On May 28–29, 2026, the New Westminster Campus hosted its first-ever Research Boot Camp — a milestone in the campus’s growing commitment to faculty research development and scholarly community.
Organized by the Office of Academic Research, the two-day intensive brought together New Westminster faculty members at various stages of their research journeys — from those with early ideas taking shape to those ready to push an existing project forward. The format was intentionally project-centred: rather than passive learning, every session was anchored in participants’ own work.
What Participants Experienced
Over two full days, faculty moved through four structured sessions designed to build research readiness from the ground up:
On Day 1, the boot camp opened with a session on strengthening and positioning research projects, helping participants articulate their research problem, gaps, and significance with greater clarity. The afternoon session dove into the conceptual foundations of research — specifically, how to choose and apply a theoretical framework as a lens for understanding their data and findings. Guest speaker Dr. Farah Mawani (University of Victoria) and Andrea Webb (University of British Columbia) brought depth and perspective from their respective fields.
Day 2 shifted to design and implementation. The morning session, led by guest speaker Paola Gamboa (Simon Fraser University), guided participants through research paradigms and methodology — demystifying the logic of how a research question should drive methodological choices. The afternoon brought everything together in a practical final session on research ethics, institutional resources, and action planning, facilitated by campus librarian Niki Baumann and Dr. Thu Le (OAR). Each participant left with a personalized Research Work Plan — a concrete roadmap with milestones and a target publication venue.
Throughout both days, participants worked with four research templates developed specifically for this event: the Research Positioning Template, Theoretical Framework Mapping Template, Methodology Planning Template, and Research Work Plan. These tools were designed to accompany faculty beyond the boot camp itself as living documents in their ongoing research process.
A Community in the Making
One of the most meaningful dimensions of the boot camp was what happened between sessions — in roundtable discussions, peer feedback moments, and the informal conversations that naturally emerged among colleagues working on their own projects side by side. Faculty who had never shared their research with peers found themselves in genuine scholarly dialogue.
Welcome remarks from Dr. Eileen De Courcy (Provost), Dr. Laura Kinderman (VP Academic, New Westminster Campus), and Dr. Nick McKenzie grounded the event in Yorkville’s broader institutional direction and expressed clear leadership commitment to research as a pillar of campus identity.
Looking Ahead
The Research Boot Camp was always envisioned as a beginning, not a standalone event. Follow-up programming and continued support through the Office of Academic Research will help participants maintain momentum on the projects they started — or restarted — over those two days.
We extend our sincere gratitude to our guest speakers, campus leadership, and every faculty member who showed up, engaged deeply, and brought their research to the room. This boot camp was built for you — and by your participation, you helped build it too.
The Office of Academic Research looks forward to continuing to support research growth at Yorkville University. For questions or to connect about your research project, contact Dr. Thu Le at tle@yorkvilleu.ca.
