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DEO Priorities and Updates

Our Directly-Elected Officers (DEOs) are your advocates and representatives within the GSA. At the beginning of their term, the Board developed the Strategic Work Plan (SWP), which outlines the key priorities and goals they committed to advancing during their term.

The updates below highlight progress on those commitments, including the work completed, results achieved, and next steps under each strategic priority.

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Read Priority Updates

Affordability & Financial Security

Academic Success & Student Advocacy

Student Services & Accessibility

Community, Wellbeing & Belonging

Government Relations & Public Advocacy

Labour Advocacy & Representation

Affordability & Financial Security

Key Goals

Internal Affordability Advocacy

Advocate for affordable tuition, reduced financial barriers, and stronger financial supports, including improvements to the GSSF and partnerships that support graduate student financial wellbeing.

Lead: GSA President, Saad Arslan Iqbal
Support: GSA Board

Research and consultation on tuition and fees began in Q1; however, a formal tuition fee proposal was not submitted during this period.
Further affordability recommendations will be developed following the completion and analysis of the GSA Survey, likely in Q2 or Q3.
Through the VP External and President, affordability advocacy continued through involvement with CASA, ESA, and AGAG.
The VP External and President are working with a professor from the EAS Department on the analysis of a housing affordability survey.
Initial development of the hydroponics farm proposal began in Q1.
Planning for broader affordability consultation began through the GSA Survey, with no actionable outcome to report for Q1.
The President shared the 2026–27 SWP with key campus partners and University leadership, including the GSA’s advocacy priorities and goals, to inform future meetings and consultations.
The VP External joined the CASA Board, while the President serves as Chair of the Graduate Advocacy Committee (GAC). Advocacy through CASA and the GAC is ongoing, with further progress expected in Q2.
Work on additional external partnerships is ongoing, including EdmontonUnlimited, the CBM Scholarship, and CIBC, with no outcomes to report for Q1.
Planning related to GSSF enhancements is ongoing in consultation with the VP Student Services, with no actionable outcome to report for Q1.

Basic Needs & Financial Support

Strengthen access to food security, childcare and family resources, and financial supports by identifying barriers, gathering student feedback, and exploring improvements to existing supports.

Lead: VP Student Services, Mina Seify
Support: GSA President, Saad Arslan Iqbal

Food Security — President & VP Student Services: Co-developed the campus-wide food strategy with the Campus Food Bank and SSE. The President and CFB Executive Director also developed and presented the hydroponic farm proposal to SSE, identifying potential spaces and two-year funding needs.
Childcare & Family Supports — VP Student Services & President: Raised graduate student childcare challenges with University leadership and began discussions with the SPOC President on potential collaboration and awareness.
Financial Supports — VP Student Services & President: Reviewed barriers within the GSSF and travel grant processes. The President signed an agreement committing $29,400 to targeted support for students at satellite campuses/programs; consultation on the remaining five GSSF pilot initiatives is ongoing.
Student Needs & Feedback — President & VP Student Services: Began developing a comprehensive GSA survey covering affordability, cost of living, mental health, health and dental needs, disability, and parent/caregiver needs.
GSSF & Grant Improvements — VP Student Services: Reviewed existing GSSF and travel grant processes and began developing proposed eligibility and process changes to reduce barriers and improve access to funding.

Academic Success & Student Advocacy

Key Goals

Academic Rights & Student Advocacy

Strengthen awareness of academic rights, policies, advocacy resources, and support pathways, while helping students navigate academic concerns and advocating for improvements to the graduate student academic experience.

Lead: VP Academic, Kingsley Igwilo
Support: GSA President, Saad Arslan Iqbal

Academic Rights & Navigation — VP Academic: Began scoping a Graduate Academic Rights & Processes Hub to provide accessible information on academic rights, responsibilities, University policies, and relevant support offices.
Support Pathways — VP Academic & President: Began scoping clearer triage and referral pathways for graduate student concerns in collaboration with GPS and SSE.
University Advocacy — VP Academic & GSA Board: Represented graduate student perspectives through GFC, COSA, and Board of Governors governance and policymaking platforms.
Institutional Collaboration — GSA Board: Participated in spring and summer discussions with SSE, GPS, and other University partners to identify shared priorities and areas for collaboration.

Research Funding & Scholarly Opportunities

Improve access to research funding, scholarships, conference support, and scholarly resources by promoting opportunities, addressing barriers, and helping students navigate available funding.

