The (Uni)verse

We started this podcast 2 years ago! It's been an incredible experience, and for our last episode of the school year (perhaps ever!?), we look back and reflect on this journey. We do not know what the future holds at this time, but as a favoured character in a book series by Brandon Sanderson would say: "It's about the journey, not the destination". Have a great summer!  To con...

Well who doesn't need to unwind and laugh a bit at the moment! We won't be tricking anyone, but sharing funny stories on life at university, in and outside of class! Join us for a bit of cheer! To contact the co-host for comments or suggestions, write to us at Podcasttheuniverse@gmail.com.

You just can't avoid it! But you can control (sometimes) how you do it! Some prefer studying in a group, some individually. Nobody likes cramming but what do you do when you have to? This week we discuss our preferred studying habits and our best cramming strategies when time has run away with us. To contact the co-host for comments or suggestions, write to us at Podcasttheuniverse@gmail.com.

Being good at interviews doesn't just happen naturally for most of us. It is a learned skill that will have an impact in your professional and personal lives (even meeting the in-laws! ;-)) Listen to Janet, Laura and Joela, who impressed me so much they should honestly run a workshop! I learned a lot myself, never having been taught any of these skills and never having done an online intervie...

Happy Valentine's Day!! ❤️ Whatever a person's work or hobbies or studies, sometimes something can happen that makes us fall out of love with what we do. What keeps us in love what we do? Where to find the joy and passion in our professional lives? Listen to The (Uni)verse discuss about what sparks us into carrying on loving what we do. To contact the co-host for comments or suggestions,...

This episode ran in April 2024 and is one of our most listened to episode. We think revisiting it could help new listeners as midterm season has already started or help second time listeners reflect on their progress handling test anxiety. It seems the entire world as cranked the stress levels to greater heights, so here is our little grain of salt to help deal with anxiety. To contact the co-host...

The majority of professors have office hours, whether they are virtual, in person, informal, formal, etc... What do you expect from office hours? Is there something profs could do to make them better, perhaps less stressful or intimidating for some students?  To contact the co-host for comments or suggestions, write to us at Podcasttheuniverse@gmail.com.

Happy New Year! New year, new opportunities! Planning ahead can pay off when you are a student seeking work, catching up or getting ahead with courses, or simply to travel during the summer. How do you plan to spend your summer?  To contact the co-host for comments or suggestions, write to us at Podcasttheuniverse@gmail.com.

'Tis the season! Time to rack our brain for that special gift! Although we have established in previous episodes that socks are an underrated gift, here are a few more suggestions for the academically inclined people in your life. We wish you all a successful exam period followed by a fantastic Christmas break!  To contact the co-host for comments or suggestions, write to us at Podcasttheuniv...

Throughout our lives, as students and professionals, we are constantly under the pressure to perform and deliver (as it should be, within reason). So it is good when you can find something to unwind and relax, perhaps doing something with little cognitive demand, something entertaining, or something that connect us to the people in our lives or even nature. What do you do to relax? To contact the...

Generative AI like ChatGPT have been around for a year or two now and made quite an impression in education and other professional spheres! Most students use generative AI in one way or another, and generative AI tools are definitely not going away! The (uni)verse co-hosts talk about their experience with generative AI and how they wished they knew how to use it, underlining concerns about their e...

As midterm season is well under way, we take a cheeky look at student behaviour when taking exams. Some students speed through exams, some very carefully dissect each question, some stare into space, some shake their legs so much the whole room seems to shake with them, some have each emotion written across their face, and much more. Which type of exam takers are you?  To contact the co-host for c...

Welcome to the (Uni)verse! Last year we asked 1st year students what they were looking forward to starting university, and what they worried most about. We then had 4th year students talk about their experience and answer back to some of the worries 1st year students might have. This year, our 3 podcast co-hosts, Joela, Janet and Laura, are entering the 3rd year of their program, and I was wonderi...

Welcome back! The cost of living has increased quite a bit in the last couple of years. Many students are living on a tight budget and all the tricks in the basket should be applied to save a bit of money. We discuss a few tricks and suggestions we have used to budget wisely. Do you have any tricks to share? Please let us know! See email address below. To contact the co-host for comments or sugges...

Final  exam season is officially on! Exams always bring a certain amount of stress. For the most part, stress is great and useful. It keeps you alert and focus and can be turned into excitement rather than anxiety. But for many students, too much stress can lead to test anxiety, with varying consequences on exam performance and distress. In the last episode of this series, we talk about how to rec...

Going to university is a social experience for many students. You meet so many new people and make new connections, whether these are professional or personal. It is a time of change, when new friendships may arise and old friendships peter out. As you progress through your degree (or change it), interests are in constant flux and the people that revolve around these interests come and go. It can...

Midterm season is well under way and perhaps you are feeling a little burned out? You are not alone and without any resources! During this reading, listen to yourself if you need to take a break. You can also listen to our podcast for a bit of inspiration on what sort of break might work better for you or simply commiserate on how hard life can be as a student. Should you need help, here are a few...

After pondering the meaning of being an adult, we wonder if students are and want to be treated as adults at university. No one here is an expert, defining what it means to be treated as an adult is work in progress, but we do have a few comments and ideas that may resonate with faculty and students alike. What do you think? As a student, do feel like you are treated as an adult? As a faculty, are...

This is a question that sneaked itself into our conversation as we listened to comments made by 4th year student way back in September 2023. As you will hear, our thoughts about being an adult and whether we considered ourselves adults were pretty much all over the place. So we dug a bit more into the literature on adulting (yes, that is a word) and discussed it further. Not that we'll write...

There has been much talk about whether Smartphones are good or bad for learning. All students use their Smartphone in class either for non-academic related purposes or for their learning during class, using polling apps, looking up vocabulary, Google searches, etc. We do not have the answer to whether phones are good or bad for learning per say, but we can talk about what students do to manage the...

During a semester, especially at the end, it is sometimes difficult to stay motivated. Establishing routines and good work habits can help. Janet, Joela and Laura share their working habits, what works well or works less for them.  We hope this might motivate you in these last miles of the semester!  To contact the co-host for comments or suggestions, write to us at Podcasttheuniverse@gmail.com.

Following the comments that 1st year students had shared with us, about their fears and aspirations starting university, we asked 4th year students what they would answer back to the 1st year students. There are clearly some general themes coming to the surface, but also, every student is unique, with their unique experience and perspective. Enjoy the ride! To contact the co-host for comments or s...

I think most who went to university will remember their first semester, the expectation, the excitement, the angst! We asked a few incoming students about their expectations, their hopes and their fears and empathize and sometimes wonder about their answers. How did your first semester go? What would you tell yourself thinking back? To contact the co-host for comments or suggestions, write to us a...

Most people working in a science lab has a story to share about something that went wrong. We collected a few of these, true stories one and all, admittedly with a few editorial liberties, for a bit of Halloween fun. Enjoy! Mwahahaha!!! To contact the co-host for comments or suggestions, write to us at Podcasttheuniverse@gmail.com.

University comes with its own jargon and a wealth of disciplines and program choices that can be both liberating and confusing! Let's try to make light of it and figure out where to get help when you need it! In this episode, Janet, Joela, Laura and Elaine talk with Julie Lamothe, Manager of the Undergraduate Studies Administration at the Faculty of Science at uOttawa.  To contact the co-host...