International graduate students association for Career development And Networking (I-CAN) is a university-wide graduate student group that helps students improve communication skills, build networks, and learn leadership skills.

New Students : To join I-CAN, enter your email address and hit subscribe. You will receive an invitation from our google groups account shortly.

Here are the event list for next year:

1. Public Speaking Workshop (January 2012)

This program is designed to enhance the public speaking skill of I-CAN members. There will be two short education sessions followed by a practicing session. The education sessions will focus on ideas such as: outlining a speech, presentation styles, making the most out of PowerPoint. They will feature professors from the performing arts department and/or Wash U ELP (English Language program). The practice session will be conducted by a speaker from Toastmaster club or someone who is adept in conducting practice sessions on public speaking. This provides students with training on different presentation styles and ideas as well as an opportunity to give the material a practice run. 

2. I-CAN Logo Design, Art Exhibition and Wine Tasting (Feburary 2012)

To improve communication and networking skills, international students need to acquaint themselves with the rich and sometimes unique American culture. Among them, wine tasting is a great social tool, which requires a certain level of connoisseurship for wine. Also to gain a deep understanding and true appreciation of art, one needs educated eyes. To give international students some insight into them, I-CAN is going to combine the art exhibition with a wine-tasting workshop next year. I-CAN will work closely with Women’s Society and Olin wine club, to provide decent art works and a thorough introduction of wines.

3. Graduate Research Symposium (Feburary 2012)

Research symposium is one of the major annual events hosted by Graduate Student Senate (GSS) at Washington University. This year, I-CAN will cooperate with GSS to promote participation of international students. Along with the symposium, workshops will be given to participants on effective presentation and professional development skills. I-CAN will also be involved in judging and presenting a special reward for international participants.

4. Discussion on Entrepreneurship (Feburary 2012)

This panel discussion is co-sponsored by I-CAN and BioEntrepreneurship Core (BEC). We’ll invite several entrepreneurs including at least one with international background to discuss their experience of starting a company in US.

5. I-CAN Visit to Emerson Electric Company(Feburary 2012)

Emerson Electric Company  is a major multinational corporation headquartered in Ferguson, Missouri, United States. This Fortune 500 company manufactures products and provides engineering services for a wide range of industrial, commercial, and consumer markets. Emerson is one of the largest conglomerate companies in the USA. As of 2010, it has a workforce of approximately 127,700 employees worldwide, with a global presence spanning 150 countries.

6. Cooking and Shopping at Schnucks (March 2012)

This will be a fun event where participants will meet and tour the Schnucks supermarket in Clayton. A staff will show participants around and teach them how to cook a couple of their specialty dishes. 

7. Car Purchase/Maintenance Workshop (March 2012)

It is not easy for international students to search for a car or properly maintain their vehicles. This workshop gives practical information and useful advice on how to purchase/maintain your car. I-CAN will work with OISS and invite a professional from Wash. U. Police Department as the main presenter.

8. International Idol Talent Shows (April 2012)

 I-CAN has organized International Idol twice in the past years. The contest was composed of two sections: one is karaoke singing and the other is talent show. Winners were determined by on-site voting. The top three of each category were the winners. In addition, in order to encourage cross-cultural communication, the contestants whose performance were based on another culture, were entitled “Multicultural Idol”. International Idol is a unique, successful, and fun way to promote mutual respect and understanding of different cultures. Students really enjoyed the show and made lots of new friends. I-CAN wants to carry it on, make it a tradition and signature event of our group. We would want to invite more singers and more talent shows.

9. Election and Award Ceremony (April 2012)

We will elect new officers for next year. In order to encourage members to join the executive team, we will award "Excellency in Leadership" to the top five chairpersons chosen by anonymous ballots from members. To thank volunteers for their excellent work and encourage more creativity and participation, we will award "Excellent Flyer Design" and "Excellent Webpage Design" to top five flyer designers and top five summary webpage designers chosen by anonymous ballots from members. To promote diversity in I-CAN, we would also give “Diversity Outreach Award” to members who invite most friends of diverse cultures to join I-CAN. 

For more information about I-CAN's events, please visit : http://ican.grad.wustl.edu/calendar

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