Syllabus Bulletin - January 2022

Happy New Year!

We hope that you and yours had a chance to take a break over the holidays. The RAIC office was closed for a short break and was back to usual business hours starting January 4, 2022. We want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we experienced many technical issues across our platforms in late December. We know this impacted registration, enrollment, payment process and access to and ability to update Moodle. Our IT team worked diligently to resolve these issues urgently and we are almost back to normal functioning. If you are still experiencing any technical issues, please send an email to pymersobel@raic.org with details on the problem.

Wishing you all the best for 2022,
Ivan Martinovic and Portia Ymer Sobel

Internship in Architecture Program (IAP)

Effective July 1, 2020, the Canadian Architectural Licensing Authorities (CALA) launched the 4th edition of the Internship in Architecture Program (New IAP) manual replacing the previous IAP manual, 3rd edition, dated January 2012 (Old IAP).

Key Dates
June 30, 2022 - Transition Period Ends
July 1, 2022 - New IAP Requirements Mandatory for All
 
Transition Rules

1. Students who have not submitted any experience hours before January 1, 2021, must follow the New IAP program requirements, including using the new CERB forms, effective immediately. The new CERB form is available from the RAIC Syllabus website. The new CERB form is available from the RAIC Syllabus website under the Experience/CERB Log Forms tab.

2. Students who have submitted experience hours before January 1, 2021, can switch to the New IAP program requirements, including using the new CERB form, at any time during the Transition Period.

3. Any final CERB Submissions under the Old IAP Program requirements, including the use of the old CERB forms, must be submitted on or before June 30, 2022.

4. All CERB Submissions on or following July 1, 2022, must follow the New IAP Program Requirements, including using the new CERB form.

5. Students are not allowed to switch back to the Old IAP program requirements, including using the old CERB form, after the switch to the New IAP.

6. Students who do not finish all the requirements of the Syllabus Program required for the issuance of the Diploma by June 30, 2022, must follow the new IAP program requirements, including using the new CERB form and the additional architectural experience areas, regardless of where they are in the program. Summary of the experience hours required for the Syllabus Program is available from the RAIC Syllabus website. Summary of the new experience hours required for the Syllabus Program is available from the RAIC Syllabus website under the Experience/CERB Log Forms tab.
 

General Notes
The requirements for the work experience are based on the new IAP document accepted by all provincial and territorial association of architects. We encourage all Syllabus students to read that document – it is available from the RAIC Syllabus website under the Experience/CERB Log Forms tab and from the website of your regulator.

Based on that document, the RAIC Syllabus develops the policies for the submission of the work experience hours. In early 2022, the Syllabus Architectural Experience Manual will be revised to reflect the changes in the new IAP.

If you are unsure of you provincial or territorial regulators' transition rules to the 4th edition of the Internship in Architecture Program, you need to speak with them directly.
All students enrolled in Part 2 and Part 3 of the Syllabus are required to keep recording their work experience hours regardless of how many hours they have collected so far.
 

Note for Students Enrolled in RAIC690B – Diploma Project
The student currently enrolled in the RAIC 690B – Diploma Project need to finish it, have it accepted by the Advisors, and send to the Syllabus National Office all the required documents before July 1, 2022, to avoid the new IAP requirement of collecting additional work experience hours under the new categories.

If you are a student taking the RAIC 690B in the Term 1 of 2022, please contact the National Office in the New Year so we can start the process of reviewing your Transcript and the submitted CERB hours. As noted above, while in the Program, you are required to keep recording your work experience hours regardless of how many hours they have collected so far.

Please direct any questions about the new IAP manual by email to Ivan Martinovic (syllabusdirector@raic.org).

There are several scholarship opportunities available to Syllabus students. Please direct any questions about scholarships by email to Amanda Shore (Program Coordinator, Honours and Awards) ashore@raic.org

NEW Vince Catalli Scholarship in Sustainable Design Innovation $5,000 – Deadline March 31, 2022  

The Vince Catalli Scholarship in Sustainable Design Innovation promotes and encourages innovative, practical, scalable, and transferable approaches to sustainable design among the next generation of architects in Canada. In addition to the cash prize, a $1,000 travel honorarium will be provided for the recipient to attend the RAIC Conference. 

