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I met Corey back in season one when he was working as a multi-media producer, responsible for audio and video production as well as web design. He’s enrolled in the eLearning certificate program at the University of Calgary and is also taking Project Management courses with MacEwan University. Now, I’m putting him in front of the microphone to share his story. We talk about... Early career choices and moving from the hospitality industry to post-secondary education Changes in the multi-media production landscape  Why Corey is back in school and what he hopes to achieve with his new skills  Corey's passion for making digital environments accessible Overcoming past negative experiences to embrace future possibilities A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university.  Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network.

She needed an online program that provided her with the flexibility to study while balancing a demanding job and raising four kids. Athabasca University was the perfect fit, allowing Jackie to turn pretty much every setting (including ringside at her kid’s hockey games) into a classroom. We talk about.... Loving your work, but knowing you need to upgrade your skills to take on more responsibilities Why online learning was the perfect option for Jackie's busy life and independent personality How Jackie "triaged" family, work and school to complete her degree Advice for those thinking about similar journeys Jackie's great new job that leverages her past skills and new credentials A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university.  Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network.

It first meant believing that attending university was even possible. Then, once that hurdle had been overcome, Germaine started down the PhD path in her 30s, but life got in the way. Two decades later, fueled by a personal crisis and a well-placed online ad, she connected with Athabasca University. Now, Dr. Chan has completed her degree and landed one of a small handful of tenure track academic jobs in Canada. We talk about.... How early family life can shape our expectations around education The importance of finding what you love (accounting!) and having a role model  Why Germaine quit doing a PhD and what made her return to finish it How Germaine connected with Athabasca University and why this PhD program was a great fit  Finding a community to support what can be a long and lonely journey Thoughts on online learning from both the student and teacher perspectives A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university.  Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network.

It was a long road, filled with twists and turns, but she did it.  Find how this mom of two managed her long-distance, online education with Athabasca University to achieve her RN. We talk about... The beauty and benefits of life in Northern Canada Finding the time to go back to school and making sure school plans align with family plans The unique challenges of doing a long distance degree and how Bobbi managed to make it work  How community support (specifically a guy named Andrew) and the amazing support of her husband were key ingredients that helped Bobbi finish her degree Continuing the learning journey  A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university.  Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network.

Mom, Lola, shares how a rocky start led her to overcoming the challenges of being a single mom and working many different jobs to make ends meet. Now remarried and with her kids grown, she’s recently completed training as a Class One Driver with Women Building Futures. That, in turn, inspired daughter Katelyn, now a first-year electrician, to also take the Women Building Futures journeywomen program. We’ll hear how these dynamic women are forging a path in the trades. We talk about... Overcoming obstacles in life and moving forward despite set backs Discovering the trades as a place to build a satisfying, well-paid career The importance of role models, mentors and community  Why Women Building Futures is such an amazing program, the impact it had on Lola and Katelyn and why the trades can be a great place to build a career A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university.  Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network and learn more about the Women Building Futures program.

He’s now in year two of his degree and is applying his newly honed legal knowledge to his work as a technology evangelist. Tim explains why he’s so enthusiastic about education and how he fits his studies into his busy life. We also talk about our shared passion for technology ethics.  We talk about... Why Tim went back to school to study law when he doesn't want to be a lawyer The differences in being a student in your 20's and 30's vs in your 50's Making time for school while also managing a demanding career and family life How Tim's dad was a role model for life long learning The learning culture at Microsoft Why tech ethics is an important and timely topic A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university.  Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network

She enrolled at the University of Alberta to finish a bachelor’s degree in biological anthropology, which also led her to buy a skeleton! We’ll explain more as we explore her back to school story. We talk about... The joys and challenges of being your own boss How being a wedding photographer was like getting a PhD in psychology Biological anthropology, it's dark historical roots and why this field speaks to Kristin How it felt stepping into the classroom the first day of school Kristin's plans for a masters degree  Why there's a skeleton in her living room (and where you can buy one, should you feel so inclined!) A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university.  Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network

Armed with a suitcase full of books, Allan (amazingly!) found the discipline to study onboard cruise ships while sailing around the world. Many years, courses, and ports of call later, he now holds a bachelor’s degree in English and is a writer with Monday Magazine. We talk about... Why Allan decided it was time to return to the classroom The importance of making a back to school journey work for the whole family How Allan connected to Athabasca University and how online learning made his academic dream possible How learning technologies have evolved from old school bulletin board services to new online tools Learning how to learn again How to focus and have the discipline to study while travelling the world Studying what you love, broadening your horizons and learning more about the world and yourself Writing for Monday Magazine and working on a novel about average people caught in a slightly dystopian, uncertain world that's changing them against their will (sounds familiar!) A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university. Check out some of Allan's work with Monday Magazine.Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network

