Metcalf Institute offered a two-day online professional development workshop, July 14-15, to introduce participants to a variety of career development tools and strategies in the 2022 Career Development Program Summer Intensive, supported by the Rhode Island Consortium for Coastal Ecology Assessment, Innovation, & Modeling (RI C-AIM).
The program was open to Rhode Island’s senior level undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral scholars in STEM fields from the eight C-AIM institutions in Rhode Island.
Attendance at the Summer Intensive sessions satisfied CDP Certificate requirements or electives as noted below.
CDP Certificate registrants: Note that this was the last CDP program to be offered by Metcalf Institute this year. If you need credits that are not offered below, you may complete your CDP Certificate by participating in related workshops offered by other departments, institutions, or organizations, and then contacting us with your attendance information. Inquiries to Katharine McDuffie, mcduffie@uri.edu.
Agenda
Thursday, July 14
9:30-10:30 a.m. Eastern
Fundamentals of Science Communication, Part I
Sunshine Menezes, URI Metcalf Institute
(Attendance at this session satisfies a CDP Certificate requirement credit.)
This session will provide an essential introduction to identifying science communication goals and audiences. Attendees are encouraged but not required to participate in Fundamentals of Science Communication, Part II.
11:00-12:30 p.m. Eastern
Fundamentals of Science Communication, Part II
Sunshine Menezes, URI Metcalf Institute
(Attendance at this session satisfies a CDP Certificate requirement credit.)
Following a presentation about the fundamentals of framing and crafting clear messages, participants will use this information to develop clear messages about their research for specific audiences and then work in small groups to refine the framing. Participants will report out to the full group with a 1-minute description of their research and its relevance for assigned public audiences. Attendees are encouraged but not required to participate in Fundamentals of Science Communication, Part I.
1:30-3:00 p.m. Eastern
Mentoring Conversations
Kevin Alicea-Torres, University of Puerto Rico
Jayatri Das, The Franklin Institute
(Attendance at this session satisfies a CDP Certificate requirement credit.)
There are countless guides and research related to the approaches for effective, inclusive mentorship. Often, however, the hard decisions related to being a mentor or receiving mentorship are best explored in conversations about past experiences. A panel of mentors and mentees will share some of the lessons they’ve learned and invite attendees to safely share their own experiences and discuss ways to navigate challenging situations.
Friday, July 15
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon Eastern
Inclusion in Research Spaces
Asta Habtemichael, URI PhD Candidate
(Attendance at this session satisfies a CDP Certificate requirement credit.)
Despite decades of effort to broaden participation of diverse populations in STEM, patterns of underrepresentation persist. In this session, attendees will explore how identity relates to a sense of belonging in STEM using practical scenarios, identify the challenges faced by scientists from minority groups, and gain practical skills on how to help create a culture of inclusion in scientific research spaces such as the lab, the field, and beyond. The following resources are recommended, but not required, reading to inform this discussion: Ten simple rules for building an antiracist lab; Scientists from historically excluded groups face a hostile obstacle course; Implicit Bias Test.
1:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern
Navigating non-academic career paths: A Career Panel and Networking Session
Kelly Canesi, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Lauren Decker, PolArtic, LLC
Jeray Thelwell, PerkinElmer, Inc.
1:00-2:30, Career Panel
2:30-3:00 Networking (optional)
(Attendance at this entire session satisfies a CDP Certificate elective credit.)
This session will feature panelists who have applied their C-AIM-related graduate degrees in a variety of sectors: government, non-profits, private companies, and self-employment. Join us to learn about how they have applied their scientific and engineering training in their jobs, what skills they’ve found to be most essential, and how to find fulfilling opportunities. Following the 1.5-hour panel discussion, a final 30 minutes will be allocated for networking with the panelists.
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement #OIA-1655221. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.