Grad Connect Cafe
4 Apr:Ěý Network and Build Relationships for the Future
As graduate students and postdocs, networking is so important for our life and careers but sometimes we let the introvert in us take over.Ěý Let’s share and practice some ideas on how to go about it in our daily encounters.Ěý Let’s discuss what has worked for you and what you would like to see happen in your future.
There are many things to consider when selecting a research topic and more broadly your goals for graduate school. As we all know, decisions that we make now will likely impact our options in the future. It is important to consider what your goals for graduate school are, so that you feel confident that the work you are doing now will lead to meaningful opportunities. This discussion will ask: How do you assess whether the scope and focus of your project is appropriate? How do you balance your personal interests with your supervisor’s goals and ability to provide guidance? How will your research topic impact your employability?
How can you enhance your graduate experience? Simple steps are to meet new people, talk about ideas and issues in grad school! The “Grad Connect Cafés”, are a series of monthly 90 minute roundtable discussions for graduate students early in their academic career. This series, co-hosted by CL&E (Campus Life and Engagement), and CaPS (Career Planning Service), aims to provide a forum for meaningful dialogue on issues beyond academics that are known to impact success in graduate school.
The cafés are open roundtable discussion led by students – this is not an “expert led” discussion, but rather a place for graduate students to talk to each other about concerns, ideas, and solutions, with the aim of co-creating insights and knowledge. We spend the first half identifying the questions/issues related to a specific topic, we then spend the second half trying to “answer” the questions.
Although you can register for each café individually, students are encourage to come regularly and connect!
•When? Tuesday afternoons of each month (February 7, March 14, April 4)
•Where? Thomson House (look for signs!)
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PastĚýtopics for the Winter 2017 semester
7 Feb : How to Build a Good Relationship with Your Supervisor
Join for our discussion on building a good relationship with your supervisor. The quality of the relationship between graduate student and supervisor is fundamental for the student to succeed. Factors that influence the supervisory relationship can include: harmonizing students’ and supervisors’ expectations, dealing with cultural differences, and how supervisors help students to become independent in a timely fashion. This discussion will ask: How do you assess whether your expectations are appropriate? How do you distinguish between your responsibilities and those of your supervisor? How may cultural or other types of differences be navigated successfully within this relationship?
14 Mar: Determining Authorship
Join us for our discussion on determining authorship. Publishing in journals is recognized as an important (and sometimes necessary) accomplishment in academia. Determining authorship can be challenging and the decision should be made thoughtfully, in order to minimize the possibility of bias and unfair practices. Individuals may have contributed to various elements of the project, such as: generating the ideas for the project, obtaining the funding, doing the research (experiments), analyzing of the results, and writing the manuscript. This discussion will ask: How much does a person need to contribute in order to be considered an author? Is there such a thing as
Please registerĚýthrough . Once logged on, search for the workshop under “Events” then “Workshops/panels/events” and keyword search Grad Connect.