Lead: VP Academic, Kingsley Igwilo
Support: VP External, Adrien Lam,VP Student Services, Mina Seify

Funding Information — VP Academic & VP Student Services: Collaborated on the Graduate Student Services Directory to improve access to scholarship, funding, and University resources.
Funding Navigation — VP Academic: Began organizing information on scholarships, awards, grants, research funding, and conference supports for student-facing resources.
Research Resources — VP Academic: Identified access to research tools, technology, and scholarly resources as an area for further investigation.
Graduate Funding Advocacy — VP Academic: Engaged with FGPS on Minimum Guaranteed Funding (MGF), including funding adequacy, the $25,000 minimum, tuition pressures, and differences across graduate programs.

Mentorship & Academic Development

Expand mentorship, peer support, career development, and professional networking opportunities by connecting graduate students with peers, employers, alumni, researchers, and campus/community partners.

Lead: VP Academic, Kingsley Igwilo
Support: GSA President, Saad Arslan Iqbal

Peer Support — VP Academic: Supported the Graduate Student Peer Support (GSPS) program through volunteer recruitment, orientation, and preparation for peer-based support.
Academic Development — President & VP Academic: Began planning graduate-focused academic and professional development opportunities with the Writing & Learning Centre, with implementation planned for Q2–Q3.
Career & Mentorship — VP Academic: Initiated collaboration with The Prosperous PhD to explore graduate-focused career development, networking, mentorship, and knowledge-sharing opportunities.
External Collaboration — VP Academic: Continued engagement with FGPS and CAGS to explore opportunities supporting graduate student academic and professional development.
Future Work: No substantive Q1 activity was reported for employer/alumni connections or broader promotion of career pathways; implementation is planned for future quarters.

Career & Professional Networking

Expand access to career resources, professional networking, and skills-building opportunities through events, partnerships, and student-informed programming.

Lead: VP Student Life, Huddah Kamran
Support: VP External, Adrien Lam,VP Student Services, Mina Seify

VP Student Life designed and scoped professional development programming for graduate students, including industry site visits, networking events, and career development sessions.
VP Student Life opened working relationships with the Career Centre, ISVS, EASI, ICAN and the Newcomer Centre, and joined the Competency Project core team alongside work-integrated learning officers from the Faculty of Arts and the School of Business.
VP Student Life explored graduate student engagement, site visits, and networking opportunities with the Alberta Research Park
VP Student Life initiated a GSA and Career Centre conversation on strengthening graduate student visibility of existing career resources and programming.
VP Student Life gathered student input through the Strategic Work Plan Town Hall and social hour, and through debriefs following the HCA Wellness Summit.

Student Services & Accessibility

Key Goals

Awareness & Accessibility of Student Services

Improve awareness and access to GSA services, funding, benefits, and student supports through stronger communication, outreach, and identification of access barriers.

Lead: VP Student Services, Mina Seify
Support: GSA President, Saad Arslan Iqbal

Service Navigation — VP Student Services: Provided guidance to students seeking financial and emergency supports, connecting them with relevant GSA and University resources.
Know Your Services — VP Student Services & President: Began redeveloping the Know Your Services campaign to strengthen regular, targeted awareness of available services and supports.
Open Door Program — VP Student Services: Launched the Open Door Program to increase awareness of University and community services and strengthen referral pathways for graduate students.
Service Oversight — VP Student Services: Established direction for the GSA Services Oversight Committee (GSA SOS) to review service performance, student feedback, and communication with service providers.
Future Initiatives — VP Student Services: Introduced the proposed No Student Left Behind initiative and identified potential accessibility improvements to campus recreation; further advocacy and development are planned for future quarters.

Student Benefits & Services

Monitor and improve Health & Dental, U-Pass, and other student services and benefits through student feedback, advocacy, and collaboration with service providers and University partners.

Lead: VP Student Services, Mina Seify
Support: GSA Board

Health & Dental — VP Student Services & President: Reviewed student feedback and market options, conducted consultations, and negotiated the transition to a new Health & Dental plan and provider with enhanced coverage.
Service Oversight — VP Student Services: Established and operationalized the Services Oversight Sub-Committee (SOS) to review service usage, performance, student experience, and opportunities for improvement.
U-Pass — VP Student Services: Participated in the U-Pass Committee and advocated for mobile/phone tap functionality based on student feedback.
Wellness — VP Student Services: Collaborated with SSE Wellness Supports to incorporate graduate student needs into campus-wide wellness programming.
Campus Recreation — VP Student Services: Established regular engagement with Campus & Community Recreation (CCR) and reviewed service data to identify accessibility and participation gaps affecting graduate students.
Student Feedback — President & VP Student Services: Began planning a consolidated GSA survey to gather further evidence on student needs and service experiences, with implementation planned for a future quarter.

Community, Wellbeing & Belonging

Key Goals

Graduate Student Connection & Belonging

Strengthen connection, belonging, and participation in graduate student life through inclusive events, volunteer opportunities, peer engagement, and representation in broader campus initiatives.

