Author: Eithne Lynch

The mysterious 4th Space project under construction in Concordia’s former bookstore on the Sir George Williams campus will be a new and innovative research facility.

4th Space is expected to cost $1.9 million in total and will be paid for through soliciting sponsors and donors. “Some of the costs are borne by researchers from their grant funding,” said Nadia Bhuiyan, Vice-Provost of Partnerships and Experimental Learning.

Concordia’s 4th Space project has been in the works for the past two years and will be open to the public by mid-November, with an official launch in January 2019.

“We don’t know of any other space that exists like this in a university setting,” said Associate Vice-President of Strategy and Operations, Research and Graduate Studies, Justin Powlowski.

The facility will combine science centres, design showrooms, museum exhibitions and theatre sets in rotating residencies. “It will be a flexible space that can be easily adapted to mix things up,” Powlowski said.

Bhuiyan said the 4th Space will encourage the sharing of knowledge within the university, as well as “provide a dynamic space for experiential learning, and encourage and provoke the public’s curiosity for current research questions.”

4th Space will enhance outreach efforts and the sharing of ideas by creating an immersive area where “the university community and the public can engage with new and challenging ideas, and learn to understand research,” said Bhuiyan.

Powlowski said the space offers exciting prospects that will bring research and researchers to the university, the city of Montreal and the general public. Concordia President Alan Shepard agreed: “This is the future of what knowledge creation and outreach will look like,” he said.

This new venture will benefit students by providing them with the opportunity to do their research. “The experience of being involved in the 4th Space will also help to prepare students to acquire skills in better communicating what they have done and can do in the world of research,” said Powlowski.

The university’s Strategic Directions plan is a nine-step initiative to enhance learning and collaborative thinking at Concordia. One of the steps is doubling the research at the school in various ways, such as launching trans-disciplinary research institutes, recruiting postdoctoral fellows, and fostering a collaborative research environment. Creating 4th Space will aid in achieving these goals as well as “enhance our ability to generate additional research funding,” said Powlowski.

It will accommodate a variety of activities that range in scale and scope, “from on-the-fly research studies, to public consultations, performances, idea labs, festivals, and many other types of programming activities,” said Powlowski.

Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Concordia’s aerospace engineering program ranked 8th in the country.

Concordia has been ranked eighth in the country for its aerospace engineering program, following McGill which earned second place.

An article by University Magazine said Concordia’s “state-of-the-art labs give you experience with the tools and equipment you may use in the field.” This and Montreal being one of the three largest aerospace hubs in the world is the reason its aerospace engineering program has been named eighth in Canada.

Although McGill has outranked Concordia, it only offers a masters degree in aerospace engineering, whereas Concordia offers both undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees. Concordia engineering professor Luis Rodrigues said Concordia’s aerospace engineering program “has characteristics that other universities’s programs don’t.”

Aerospace engineering focuses on the design, construction, and testing of aircrafts, spacecrafts, satellites, and even missiles. Quebec is among the largest global aerospace equipment manufacturers in the world with over 200 aerospace companies in the province, such as Bombardier and Aero Montreal.

Concordia has a four-year undergraduate aerospace engineering program. During those four years, students take core engineering courses, such as Introduction to Flight and Aerospace Systems, Thermodynamics, Statistics, and Modelling and Control Systems, totaling 33.25 credits.

“I can already tell this knowledge is leading me somewhere,” said Daniel Baranci, a second-year student in the aerospace program. Aerospace students must also take 59.75 elective engineering credits from a list of three main concentrations.

Like many other schools, Concordia offers concentrations in aerodynamics and propulsion, and aerospace structures and materials. What sets the university apart is its avionics and aerospace systems concentration.

Rodrigues said avionics and aerospace systems is a growing field of study. This is in part due to research into ways of applying the science behind electric cars to work for aircrafts with the goal of reducing the carbon footprint. Offering this concentration is one of the many ways the university distinguishes itself from others.

Despite the wide range of courses offered, Rodrigues said “the program can improve the number of courses offered in space systems.”

Concordia engineering students can get hands-on training through one of the many engineering labs. “We have a wind tunnel, a composite structures lab and two flight simulators, among many other labs,” said Rodrigues.

The program also grants its students many opportunities to gain work experience within their field of study. A co-operative education program is available for students in the aerospace program at Concordia, which allows them to “alternate between study and work terms in industries,” according to its website. Baranci said the co-op program is what attracted him to study at Concordia and has lead him to an internship with Bombardier as well as Airbus.

