This newsletter is typically distributed the last Thursday of the month and contains a variety of resources, links, and reflections on graduate-level career & professional development, higher education, and an occasional detour into neuroscience topics, the area I formally trained in as a graduate student and postdoc.
Missed the inaugural newsletter from January 2021?
Volunteer engagement is a big problem. I have seen it first-hand. What can we do to better recruit, engage, and retain volunteers in non-profit organizations that depend on them? How can we plug more people into an activity that has so many benefits to the individual, organization, and society at large?
In this piece from the Chronicle of Higher Education, the author touches on the challenging nature of conducting community-focused research at U.S. higher education institutions. By better connecting the research taking place on college campuses with the issues and challenges affecting their communities and society, academics would improve the public's trust in science. Academic institutions must support and encourage faculty and other researchers to engage in these community-focused and outreach activities for these efforts to grow and expand.
This piece (the first in a series) from 2015 is filled with excellent insights and actionable advice for graduate students and postdocs often overwhelmed by the challenges of figuring out their "next step". Written by a graduate student and featuring testimonials from fellow students and postdocs, it emphasizes the need to take action and engage others in your career exploration process. I and a colleague and friend Eric Vaughn recently wrote about the ACE Plan mentioned in this piece as part of a two-part series on career exploration for Inside Higher Education.
Productive Postdoc Conversations Series for Postdocs
AND Faculty Mentors
This month, the Postdoc Academy team launched a new set of resources designed to help both postdocs and their faculty mentors engage in productive conversations around 10 important topics, including setting expectations, build an actionable career plan, developing resilience, exploring leadership, giving and receiving feedback, and more!
The content is designed to be super accessible (short video overviews along with interviews with postdocs and mentors reflecting on the content) and a variety of additional readings and resources are embedded within each topic.
National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) Programming & Resources
The NPA's SmartSkills program returns in 2023 featuring webinars on a variety of topics related to postdocs' career and professional development and well-being.
Through a series of interactive online discussions led by the NPA, the summit seeks to identify barriers – and find paths forward – in the greater postdoctoral community that significantly and/or disproportionately impact international scholars.
And check out the NPA's Resource Library for more guides and resources including a guide to the postdoc timeline, mentoring, and more.
