A student association open to all
NB: This series of encounters highlights the diversity of the members of the IRCM community, the variety of their expertise and the depth of their commitment to their respective roles
It's only been a few weeks since Clémence Schmitt took over the presidency of IRCM's student and postdoctoral association, colloquially known as ASSO, but it's already clear that the projects and ideas are not only clear, but on the way to realization.
Her involvement in ASSO goes back a long way:
‘’I got involved very quickly when I arrived at the IRCM. As the years went by, I wanted to get involved in social events, then I got more and more involved in the Health and well-being Committee, and when we opened up the position of student representative on the Management Committee, I put myself forward. So I joined the Management Committee, and what motivated me to take on the presidency of ASSO was that I saw, through the contact I established with the administration and our collaborative work, the potential to improve the professional lives of students and postdocs.’’
Clémence has been involved with the IRCM and the ASSO for several years now. She is delighted to be taking over from her predecessor, Elie Lambert. While her presidency promises to be a continuation of Elie's, Clémence has her own priorities. She has a number of projects for the coming year, starting with the implementation of the letter of understanding on graduate studies for post-docs.
She also wants to work on boosting student motivation in both scientific and social activities. In this respect, the pandemic seems to have left its mark, but a number of initiatives already in place are bearing fruit. She also wants to work with her ASSO colleagues to bring students closer to IRCM employees.
‘’Art therapy works very well for this, as it attracts people. The same is true of the French courses. These courses are very useful for including English speakers in the life of the Institute.’’
At the scientific level, Clémence wants to work on linking platforms and the student community.
‘’We want to encourage students to discover all that's available to them.’’
Among other things, the merger of Career Days and Interlabs has been well received, she explains.
It's allowed us to bring in a lot of interesting people from the outside world, and it opens up horizons for students who don't necessarily want to stay purely in research.
Fundamentally, the new ASSO team wants to continue its efforts to encourage dialogue and initiative between the IRCM members, whether or not they are ASSO members. Clémence encourages everyone to propose projects that could be developed with the student association.
‘’We're here for everyone, and we don't want to just do the same things over and over again. We want new ideas.’’
As you can see, innovation is also alive and well within our ASSO.
Congratulations to the ASSO team!
ASSO Executive Committee
- President: Clémence Schmitt (Estall Lab)
- Vice-President: Gilberto Duran Bishop (Malleshaiah Lab)
- Treasurer: Sneha Sukumaran (Charron Lab)
Communication Officers:
- Jean-François Laurendeau (Sauvageau Lab)
- Maria Galipeau (Estall Lab)
IRCM Management Committee Representatives
- Students: Mohammed Usama Patel (Malleshaiah Lab)
- Post-docs: Laure Monteillet (Estall Lab)
Social Events Committee
- Dennis Drewnik (Charron Lab)
- Solène Huck (Guindon Lab)
- Laure Le Corre (Labrecque Lab)
- Mauricio Hernandez Magana (Oeffinger Lab)
Interlab & Career Committee
- Luke Ajay David (Cayouette Lab)
- Camille Michaud (Cayouette Lab)
- Samantha Boudreau (Cayouette Lab)
- Nanu Pal (Francis Lab)
Health & Wellness Committee
- Clémence Schmitt (Estall Lab)
- Elena Goretti (Sauvageau Lab)
- Alessia Cacciatore (Côté Lab)
- Aléhandra Desjardins (Falcone Lab)
Sports & Leisure Committee
- Thais Souza Cunha (Robert Lab)
- Nanu Pal (Francis Lab)
French Club Committee
- Élie Lambert (Robert Lab)
- Laure Le Corre (Labrecque Lab)
- Vincent Lapointe-Roberge (Drouin Lab)
- Sanidhya Jagdish (Malleshaiah Lab)
Other ASSO Representatives at the IRCM Committees
Graduate Studies Committee:
- McGill Students: Thais Souza Cunha (Robert Lab)
- UdeM Students: Nicolas Jacques-De Vries (Lécuyer Lab)
- Post-docs: Sophie Mockly (Sauvageau Lab)
Scientific Life Committee:
- Students: Fatima Kassem (Cayouette Lab)
- Post-docs: Laure Monteillet (Estall Lab)
Vitality Committee: Alessia Cacciatore (Côté Lab)
EDI Committee: Fatima Kassem (Cayouette Lab)
Foundation Liaison:
- Marianne Langlois (Hipfner Lab)
- Janaina Carla Da Silva (Lécuyer Lab)
Science POP Liaison: Marianne Langlois (Hipfner Lab)