The Concordia Institute of Aerospace Design and Innovation’s (CIADI) website states that CIADI “promotes and supports aerospace research and education at Concordia.”  CIADI is the first aerospace institute in Quebec, according to Rodrigues. Finally, students can access apprenticeship programs that provide opportunities to take on relevant internships.

Graphic by @spooky_soda.

A Concordia professor has taken a break from teaching to focus on her business

Lisa McKenzie, a former Concordia professor, has created her own set of online classes that teach people how to turn their personal interests into a marketable businesses. She called it Blissonomics.

“Blissonomics helps people uncover, understand and communicate their personal or business brands to build and engage their communities, develop successful marketing campaigns and attract ideal alliances and opportunities,” said McKenzie. creator and self-proclaimed Chief Bliss Instigator.

McKenzie said the idea for Blissonomics came from the realization that many people weren’t satisfied in their professional lives. “There were too many people around me that were miserable in their careers and the businesses that they built.” In 2009, she bought the URL Blissonomics.com. “It took me another seven years of research, more learning, testing and building programs before I finally launched the company in October 2016,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie taught several social media courses on the fundamentals of branding at Concordia while working on the launch of her company.

Despina Levantis, a former student of McKenzie’s, wanted to work with small businesses and start-ups as an administrative accountant, but didn’t know how to access them. She discovered Blissonomics when McKenzie held a Facebook Live talking about her new venture. Levantis said the courses were incredibly personalized. “You feel like it’s you and her even if there are other students,” said Levantis.

Blissonomics offers three main course options. Finding your Bliss Spot, the foundation course advertises itself as being “where passion, purpose, skills, and joy come together to identify the business or career of your dreams.” McKenzie said people follow the course on their own, but can send her feedback and questions.

Her two Mastermind classes, Launch Venture Mastermind, a $1,400 class and Growth Venture Mastermind at $2,200, take a much more hands-on approach, allowing only 12-20 participants to join. During the six-month course, participants follow online videos, complete worksheets and participate in group video lessons. McKenzie said the small class sizes allow her to critique work and interact on a more personal level.

Miriam Pearl is the founder and recipes developer for Delicious Without Gluten. She signed up to learn how to align her work with what she loved. “I learned how to create a community of gluten-free fans and how to keep them engaged using the latest social media strategies,” said Pearl.

McKenzie keeps very busy as the primary mentor and teacher at Blissonomics, but she hopes to come back to Concordia someday. “My personal projects have kept me from teaching at Concordia for the last year, however I look forward to future opportunities where I can continue to share my knowledge with Concordia students,” she said.

Graphic by Ana Bilokin.

French student Nolwenn Bouillé does “le tour du poteau.”

Nolwenn Bouillé was excited to start her first year at Concordia. But first she had to do “Le tour du poteau.”

The purpose of “Le tour du poteau” (“Flagpoling”) is to change one’s visa status. However, in order to do so, a person must leave and re-enter the country.  Bouillé did this by taking a bus to the New York border, then crossing back into Canada moments later.

This wasn’t the first obstacle she had encountered when coming to study in Canada. While living in Hong Kong, Bouillé, a French citizen, decided that rather than go back to France for university, she would study in Montreal. She wanted to see other countries and practice her English while maintaining the security of being in a French-speaking city. She chose Concordia for its film studies programs, since she wanted to minor in it, and chose to major in political science.

She started filling out all the documents needed to come to Canada and study in Quebec. Bouillé said everything was going well until she started applying for her study permit. “The study permit was a problem because at first they told us we didn’t need a medical check-up,” said Bouillé.

However, a week before leaving for Montreal, Immigration Canada emailed her saying she would need to have a blood test, chest x-ray and a general check-up as part of the application process. She was provided names of doctors and was told the tests could only be done by someone on the list. “We eventually found someone who could do all that a week before leaving,” said Bouillé. She sent in her information and came to Montreal with all her documents.

Bouillé said there was never any clear reason given as to why Canada required a full medical exam as part of the application process.

“When we arrived at immigration, we were waiting for about an hour at the first desk,” said Bouillé. She was then moved to a room with other international students. “We waited for a long time, probably about two hours. It was about midnight at this point.”

When she was called, she presented all the necessary documents to the immigration officer and expected to receive her study permit. “He told me basically that I shouldn’t have flown to Montreal at all.” This was because she had never received confirmation that the study permit had gone through. Bouillé said she was never aware that she needed the confirmation. “I just knew that when you arrive at the airport, you’re supposed to go to a desk and they have the documents and they give you the study permit.”