He applied his skills to help companies find the perfect candidates with the tenacity of a bounty hunter! However, like many people, Gabriel saw his own role downsized with the onset of COVID-19. Now, he’s making the most of this time to add to his education with an MBA. We talk about... Choosing open studies before landing on a direction for his degree The importance of flexible class schedules when working and going to school and how online learning was a great fit The many practical benefits of an education in HR and how Gabriel applied his learning on the job Working in recruitment and the differences between a recruitment agency and in house recruitment How Gabriel's time as an online student at Athabasca prepared him for learning online this Fall with his MBA program  A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university. Learn more about the Bachelor's of Human Resources and Labour Relations degree.  Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network

Research can be a lonely part of the grad school experience. This Spring, COVID-19 made that journey a little lonelier and a little more chaotic. We talk about... Deciding on a research project and conducting literature reviews Our diverse research projects which include digital signage and patient experience in healthcare (Cedric), assessing the post-secondary instructor review process (Jane) and applied ethics for AI projects in healthcare (Katrina) How COVID-19 impacted us personally and how it impacted our research  Ethics applications and the benefits of getting things done early Letting go of expectations, accepting the limits that COVID-19 imposed and moving forward anyways Supervisors and how they shaped our work Life after our master's degrees A huge THANKS to our season sponsors, Athabasca University, Canada's online university. Learn more about the Master of Arts in Communications and Technology program at the University of Alberta.  Find out more about Katrina's research on AI and ethics at Ethically Aligned AI. Find other great podcasts on the Alberta Podcast Network

Find out more about Athabasca University.

The final assignment walks through how a fictitious property management firm could use machine learning to improve their business. If you haven't listened to Episode 3: Machine learning for everyone, we suggest you do that first. Learn more about Athabasca University and their PowerEd offerings and don't forget to use offer code INGRAM20 if you sign up. We're proudly affiliated with the Alberta Podcast Network - home to fantastic local podcasts. 

I've recently completed Athabasca University's PowerED course, Using Machine Learning for Competitive Advantage. Marcin Mizianty, VP Datascience at AltaML and one of the course subject matter experts, joins me to explain how machine learning can be applied to a variety of industries to solve real-world business problems.  We talk about... How Marcin chose to focus his PhD on AI and became a data scientist before it became such a hot area. Hollywood depictions of artificial intelligence and why those are NOT what AI is about! AI is all around us playing useful functions - from fraud detection to spam filters. How AltaML has partnered with Dynalife to use computer vision to help them reduce testing time and costs for healthcare testing. The steps of a machine learning project, why Marcin feels that defining the business problem is the most important step and who should be involved in this process. Marcin's favourite question to help companies find an ML project in their company What it means to train a model in non-technical terms (and making sure it works beyond the training data). How to make sure you don't build a model that states the obvious.  What Katrina learned about data from taking this course and what characteristics within data you should look for in your data   How to locate, assess and prepare your data to make it "machine learning ready" What's it REALLY like to be a data scientist and why data science is actually a team sport. The role of communication in ensuring a successful machine learning project and helping customers better understand the ROI for their business.  The importance of ethics in AI and ML and the role of governance and oversight.  Learn more about Athabasca University and their PowerEd offerings and don't forget to use offer code INGRAM20 if you sign up. We're proudly affiliated with the Alberta Podcast Network - home to fantastic local podcasts. 

PowerED Director, Jessica Scott joins me to share the story of PowerED and how it’s reshaping the way individuals and companies access professional development.  We talk about... How Jessica's background in media leading digital transformation initiatives was the perfect fit for her current role leading PowerED. How PowerED expands AU's offerings into new areas by providing on demand micro-learning courses and certificates for individuals, delivering custom training for corporations and helping organizations develop and build their own digital training strategies. The importance and need for skill development that is "just in time, just enough and just for me" and how PowerED helps meet these new realities.  Using market research to find the skill gaps and building programs based on the results The importance of partnerships and how PowerED has partnered with organizations like the Rick Hansen Foundation to deliver unique programs like Accessibility Certification Training How AU helped Amazon deliver its first online version of AWS Academy and won an award for this new offering  Why expanding online requires huge investments in infrastructure and resources and how PowerED is positioned to help organizations build turnkey online education solutions  Learning management systems, technology and how PowerED delivers an easy to navigate, intuitive, fully responsive and visually appealing online space for learners Using rich media and curating content across learning styles (VARK) to fully leverage the online experience Micro-learning, micro-credentialing and how they fit into the bigger educational landscape Jessica's experience in doing her MBA online and why she is excited to be going back to school again for a PhD online at Athabasca University, of course! Learn more about Athabasca University and their PowerEd offerings and don't forget to use offer code INGRAM20 if you sign up. We're proudly affiliated with the Alberta Podcast Network - home to fantastic local podcasts. 

