Through his thesis, Ismel Gonzalez is tackling one of the broadest of topics.

"Culture is such an extensive concept, and nowadays such a problematic concept," he reflects. "It's quite daunting to address everything and anything about a cultural issue in a single dissertation."

Now in the fourth year of his joint PhD in education, Gonzalez is researching how modern language teachers perceive the language and culture they teach, which tend to be separated in the Western-based education system.

Gonzalez is well-acquainted with this issue; originally from Cuba, he taught adult English classes before coming to Canada and has been instructing Spanish at Confederation College for the past 14 years. Throughout this experience, he's noted how culture is often taught as an "additive" while grammar and vocabulary continue to play a prominent role in the curriculum.

Gonzalez finds his research to be highly stimulating and rewarding and exclaims that his experience in the PhD program has been exceptional, "one of the best any grad student could hope to have!" He has an excellent relationship with his supervisor whom he also describes as a colleague, a friend, and key to his development as a scholar.

He cites a definite highlight of his graduate education as the opportunity to participate in a SSHRC funded, pan-Canadian, multi-site study. Through this experience, Gonzalez was able to present at international and national conferences, be recognized as a co-author in peer-reviewed journals, and even write an entire chapter in the book which summarized the project's findings.

Gonzalez has also had the opportunity to teach literacy courses in education and was recently able to instruct a full-year course on English instruction and language development, which closely aligns with his own research and academic inclinations.

"That's why I've taken so long to finish my doctorate!" laughs Gonzalez. "I keep getting distracted with many, exciting opportunities."

After graduating, Gonzalez hopes to eventually teach at a faculty of education and continue to explore languages, culture, and critical pedagogies with his future students. Through his career as an academic, he aspires to see culture and language united at last in classrooms across Canada.

"Why separate them when they cannot be separated?"

Dr. Jinan Fiaidhi's research interests are at the crossroads of education and technology. Using her knowledge of computer science, she has cultivated a string of collaborative and personal learning environments to supplement modern curriculums and enhance learning.

Dr. Fiaidhi has notably made significant contributions to telebiomedical education, which provides science and health care instruction via computers. Particularly in developing countries and rural isolated areas, telebiomedicine is rapidly gaining prominence, providing cost-effective and accessible education where there are few, if any, other options. Telemedicine projects are currently active in such countries as Cameroon, Uganda, and Venezuela and allow for aspiring doctors to seek training and current health care professionals to consult one another on diagnoses and treatment options. Dr. Fiaidhi also develops multimedia learning object tools, which allow video, images, audio, and text to be combined with ease, and employs these methods to enrich protein structure visualization.

Recently, her research has also evolved to touch on various aspects of web-based and mobile learning including peer-to-peer, grid, and cloud collaborative environments, collaborative filtering, widget-based learning, mash-up-based learning, and searching & harvesting for learning materials. She explains that all are critical to the future of education and facilitate dynamic interaction, rapid knowledge sharing, and fluid collaboration.

Through their projects, her students are also leading innovative advances in education, developing such technologies as a Web 2.0 Learning Ecosystem, a podcasted peer-to-peer telemedical education system, and mLearning applications.

Dr. Fiaidhi adds that Lakehead's master's in computer science provides courses that are highly relevant to the needs of industry, business and research: "Our program combines the intellectual challenge of a young discipline with the excitement of an innovative and rapidly expanding technology." And as Dr. Fiaidhi has demonstrated throughout her many undertakings and accomplishments, the applications of this discipline in education are truly limitless.

Business student Xiaoran Wang chose her thesis topic well; she's examining the risk management strategies of one of Canada's most profitable industries.

In fact, mining accounts for nearly 20% of the total exports from Canada, one of the largest mining countries in the world. Wang's research also has significant local relevance. "Mining is a big thing right now and many see it as the future of this region especially," she explains.

But there's also a high degree of instability in the mining sector and prices for different minerals often fluctuate. One way companies can protect themselves when the market turns sour is to adopt a set of risk management strategies termed "hedging".

The gold industry can be particularly fickle; when the price of gold dips, companies may short future contracts to reduce financial risk in the future.

Meanwhile, many companies opt not to hedge. Based on previous theories and studies, Wang seeks to explore the relationship between hedging and firm value and ultimately determine whether or not the former truly benefits the latter.

Prior to coming to Lakehead, Wang worked at CIBC for two years after completing her undergrad studies in Shanghai, China. Desiring to delve deeper into finance, she chose Lakehead's MSc in business program for its emphasis on theory and research and because of her keen interest in risk management practices.

She reports that she's had an excellent experience and is particularly grateful for her professors, who have nurtured her curiosity and excitement in her chosen field. "The small classes offer the opportunity for regular discussion and feedback and the professors are all of a very high calibre."

After finishing her program, Wang hopes to apply her education in the mining or energy sectors. As well, she aims to soon assume CFA status after writing her upcoming Chartered Financial Analyst exam. Wang adds that she looks forward to guidance from her supervisor, a CFA holder, upon pursuing this achievement.

"My supervisor has been phenomenal, this degree has been so helpful to me, and my research has been highly rewarding in a field I'm genuinely interested in."