Life Outside the Classroom: Health Science Inquiry
August 4th, 2011 by Leah Henrickson | Co-Editor
Post written by Wilson.
As global collaborations play an increasingly more prominent role in student culture, a student group based at the University of Toronto has been encouraging teamwork among graduate students across the country. Health Science Inquiry (HSI) is a Canada-wide student-run journal that was established in 2009 at U of T, and now has membership from over 10 Canadian universities. What sets this journal apart isn’t just its expansive Canadian membership (and being the only Canada-wide graduate student publication to date), but its ability to provide students with a platform to express their thoughts through commentary-based writing.
To date, the group has published two issues of its journal (June 2010, June 2011) and has developed partnerships with internationally recognized journals. Rather than publishing research-based articles, HSI publishes commentaries on a specific theme each year. In 2010, the H1N1 pandemic was selected as the topic of interest and 13 submissions were selected for publication. The journal also introduced a competition aspect by partnering with The Lancet Infectious Diseases, which ended up publishing one of the submissions as a Reflection and Reaction piece in an August 2010 issue of the journal.
The theme in 2011 was cancer, and a similar partnership was established with the Canadian Medical Association Journal, which has selected an HSI submission for publication in the upcoming fall journal. In addition, the 2011 issue was expanded to include an Artistic Images section, a News section and Dialogue Pieces.
This is certainly an exciting time for the journal, as it continues to grow and attract participation (from both students and faculty) at a national level. HSI is currently recruiting members for its 2011-2012 team, and an application package with full details on how to apply can found on the group’s website. If you’re a graduate student who’s interested in getting involved with a Canada-wide student publication, a peak at the application package is definitely encouraged. Available positions range from editorial-based positions to roles in layout and design.