They pioneered the world's first online MBA 25 years ago and now, they are boldy creating a fully integrated, immersive "digital campus" to bring online learning to the next level. We talk about... AU's place in the academic landscape within Alberta and its unique focus on "democratizing" access to education by taking learning to the learners Moving from delivering "books in a box" in the 70s and 80s to online learning  Launching the world's first online MBA in 1994 (on dial up!) and pioneering the use of the internet for education Delivering complex STEM courses like chemistry to home-based learners (safely!) How online learning can be for everyone and how AU leverages the unique aspects of online delivery to create great learning experiences. Where Professors and Instructors fit into the process of designing learning experiences that can be delivered at scale and how this shifts the traditional notion of their role The importance of delivering full support systems for learners in an online format, not just the educational content.  Why current learning management systems aren't sufficient to provide a fully integrated learning environment and what needs to happen to change this dynamic. Future predictions for the fully cloud based "digital campus" and envisioning the university of 2067, the role 5G infrastructure and augmented intelligence will play and why we might one day be learning philosophy from Socrates on the Holodeck.  Learn more about Athabasca University and their PowerED offerings and don't forget to use offer code INGRAM20 if you sign up. We're proudly affiliated with the Alberta Podcast Network - home to fantastic local podcasts. 

This special mini-series created in partnership with Athabasca University explores online learning, micro-credentialing and machine learning. Launches April 14th.

That led to employment in a new industry – cannabis! Dan shares how he manages his study schedule as a busy dad of two young kids, the importance of having a supportive spouse and his impressions of working in the cannabis industry during its early days. We talk about... Starting a degree in his twenties but then finding that life had other plans that led to a career, a series of promotions and a family  How a major jolt in the form of a corporate restructuring became the catalyst for Dan to evaluate what he really values and pointed him towards a career in human resources Approaching school as a mature student and why spending “adult money” on education means more to him Carving out time to focus on studying and learning how much time we actually waste. Scheduling to ensure he can still be present for important family activities  Modeling being a student for his kids and reading their textbooks together The challenges of working in the early days of the cannabis industry while trying to balance being a student Finding a sense of completion in coming back to finish an educational journey that he started over a decade ago Find out more about cannabis industry training at NorQuest College and Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Many people might need a break from studying after all that - not Shari-Anne! She then went on to become a Qualified Arbitrator and recently finished coursework towards becoming a Qualified Mediator. We talk about the joys of grad school, running a business, competing with your kids for the best grades and creative ways to fund your education as an adult.  We talk about... choosing the right time to go back to school, while never losing sight of the goal  choosing the masters of public administration at Dalhousie University and how it allowed Shari-Anne to leverage her work experience as part of her entrance to the program being a role model for her kids and supporting each other in their respective learning how scaling back work to focus on school led to the launch of Sage Analytics and the challenges and joys of running your own business how to creatively fund your education through a combination of savings, loans, scholarships, bursaries and contract work how a masters opened the door to additional credentials why Shari-Anne encourages people to consider a career in public service Connect with Shari-Anne at Sage AnalyticsLearn more about funding your education through early withdrawal from RRSPs or the life long learning plan (Canada)Learn more about provincial education funding opportunities in Alberta here

Her research centres around how leisure, particularly being in nature, can help with resettlement for new immigrants. Jane shares her own immigration story that took her from the UK to South Africa to Canada, why she decided to pursue her PhD and how we are redefining what it means to be retired. We talk about... Leaving apartheid South Africa to raise a family and build a life in Canada Jane’s storied career in TV, feature films and then communications strategy Returning to university at the age of 60 to get a master’s degree at Royal Roads which led to doing some coursework at the University of Alberta. How unanswered questions from a master’s class in global politics and the massive migrations starting to take place in 2012 turned into the desire to do a PhD Researching leisure and its role in resettlement The process and demands of doing a PhD Finding the right supervisor Challenges with ageism in the educational system The amazing richness of resources in post-secondary libraries I’m proud to be a member of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB Financial. Special thanks to our sponsors NorQuest College. 

His deep curiosity and a colleague’s off the cuff comment led him back to the classroom in 2012 and he has recently completed his PhD in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta. We talk about managing the psychological journey of a PhD, the importance of a great supervisor and embracing the questions as much as the answers. We talk about.... the adventures of being an archaeologist including encounters with Federales, lightning strikes and bear attacks  how the love of junk, dirt, going to the dump and avoiding calculus led to a career in archaeology  the Archaeological Survey of Alberta and its role in managing Alberta geography with respect to archaeological sites within Alberta what drove Robin back to school to do a PhD ( and why there is no such thing as low hanging fruit for a PhD!) the process of a PhD - the vital importance of having a good supervisor making it through the grueling candidacy interview (freaking out is normal) managing the psychology of the PhD process  formulating your research questions and designing your project being comfortable NOT (fully) answering your question Learn more about the Archaeological Survey of Alberta.