Lead: VP Student Life, Huddah Kamran
Support: GSA Board

Community Partnerships — VP Student Life: Explored 15+ collaborations with campus and community partners and developed a tentative September–April social programming schedule.
Fall Programming — VP Student Life: Advanced planning for Graduate Orientation & Tours, Grad Block Party, Discover UAlberta Information Fair, and GSA Mocktails, in collaboration with SSE, GPS, and other campus partners.
Student Engagement & Volunteerism — VP Student Life: Promoted volunteer and participation opportunities for fall programming, represented the GSA at East Campus Residence Move-In, and began outreach to 60+ graduate student groups.
Inclusive Community — VP Student Life & supporting DEOs: Engaged with graduate student communities and organizations to identify opportunities for more inclusive programming, partnerships, and support.
Student Experience Advocacy — VP Student Life: Participated in Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP) onboarding and discussions on draft priorities to bring graduate student perspectives into future implementation.

Graduate Student Wellbeing

Strengthen graduate student wellbeing and access to wellness, family, and community supports through awareness, partnerships, student-informed programming, and development of the Wellness & Family Support Hub.

Lead: VP Student Life, Huddah Kamran
Support: VP Student Services, Mina Seify

Wellness Awareness — VP Student Life: Began planning ways to increase visibility of existing wellbeing resources through GSA orientation and Fall programming.
Wellness Programming — VP Student Life & GSA Board: Advanced planning for the EDIC Harm Reduction Tent and participated in the Healthy Campus Alberta Wellness Summit to identify ideas for future graduate-focused wellness programming.
Campus Wellbeing & Safety — VP Student Life: Participated in campus initiatives addressing harm reduction, sexual and gender-based violence prevention, EDI, and non-disciplinary support/accountability pathways.
Student-Informed Planning — VP Student Life: Gathered student perspectives on wellbeing priorities through SWP engagement activities and follow-up discussions after the Wellness Summit.
Wellness & Family Support Hub — President: Completed a draft proposal for the GSA Hub during Q1, with further consultation and development planned for subsequent quarters.

Indigenous Graduate Student Engagement & Supports

Strengthen relationships, representation, culturally relevant supports, and leadership opportunities for Indigenous graduate students while advancing Indigenous learning, cultural safety, advocacy, and Truth and Reconciliation.

Lead: VP Indigenous Relations, Tamara Dubé
Support: VP Student Life, Huddah Kamran

Relationship Building — VP Indigenous Relations: Strengthened relationships with IGSA, First Peoples’ House, Indigenous Programming & Research, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and Indigenous communities to support Indigenous graduate student engagement and advocacy.
Community Engagement — VP Indigenous Relations: Engaged with Indigenous communities across Treaty 6, 7, and 8 territories and Métis events, including outreach to rural and northern communities.
Recognition & Advocacy — VP Indigenous Relations: Advanced advocacy for an Indigenous stole at convocation and increased recognition of Indigenous graduate students and their experiences.
Access & Community Supports — VP Indigenous Relations: Supported development of the Sister Campus Support Initiative, creating opportunities for programming and community-building beyond North Campus, including locations serving Indigenous graduate learners.
Indigenous Leadership & Representation — VP Indigenous Relations: Represented Indigenous graduate student perspectives through GSA governance, IGSA, EDI, and national advocacy, and participated in Wise Practices in Indigenous Leadership.
Reconciliation & Cultural Learning — VP Indigenous Relations: Promoted participation and learning around Indigenous-led initiatives and significant dates, supporting the GSA’s broader commitments to Truth and Reconciliation and the Braiding Past, Present and Future Indigenous Strategic Plan.

Government Relations & Public Advocacy

Key Goals

Graduate Student Advocacy & Representation

Advance graduate student interests in municipal, provincial, and federal advocacy through sector leadership, policy engagement, and representation of student priorities.

Lead: VP External, Adrien Lam
Support: GSA President, Saad Arslan Iqbal

Provincial Advocacy — VP External & President: Through AGAG, advanced three shared priorities on student financial assistance, paid graduate research opportunities, and supports for graduate students with caregiving responsibilities, and brought these priorities to Alberta Advanced Education.
Federal Advocacy — VP External & President: Advanced graduate student priorities through CASA, including graduate research funding, federal awards, and barriers affecting international graduate students.
Municipal Advocacy — VP External: Helped develop ESA’s municipal priorities on issues including housing, affordability, transit, newcomer supports, and employment ahead of Edmonton’s budget process. ESA publicly identifies Adrien as its current Vice-Chair.
Sector Leadership — VP External & President: Took on leadership roles across ESA, AGAG, and CASA, strengthening graduate student representation in municipal, provincial, and federal advocacy. CASA was also developing its 2027–2030 Strategic Plan during this period.
Emerging Policy Issues — VP External: Participated in provincial policy discussions on proposed tuition funding changes and other emerging issues affecting graduate students, bringing graduate student considerations into government engagement.

