workshop.
Student Competitions and Awards
Volunteer judges will evaluate all poster and platform in these competitions according to CEW-identified criteria. The judging rubric will be made available shortly, and we encourage students to keep these criteria in mind when preparing their presentations.
Poster and Platform Competition: Are you presenting your research and want valuable feedback as well as a chance to win cash prizes? Then make sure you sign-up when you submit your abstract to be included in either the Student Poster or the Student Platform Competition (but not both).
Playle Awards: If you have had your thesis submitted and accepted in the past year, you are eligible to be nominated for the Dr. Richard Playle Award for Outstanding Thesis in Ecotoxicology. Two awards (one each at the BSc and MSc level) are awarded annually. The winners present their award-winning theses at the workshop so be sure to attend.
Co-Judging
Take advantage of this opportunity to co-judge platforms and/or posters with a mentor-judge. Each student will be assigned a presentation and use the judging rubric to independently review the presenter and their work. They will then coordinate with their judging mentor to meet and discuss each other’s scores. This is a great opportunity for students to get a behind-the-scenes view of what professionals look for in well-prepared scientific presentations, either in a poster or platform format. Participation will provide insight that can help you improve the presentation of your own research! Please note that judging in the student competition requires absolute confidentiality and you will have to declare any conflict of interest in your judging assignment.
Student Outreach Competition
Do you want to flex your creativity and display your research in an artistic medium of your choosing. Whether it’s poetry, photography, beading, painting, song, video, or memes, as long as it can be mounted to a poster board (with QR codes as an option), you’re welcome to submit. Maximum size of submission: 2ft x 2ft. Students’ creations will be displayed on poster boards during the workshop, and attendees will vote on their favourite throughout the conference. Monetary prizes will be awarded to the top three works during the closing ceremony!
Student Co-Chairs
Ever wonder what it takes to be a session chair? Well, wonder no more! Students have the opportunity to assist session chair(s) during the workshop and learn what it takes to keep a workshop productive, organized, and on schedule. Assisting the chair(s) involves loading presentations and ensuring they are in the proper queue, keeping track of attendance at each presentation, thinking of possible questions to ask presenters, and possibly introducing presenters to the audience.
Student Buddy System
Attending a workshop for the first time can be overwhelming! If it’s your first time attending CEW or you’ve been to CEW before and you want to show first-time attendees the ropes, consider participating in our Buddy System. First-time CEW student attendees will be paired up with experienced student attendees on Monday before the start of the workshop. This is a fun way for students to network with each other and meet new people with similar interests in a casual setting while helping first-time attendees feel more comfortable with other workshop events.