Fall is the season when PGO kickstarts its outreach to universities across Ontario. Starting this month, PGO’s Registrar, Eilidh Lewis, M.Sc., P.Geo. and Assistant Registrar, Gabrielle Hosein, M.Sc., P.Geo., along with the Regional Councillors and volunteers will visit universities to conduct information sessions about PGO and its Registration process.

The goal of this outreach is for students to understand the importance of registration and to learn about the requirements to become a professional geoscientist early on. In particular, the outreach helps students to make informed decisions on the courses that they take to ensure that they meet PGO’s minimum knowledge requirements when they graduate.

What can students expect from PGO’s outreach session?  The session starts by introducing students to the geoscience profession, and gives an introduction on the kind of work that is covered under the geoscience umbrella. The presentation highlights PGO and provides background on why geoscience is a regulated profession.  The session walks students through the different types of PGO Registration. They will also have an opportunity to meet and listen to professional geoscientists who will share their experience, knowledge and insight about their journey to professional registration and career growth. The most important part of the presentation is the information on the requirements to become a P.Geo. The session details the registration requirements, paying specific attention to the knowledge requirements. This information allows students to evaluate their degree program and ensure that they are taking the courses required for registration. “We want to ensure that all geoscience students understand the importance of registration and that they are eligible for the Geoscientist-in-Training (GIT) designation when they graduate. We encourage students to register as soon as possible after graduation so that they can work towards their full professional designation by gaining the required work experience,” quotes PGO Registrar, Eilidh Lewis, P. Geo.

Student-Registrant Mentoring

Last year, two in-person Student-Registrant Mentoring events were paired with the student outreach initiative, and were held in Toronto (Scarborough) and in Ottawa. The initiative allowed for registrants to participate so that students can avail themselves of in-person mentoring. This mentoring activity will continue as part of the outreach and will be conducted regionally in a rotation basis. This year, the Student-Mentoring events will be paired with the student outreach in Thunder Bay and Hamilton. Registrants and GITs in these areas are invited to come to these events. Details about the events will be announced in Field Notes and will be posted on the website. Stay tuned.