External Partnerships & Collaboration

Strengthen external partnerships and sector relationships to advance graduate student priorities through collaboration, joint advocacy, and student-focused initiatives.

Lead: VP External, Adrien Lam
Support: GSA Board

External Partnerships — VP External: Developed relationships with private-sector and community partners, including Edmonton Unlimited, TD Insurance, CIBC, and Sport Chek, to explore benefits, programming, and opportunities for graduate students.
Student Benefits & Programming — VP External: Advanced partnership opportunities including a Sport Chek member benefit, TD Insurance-supported events and networking, and discussions with other organizations on potential graduate student discounts and supports.
Innovation & Entrepreneurship — VP External: Developed collaboration with Edmonton Unlimited to expand graduate student connections to Edmonton’s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.
Joint Advocacy — VP External: Coordinated with student associations through ESA, AGAG, CASA, UASU, and UC-GSA on shared municipal, provincial, and federal advocacy priorities.
Evidence-Informed Partnerships — VP External: Engaged campus and community stakeholders on housing, food insecurity, student-parent needs, and other service gaps to inform future partnerships and external advocacy.

International Student Advocacy

Advance international graduate student priorities by identifying emerging concerns, gathering student feedback, advocating for improved policies and supports, and collaborating with relevant partners.

Lead: VP External, Adrien Lam
Support: GSA Board

Policy Monitoring — VP External: Monitored emerging immigration, research funding, tuition, and public-policy issues for potential impacts on international graduate students.
Tuition Advocacy — VP External: Represented graduate student concerns through the University’s International Student Thesis-Based Tuition Strategy working group and provincial discussions on the proposed tuition funding model.
Federal Advocacy — VP External: Raised barriers to research funding eligibility for international graduate students through federal advocacy and CASA engagement.
Student & Community Engagement — VP External: Gathered international student perspectives through the SWP Town Hall and community engagement, including emerging concerns related to immigration, affordability, and student supports.
Partnerships — VP External: Engaged University and student partners, including the International Students’ Association and student-housing research team, to inform future advocacy on international student priorities.

Labour Advocacy & Representation

Key Goals

Collective Agreement Administration & Labour Advocacy

Advance collective bargaining and labour advocacy while strengthening graduate student workers’ awareness of their rights and Collective Agreement protections.

Lead: Associate VP Labour, Mohamed Sabek
Support: Labour Relations Committee

Collective Bargaining — AVP Labour: Supported bargaining preparation through proposal review, coordination with PSAC and GSA partners, and analysis of Article 11 for the bargaining team.
Labour Rights Awareness — AVP Labour: Developed and reviewed plain-language Collective Agreement and labour-rights resources for member outreach and orientation.
Worker Advocacy — AVP Labour: Responded to graduate worker concerns related to pay, fees, TA/GTA hours, additional appointments, and potential Collective Agreement violations, providing referrals and follow-up where appropriate.

Member Engagement & Steward

Strengthen member engagement, labour awareness, and representation through Faculty Steward development, labour education, and improved communication and collaboration with graduate student workers.

Lead: Associate VP Labour, Mohamed Sabek
Support: Labour Relations Committee

Steward Development — AVP Labour: Supported Faculty and Chief Steward recruitment, including role awareness, election coordination, and follow-up engagement.
Member Support — AVP Labour: Strengthened access to labour-rights information, support pathways, and representation for graduate student workers.
Labour Education — AVP Labour: Advanced planning for a Labour Town Hall and developed accessible Collective Agreement and orientation materials.
Steward Collaboration — AVP Labour: Strengthened coordination among Faculty Stewards, PSAC representatives, GSA staff, and graduate workers through the Labour Relations Committee and shared labour advocacy work.

DEO Priorities and Updates

Read Priority Updates

Affordability & Financial Security

Key Goals

Internal Affordability Advocacy

Basic Needs & Financial Support

Academic Success & Student Advocacy

Key Goals

Academic Rights & Student Advocacy

Research Funding & Scholarly Opportunities

Mentorship & Academic Development

Career & Professional Networking

Student Services & Accessibility

Key Goals

Awareness & Accessibility of Student Services

Student Benefits & Services

Community, Wellbeing & Belonging

Key Goals

Graduate Student Connection & Belonging

Graduate Student Wellbeing

Indigenous Graduate Student Engagement & Supports

Government Relations & Public Advocacy

Key Goals

Graduate Student Advocacy & Representation

External Partnerships & Collaboration

International Student Advocacy

Labour Advocacy & Representation

Key Goals

Collective Agreement Administration & Labour Advocacy

Member Engagement & Steward

Territorial Acknowledgement

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