This one is not about me: Part 1

Here is my sixth post and if you still read my blogs every other week, I care about you so please email me and I will send you a list of things you can do to better utilize your time instead of being here (just kidding. Please stay.)

I wanted to take a break from writing about my own experiences, so I decided to reach out to a few other kind souls who wouldn’t mind contributing to my blog. As the title suggests, today’s post is about one of my senior friends, Sadman Sakib from Bangladesh, who came to Canada in August of 2015 to join a PhD program at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the University of Calgary, Alberta. Currently, he plans to graduate soon and wishes to secure employment in the public health sector. When asked what he misses the most about back home, he mentions food and I honestly could not agree more with that.

Since Sadman is academically senior and residing in a different province than me, I thought his experiences could be beneficial to others. Also, he is quite accomplished in his field so take notes if you would like to follow a similar career path.

Tell us some details about the application process you went through:

Sadman: “The application process for a thesis-based Master’s or PhD is fairly simple if you have secured a position at a lab. Most graduate thesis courses require the applicants to contact prospective supervisors/PIs and to secure a position and a minimum stipend (for example my department requires a minimum of $22,000/year to be eligible to apply). This stipend needs to come from scholarships (either external agencies or from home country) or from the supervisor’s operating research grants. Self-funding of graduate courses is not allowed”

Any suggestions you would like to make for someone looking to apply?

Sadman:

• “Start early and make a list of professors whose work you find interesting”

• “Read their work and write emails mentioning what exactly you found interesting and what you wish to do in their lab. Don’t send out generic emails, professors are busy and get bombarded with tons of emails every day. Generic and uninteresting emails get thrown out.”

Let’s get into some financial details. What kind of stipends and other benefits have you received as a UofC student?

Sadman: “I started with a yearly stipend from his supervisor’s grants. In my third year, I managed to secure a scholarship from the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

In Alberta, temporary residents are eligible for provincial health insurance program at no additional cost. The UofC Graduate Students’ Association also provides dental and eye care insurance and the cost of the premium is included with the yearly tuition fees. At UofC, students also get an Upass - a discounted public transit pass for unlimited rides in the city. "

Lastly, if you must tell me 3 things one should know before moving to your city, what would they be?

Sadman:

• “The city life is nowhere near the big city feel of Toronto or Vancouver. If that’s what you are looking for or that is something you need, don’t move here”

• “The weather can be erratic. It can be -15 today and +15C tomorrow. The winters are long, almost 8 months, with super short days and long nights. It is a lot to get used to. Winter depression is real if you don’t have winter-specific hobbies”

• “The city of Calgary is only an hour's drive from the Canadian Rocky Mountains. There are tons of provincial, national parks, empty forestry, and crownlands. Most people here have a deep love for the great outdoors and would have specific summer (hiking, biking, rock climbing, rafting, kayaking, etc) and winter hobbies (skiing, snowshoeing, hunting). Look up such hobbies and pick a few that you would pursue once here. If you live here without enjoying the outdoors, it is a huge waste.”

That brings us to an end to this little QnA. From a personal point of view, I do think Calgary is a beautiful city especially if you are someone who wants to be a little far from the urban noise. But the lack of people and noise comes with its cons too – for example, going there from Toronto, I felt like public transport services were not as frequent and easily available. The winters in Alberta are harsher but having said that if there is a professional opportunity for relocating, and if you like staying close to nature, it’s a great city with its own traditions where you can create a home for yourself.