This award is open to students in the last two years of a professional degree program in a registered school of architecture anywhere in Canada, or in Part III of the RAIC Syllabus Program. Each school can select up to two (2) students to apply for this scholarship.

Read the full submission guidelines 
 

NEW The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Foundation’s Award for Architectural Conservation $1,000 – Deadline March 31, 2022 

The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Foundation’s Award for Architectural Conservation recognizes emerging heritage conservation practitioners and celebrates excellence, innovation, and best practices in the applied field of architectural conservation– while supporting an understanding of Canada’s built heritage.

Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada working on applied research and/or projects that are making a tangible contribution to the field of architectural conservation within Canada, and must be either a student at an accredited Canadian school of architecture or a recent architecture graduate (within five years).

Read the full submission guidelines  
 

CAGBC Scholarship $5,000 – Deadline March 25, 2022 

The CAGBC Scholarship was established through an endowment from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) to promote and encourage sustainable research and design in Canadian Schools of Architecture. 

Full-time students who have been registered in a Master’s degree program leading to a professional degree in architecture at one of the accredited University Schools of Architecture in Canada or the RAIC Syllabus during the calendar year (2021 - 2022) in which the award is being made are eligible to apply.

Read the full submission guidelines  
 

Kiyoshi Matsuzaki Scholarship $3,000 – Deadline March 25, 2022 

The Kiyoshi Matsuzaki Scholarship embodies the RAIC’s commitment to deserving students by promoting excellence and providing financial support to those whose demonstrated commitment to complete the RAIC Syllabus Program with the full intention of achieving professional registration through a Canadian Architectural Licensing Authority. 

All students in good standing, who are at a minimum 50% complete in the RAIC Syllabus Program, may apply.

Read the full submission guidelines  

The RAIC Syllabus Program has made Microsoft Office 365 available, for free, for all students, instructors, and coordinators involved with Syllabus. As a part of this package, MS Office 365 email’s will be used as the official school email. 

Due to the technical difficulties we experienced in December, we are extending the time period to transition/use these accounts until May 31, 2022.

We will require that all registered students in the Syllabus Program transition to this new email, on or before May 31, 2022.

Starting May 31, 2022, the national Office will discontinue using the existing student, instructor and coordinators’ email addresses and send all communications via the Syllabus MS Office 365 email addresses only. Please be sure to set up your new email address before May 31, 2022 so that you do not miss any important information. 

Everyone was sent an email detailing their personal login information in November 2021. If you have misplaced the email or have any other questions, please contact Portia Ymer Sobel by email pymersobel@raic.org.

This transition will support streamlining of communications in the Syllabus Program and we thank you in advance for your cooperation.   

RAIC Connects is a virtual community where members can share ideas, discuss practice challenges, post questions, read and share blog posts and news articles, learn about fellow RAIC members, and benefit from shared knowledge, resources, and information.

Syllabus students have access to a Syllabus student-only community on RAIC Connects, to share content, ideas, and network. Discussion boards for studio levels have been added to the community. We encourage students to visit the community and introduce themselves!

Visit the RAIC Connects resource centre for more information about this exciting new platform.

Recent Discussions:

PRESENTATION STYLES

We had a very quick discussion in the Syllabus Student Representatives meeting last week regarding how students are presenting their work. It seems as though many students are presenting in different ways... read more>>

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR NEW STUDENTS ENTERING DESIGN STUDIO FOR THE FIRST TIME?

This is a tough question. I believe that with any project/studio there really is no minimum amount of time. This is where I would say Architecture is, at least one way, different than many other fields of work, as you can always refine your design further, or... read more>>

RAIC690 (D9)

Personally, when working on self-directed school work such as a thesis, I have found that setting up a regular schedule of time to work on it is helpful. It can feel a little less overwhelming if you... read more>>

STAYING UP TO DATE ON SYLLABUS DEADLINES

I receive a lot of questions from students about navigating the Syllabus Program and keeping up to date on Syllabus deadlines. See below for my advice, and if you have any tips or tricks, please add them here... read more>>

Athabasca registration

The registration deadline to start history, theory, and technical courses with our educational service provider—Athabasca University—is the 10th of each month, and courses will start on the 1st of the following month.

Remember to register on the Syllabus Student Portal as well. Our systems are not linked, so this does not register you twice or result in any fees, but it allows us to maintain the student records and transcripts in our system.