TAC workshop 2018 What is a TAC Committee

TAC workshop 2018

What is a TAC? • Committee of professors assigned to monitor your progress in the program • Should be scientists in your field of research, ideal if they have complementary experience • Sometimes it is useful to have people that are good mentors to provide support other than scientific • This should be planned with your supervisor.

What does my TAC do? • Monitor the student’s progress in the program ◦ Academic performance ◦ Research progress ◦ Milestone monitoring • Provide advice on the conduct of the research project • Discuss and approve the student's Thesis Research Proposal, provided an annual assessment of research progress and academic performance, give permission to begin writing thesis • Provide the Graduate Program Director with recommendations concerning the student's suitability for remaining in the program, or fast-track from the MSc program to Ph. D program (if applicable).

What happens at a TAC? • YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MEETING YOUR DEADLINES. YOU MUST CALL MEETINGS IN THE TIME FRAME REQUIRED (ANNUALLY) • Registration conditions exist and will block your registration until the TAC is convened • You submit a TAC report (Research Proposal in year 1, progress report in subsequent years) at least a week in advance of the scheduled meeting • Who needs to be there? • Your TAC members • Your supervisor and cosupervisor • You must prepare an oral presentation to describe your research progress (experimental findings) and your plan the upcoming year

Meeting Procedure • PREAMBLE • Before you begin your presentation, you will be asked to step out of the room. Your supervisor and TAC will discuss your performance. • Immediately after, your supervisor will be asked the leave the room so that you speak with your TAC members. You are not required to say anything. You can indicate if you are getting the support and resources you need, or any context that you feel would be relevant for understanding your progress over the last year. • PRESENTATION • You will present your research progress. Prepare to be interrupted with questions. • The TAC must evaluate your understanding of your field of research, your experimental progress, your critical thinking skills, your interpretation of your findings, as well as your vision for where the project should go. The questions will address these areas. YOUR SUPERVISOR DOES NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS ON YOUR BEHALF

Assessment Tough TAC, easy defense

Format of the TAC Report 3 kinds of TAC report ◦ The Research Proposal (YEAR 1) ◦ The Progress Report (YEARS 2 -onwards) ◦ Permission to write (FINAL YEAR) Each of these reports must have specific elements included.

Year 1 – The Research Proposal This is the longest document you will prepare for your TAC (within the first semester of registering) It must demonstrate: ◦ Your knowledge of the research field It must include ◦ The rationale for your project ◦ Your research question, hypothesis and experimental aims ◦ A summary of your future experiments, covering the years to come YOUR SUPERVISOR CAN PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THIS REPORT BEFORE SUBMISSION TO YOUR TAC

Research proposal format Introduction ◦ Approximately 5 pages, including a literature review of the research field any relevant data generated by the lab or student that leads to the research question or is necessary to understand the research question. Objectives and Hypothesis ◦ Include a rationale (why you are studying this question) ◦ Hypothesis should be short and simple ◦ Identify how, in objectives, you will test the hypothesis Research Plan ◦ Describe the experimental approach you intend to use to test your hypotheses. ◦ This should be approximately 5 pages long Results ◦ The place to include any preliminary data that you have on these aims

Progress Report format The progress report is short, approximately 5 pages long. It should be a short reminder of the research area, your hypothesis and the progress at the last meeting Bulk of the report should be a description of the research progress you have made since the last meeting, with figures.

Permission to write Short report that: ◦ Summarizes your recent progress and the overall progress you have made in the program ◦ Includes a thesis chapter outline (you will need to think about what format is appropriate for you before the meeting, and make your case here)