Professional Development Events

PDPA is pleased to bring the following professional development and learning opportunities. We look forward to meeting you at the events below.

Networking for job search

July 10, 2024, 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.

In this webinar postdocs will learn about how they can network and manage their professional relationships while looking for jobs, especially academic careers. How do you get networking right as an academic? Learn this and more when you sign up for this presentation by Dr. Suprawee Tepsuporn, Senior Assistant Dean for Graduate Professional Development, University of Delaware. Sign up here to attend.

 

Leading Breakthrough Science Teams: Opportunities and Challenges in Team Science

July 11, 2024, 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Team science has quickly become the norm for researchers working on complex problems that require collaboration across disciplinary and institutional boundaries, engaging investigators from biomedical research, engineering, arts and humanities, and beyond. While team science has many benefits, including the ability to address more complex questions with a greater impact on society, there are also challenges in coordinating people and tasks across those boundaries. The field of The Science of Team Science has identified characteristics of successful teams and best practices that, when implemented, can improve how a team works together. This talk will cover the opportunities and challenges of cross-disciplinary research, with a focus on practical, accessible, and feasible strategies and practices that both individuals and teams can implement. The talk will also highlight ways that postdocs, specifically, can impact their team’s culture and approach to research, all while developing their own leadership practices to take into the next phase of their careers. Sign up here to attend. Learning Objectives for the webinar: By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  1. Understand the opportunities and challenges of conducting research in teams
  2. Identify the potential for engaging in team science in their future career
  3. Determine skills and practices of team science leadership they can develop and apply to their own work

Speaker bio: Betsy Rolland, PhD MLIS MPH. is a translational science strategist with the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR), the University of Michigan’s Clinical and Translational Science Award. Previously, she served as the Director of Team Science + Research Development for the Carbone Cancer Center and the Institute of Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a PhD in Human Centered Design & Engineering and a Master of Library & Information Science, both from the University of Washington, and a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Rolland’s research focuses on coordination and collaboration in team-science projects, including how to design, build, and evaluate infrastructure to support complex, multi-investigator initiatives.

Postdoc Orientation

July 15, 2024, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

PDPA offers a virtual orientation session every month for new postdocs. Join us to learn more about our partners across the university, professional and career development opportunities, concept of competencies, Individual Development Plan for postdocs, and get your questions answered. Sign up here to attend.

 

Effective Teaching Statements

July 18, 2024, 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Creating a compelling teaching statement is important for applications for academic jobs that aims to clearly articulate a teaching philosophy, methods, and goals. This workshop is designed to guide early-career academics in developing a well-structured and impactful teaching statement. Participants will learn to reflect on their teaching experiences, learn the key components of a teaching statement, and effectively communicate their unique approach to teaching and learning.

Speaker bio: Brian Rybarczyk, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean for Professional Development. He oversees CareerWell, The Graduate School’s professional and career development initiative, which includes workshops, courses, initiatives, and experiential learning opportunities. Additionally, Rybarczyk directs the Preparing International Teaching Assistants Program (PITAP) which provides training for graduate student instructors new to the U.S. classroom and serves as co-administrative lead and a member of the leadership team for the international network Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL). He is an active member of the Graduate Career Consortium, a professional organization that advances graduate and postdoctoral career and professional development. His campus-wide service includes the Leadership Educators Group, the Carolina Career Community and serving as the program coordinator for the SPIRE-IRACDA Postdoctoral Fellowship program.

Diversity Statement and DEI values

July 19, 2024, 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.

In this webinar, attendees will learn about the definition and use of diversity statements in a faculty job search process. Attendees will also work on identifying their values around diversity, equity, inclusion and how they can envision implementing them in their careers. Postdocs can then craft initial drafts of their diversity statement to communicate their values and interests around DEI in higher education. Applicable to postdocs from all disciplines. You do not need to be actively applying for faculty positions to attend this webinar. Presented by Pallavi Eswara. Sign up here to attend via Zoom.

Individual Development Plan

July 22, 2024, 3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Individual Development Plan or IDP is essential to chart your postdoc training and to map your career progression. It is now required for BU postdocs to complete and submit an IDP. In this interactive session, postdocs will learn about what an IDP can do for them, reflect on their strengths, interests and values, learn about IDP tools  that are available including myIDP hosted by AAAS and IMAGINE PHD hosted by the Graduate Career Consortium. They will also work on their goals for research project, career and professional development goals, and learn about how to prepare for the initial meeting with their PI/supervisors.

The session will also include information on the types of faculty careers, exploring non-academic careers, tools to simulate various career paths and informational interviewing. Postdocs from any and all discipline and stage of postdoc training can take advantage of this interactive webinar. Register here to attend the webinar on IDP.

Writing a Research Statement for Faculty Positions

July 24, 2024, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

A research statement is at the heart of an application for a faculty position.  It summarizes your previous research, current work, and future direction you intend to take in your role as a faculty member. It needs to demonstrate and balance your scholarship, future plans, innovations, and contribution. Further, it helps a search committee assess your research and academic strengths, capabilities, ability to get funds, and also to demonstrate the fit to the department.

In this session, attendees will learn the fundamental building blocks of research statements, promising practices, tailoring to the institution and position, and what to avoid. Sign up here to attend. Presented by Pallavi Eswara, Director, Postdoc Affairs