The annual departmental welcome party at the University of Calgary was organized by the Chemistry Graduate Student Association (CGSA), with support from the Department of Chemistry and was sponsored by several organizations including the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC). The event is organized each year to welcome new graduate students, faculty, and staff into the department. It also helps bring faculty members and students together to get to know each other in order to build cohesiveness within the chemistry department.

The 2018–2019 academic year welcome party was held on September 6, 2018 in the MacEwan Student Center of the University of Calgary. There were over 100 Department of Chemistry graduate students, faculty, and staff in attendance. Historically this event has provided time for networking, especially for new graduate students who are given the opportunity to meet existing students to share ideas and talk about the upcoming successes and challenges of graduate school. This event also allows for a casual environment for students to socialize with faculty members and staff, facilitating learning about new research and opportunities available in the department and the university. The two-hour event involved speeches from the acting head of the department, ice-breaker games, raffle prizes, and light food and refreshments. Generous donations from organizations such as the CSC made this event possible. The event was a great success and provided a great opportunity for intradepartmental networking.

The CGSA would like to thank the CSC Student Chapter Grant for supporting this event. We hope this welcome party will continue to keep the departmental community alive and provide an essential opportunity for departmental members to come together.