Events

Drop-In Welcome Event:

A warm welcome to the 60th annual WIUGC! This drop-in friendly event will consist of a boardgames station and a Design-Your-Own-Tote arts & crafts station! Come by and let your creative side (or competitive edge) fly!

Friday, January 8th

Rock Breaker:

Get to know your fellow attendees! Join us for some snacks and fun activities to start sparking some connections! What’s more fun than playing games and meeting new people? Join in on our “Speed (Radiometric) Dating” and trivia to get a feel for the conference.

Technical Talks:

Let’s exercise our brain muscles! That’s a muscle, right? Look, it’s the Western Inter-University Geoscience Conference, we aren’t biology majors… Listen to research presentations from some of our homegrown U of A academic talent! Professors and grad students discussing their research at the forefront of geoscience, professionals providing insights from their experience in the industry, and a panel bridging the Academia, Industry, and Government sectors, will all be sure to get those neurons firing! A snack ’n’ coffee break and lunch will be provided during the event.

Industry Fair:

Get ready for a networking-palooza! Join us in connecting with companies spanning all corners of geoscience at our annual Industry Fair! Secure that internship, summer job, or post-graduate position with top companies who are eager to meet equally eager geoscience students! Visit as many booths as you can to win our Industry Fair Bingo for a prize!

Challenge Bowl:

Think you have what it takes to beat your fellow Western-Canadian Geoscience peers at trivia? Compete in our annual Challenge Bowl trivia competition, in partnership with the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (CSEG)! The team of Fun Fact Aficionados who win first place will receive a prize! Snacks and refreshments are provided during the event.

WIUGC’s 60th Birthday Party:

Join us in celebrating 60 years of knowledge-sharing, connection-making, and geosciencing! We’ll be hosting a bar night to do some real geoscience bonding with your brand new best friends! Don’t forget to pack your dancing shoes or watching-your-friends-dance glasses! Everybody loves a birthday party!

Edmonton Geoscience Field Trips:

This year, we are offering 3 options for Field Trips to showcase Alberta’s geoscience scene! 

1. Academically inclined? You’ll love our tour of some U of A and national laboratories and museums!

2. Visit the Royal Alberta Museum! Get a chance to learn more about Edmonton and the surrounding area, visit their amazing exhibits including geology, paleontology, and invertebrate zoology.

3. Tour the Alberta Geological Survey! See for yourself where the magic and mapping happens!

Lunch:

We encourage you to patron some of the many delicious food joints around campus! Please refer to your U of A Food Map for our personal recommendations, as well as for water fountain and gender neutral bathroom locations.

Research Poster Presentations:

Have you conducted undergraduate research? Present your directed study, summer research, or undergrad thesis to your peers and a panel of judges in Research Poster format! Prizes will be awarded to several students who demonstrate excellence in research and presentation! More details including prizes, poster formatting requirements, applications, and more are coming soon. Students from all provinces are invited to present their research!

Awards Banquet & Keynote Address:

The most anticipated event of every WIUGC! Join us for dinner at our Awards Banquet, complete with a Keynote Speech from an industry titan to be announced soon! The winners of the research presentation competition will be announced and celebrated at the banquet. Let’s dance the night away and celebrate WIUGC 60 together!