Bouillé was sent to another waiting room to have her case looked at again. There, she met with another Canadian immigration agent. “This woman told me that she had two options: she could either send me back home directly on the next flight or she could give me a tourist visa for 11 days.”

Bouillé was told if she got the tourist visa, that once her study permit was confirmed she would have to do “Le Tour du Poteau.” “I think she was trying to scare us somehow, she was like ‘I don’t know, I don’t know’ but she finally gave [me] the opportunity to get the tourist visa,” she said.

The agent also told her that because she didn’t have the study permit, she wouldn’t be allowed to attend her classes. “That kind of stressed me out because I didn’t want to lose a week,” Bouillé said.

Once she obtained the tourist visa, Bouillé went to the International Student Office (ISO) at Concordia for help. She said the assistance she received in person was very helpful.

Bouillé said that although the ISO was helpful when she met with the advisor in person, they were never involved in the initial application process. “They just give you a list [of documents] and you have to do it yourself,” she said. “It was difficult at first because you have to get through all those immigration websites and they tell you different things.”

A week later, Bouillé got the study permit confirmation. She completed  “Le Tour du Poteau” by crossing the New York border, then walking across the street back into Canada. Once on the Canadian side, her official study permit was processed and issued and she returned to Montreal.

In an email to The Concordian, university spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr offered tips to new students coming from abroad. “Students should read the Pre-Departure Guide,” she said. “They should ensure they have all of their documents with them when they travel, including their Letter of Introduction.” Barr said students should attend a Pre-Arrival Webinar, where they can learn how to apply and what to bring when traveling. She suggested students contact the ISO for information and assistance. Barr said, “students who arrive through Trudeau Airport can also request Accueil Plus – to have their study permits prepared ahead of their arrival.”

Bouillé said the ISO could communicate better with international students. “With the time differences, it’s not easy to get someone on the phone and emails take time.” However, she didn’t fault the university for the struggle she faced in obtaining the study permit. “I don’t think they realize how difficult it is to apply when you’re in another country,” she said.

Bouillé hopes that by sharing her story, she will help other international students, as well as inform Canadian residents of the lengths that some people have to go to in order to obtain study permits and visas.

Graphic by @spooky_soda

Anyone who enters Concordia’s Webster Library is greeted by sounds of a crackling campfire or light jazz.

The Webster Library’s music installation has been the talk of many, most wondering why there’s music in the first place.

When the library’s staircase underwent renovations — part of the Webster Library’s larger transformation project — a full sound system with speakers in the ceiling was engineered such that the sounds played would remain contained to the staircase. Now, anyone who visits the Webster Library will hear a wide range of music, spoken word poetry and ambient sounds, such as birds chirping, as they enter.

Associate University Librarian Jared Wiercinski explained that the music is pulled from Concordia Library’s vast playlist. “Depending on when you’re in the staircase, you might only hear a few tracks out of a large playlist, which we hope keeps things interesting and fresh.”

He said the library’s sound installation was inspired by R. Murray Schafer, a Canadian composer, who composed soundscapes and worked in acoustic ecology, the study of the relationship between humans and the sounds in their environment.

Wiercinski said the soundscape was created with several goals in mind. It positions the library as a public space that promotes the “playback and enjoyment of sound recordings,” he said. It also aims to make Concordia Library’s large sound recording collection more familiar to the public and engages a diverse community of artists such as musicians, DJs, poets and sound experts to create works to add to the installation. The final goal is to “select sound recordings that encourage a contemplative and energized feeling as people enter the library,” said Wiercinski.

Bronte Williams, a JMSB student, feels that the soundscape doesn’t always achieve its final goal. “The calming music is nice and sets a study vibe, but other times it just distracts me.” She said she would rather there be more continuity to the sounds played. Concordia student Gregory Fils-Aime said “It’s very unexpected, you never know what you’re going to get,” but added that he didn’t find the music distracting.

Anyone can propose a sound be added to the installation by going to the library’s ‘listening spaces’ website. A committee will then review the proposals and select songs based on various criteria such as “the stated rationale, perceived artistic, intellectual, or political value, originality, and the credentials of the selector,” Wiercinski said. Visitors to this site can also contribute their own thoughts on the installation and the music that is played.

Although there are no plans to bring a similar sound installation to the Vanier Library, Wiercinski said they are open to the idea and “would love to hear student feedback about whether or not they would appreciate a similar audio installation.”

Graphic by Wednesday Laplante.