Life of a schooling mum

I was going through the University of Manitoba's website and I came across a set of application instructions for a paticular department. What caught my attention was the instruction/advice on how to contact a potential supervisor. I consider these points very apt, interesting, some almost hilarious but they should be effective in the end. Check out the points below: DO NOT  mass mail professors, if you are considered harassing, your emails will be blocked send these selected professors your Statement of Intent, CV, and possibly your transcripts   STATEMENT OF RESEARCH INTENT This is a VERY IMPORTANT document. As may be your only chance have to tell the professor about your research and academic background Be brief!  A Statement of Research Intent should be limited to 1 to 2 pages, double-spaced or 1.5 spaced. Write at a Professional Level DON'T write ... it's always been you dream to come to Canada you're doing this to improve the situa...

My Iranian friend usually makes the mistake of referring to a male as 'she' and vice-versa. As usual, she offers an apology (which I do not consider necessary) and corrects her mistake. She had shared with me in the past that the Persian language had no gender designation and it got me thinking about the Yoruba language as well.  As we sat down over coffee yesterday with our Chinese and Indian friends, I realised how related my local Nigerian language was to theirs. One thing stood out for us - none of our local languages had any gender differentiation. 'He' or 'She' didn't exist in our languages, rather we had words to differentiate between an older person and a younger person as a sign of respect - a trait completely absent in the English language. The French language is even more complicated and interesting on the gender qualification as even things needed to be qualified as female or male. We realised that languages had their different idiosyncrasie...

Wellcome trust is inviting applications from international junior researchers who are interested in studying for a master's  degree in Public health, Tropical medicine, and other related fields. The host institution should be located in low and middle-income countries as described by the world bank. The  funding will cover studentship stipends, fees and research expenses for a maximum period of 30 months. Eligibility : You must  be a low- or middle-income country citizen hold a clinical or non-clinical undergraduate degree in a subject relevant to public health or tropical medicine.  be at an early stage in your career with limited research experience (but you must have a demonstrated interest in, or aptitude for, research) have a research proposal that is in the  public health and tropical medicine remit . Stages of application Submit your full application View a  sample full application form for Master's Fellowships in Public...

It was initially intended to be a meal of potatoes and vegetables but it evolved into an interestingly delicious meal I would like to call vegetable mash.  Ingredients 5 small sized yellow potatoes 3 medium sized carrots 1 medium size green bell pepper 3 green chile peppers Green beans Shrimps Seasonings Preparation 1. Potatoes were cooked in water and a pinch of salt. It was drained and set aside. 2. Carrots, peppers, and beans were washed and chopped  3. The vegetables, peppers, and shrimps were fried and in very little olive oil (less than half a cooking spoon of olive oil) 4. Spices (black pepper and stock cubes) were added to taste Note: Vegetables were stir fried for 2-3 minutes 5. Cooked potatoes were added to the stir fried veggies and mashed using a spatula 6. Vegetable mash was then served with grilled chicken in tomato sauce. Bon appetite!

It is always such a pleasure to celebrate achievers, especially women who are constantly making a difference not only in their own careers but also in the lives of others. Today, we choose to celebrate Oluwakemi Onabanjo who recently delivered a beautiful speech as the valedictorian for the July 2016  MBA graduating set at INSEAD. Please see her valedictory speech below. Prior to her MBA program, Kemi who is a YALI 2014 fellow, had a wealth of experience working on business projects which served the public sector, social sector, and corporate clients. In addition to these, she is a member of the board of trustees for Helping Other People Excel (HOPE), an NGO whose theory of change is that developing leadership skills in Nigeria's teenagers today will cultivate change agents who will drive the country's needed development. She isn't only a beautiful woman but also a woman creating beauty in the lives of others, blazing the trail and lending a hand to help other peop...

I had an interesting conversation with a colleague a couple of weeks back - a conversation that I haven't stopped thinking about. The conversation progressed from just a discussion to some sort of debate almost tending towards an argument. I would like your feedback on this as I am interested in what you all think. The subject of women depending on their husbands for intellectual decisions. As a newly-wed man, my colleague complained of how he felt like his wife had become more dependent on him for advice, general decisions, and even actions. He went on about how she had refused to fill out a particular form just because she knew he was available to do it. He admitted that his wife was very smart but he couldn't wrap his head around the new 'lazy' she had become. In her defense, I told him that a lot of women liked to depend on their partners to do certain things for them in this age not because they cannot on their own do these things, but because they wante...

The Cambridge trust is currently offering the Vice-Chancellor's award to undertake Ph.D. studies at the University of Cambridge, UK. This scholarship is open to UK, EU and International applicants. The purpose of this scholarship is to support students by offering full financial support irrespective of their nationality, to undertake quality research leading to a Ph.D. degree. This scholarship is open to research in all disciplines. The factors that are taken into consideration when screening applicants and prospective scholarship awardees are: 1. Academic qualifications 2. References 3. Research potential * Note that the financial status of the applicant is not considered when selecting scholarship winners. Successful applicants will be announced in March 2017. Application deadline: 7 December 2016 Applications should be submitted online by filling out the  Graduate Application Form  , ticking the box to apply to the Cambridge Trust and completing Sectio...

T he department of Veterinary Animal and Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Copenhagen is offering two PhD Fellowships to commence on 1 October 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter.  Required qualifications   MD or DVM Prior experience in clinical work and/or translational research with laboratory animals Knowledge in neonatology, paediatrics High motivation and basic scientific skills are essential Good communication skills both oral and written, including English usage Good collaborating skills are essential General Job description Manage, carry through and conclude your research projects, from experiments to analyses of samples Actively participate in PhD courses Write scientific articles and finalize your PhD thesis Participate in international congresses Conduct a research stay at an institution abroad Teach and disseminate your research Key criteria for the assessment of candidates The grade point a...

It seems like yesterday when we all celebrated and congratulated one another on the successful entry into a brand new year. It was the brand new year 2016 and we were armed with our goals and aspirations decked in our hearts, some of us even wrote them down, others posted them on their walls just so that they could wake up to their dreams every day. Fist week, the second week, and maybe the third we tried to envision our dreams for the year becoming a reality while we took active steps in the right direction but by the 20th week, we almost couldn't remember what those dreams were anymore. Today marks the beginning of the second half of 2016, and I'm wondering if, like me, many of you have abandoned some of the projects you swore to start this year. I'm not talking about projects beyond  your control like finding love, getting a miraculous healing, having a baby or putting an end to senseless world wars and terrorism. But I'm talking about projects that require ...