The Mentoring and Communication Series is co-sponsored by the Office of Postdoctoral Services and the Graduate School.
Thurs Sept 10, 11 am – 12 pm
WHAT: From Vision to Reality: 4 Steps to Creating & Executing Your Individual Development Plan
REGISTER: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1RNFbxdaQOKpUou
For better for worse, your experiences and the training you receive as postdoctoral researchers and graduate students can greatly shape the rest of your career. However, there are strategies and resources that can increase your chances of getting what you came for. During this program, participants will learn how to develop clear and specific goals and objectives, along with a plan for executing them in an Individual Development Plan (IDP).
You’ll learn:
- An approach to setting meaningful, achievable goals aligned with your long-term vision.
- A structured planning routine to manage your time effectively.
- How to speak with your mentor about your goals and strategies to address any misalignments in expectations and needs.
Speaker: Dara Wilson-Grant is Director of Postdoctoral Career and Professional Development at the UNC-Chapel Hill Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor. With over fifteen years experience providing career management education and counseling, Dara’s mission is to help individuals develop a framework for choosing a meaningful and rewarding career path, plus develop the skills necessary for a lifetime of career success.
Thurs Sept 17, 11 am – 12:15 pm
WHAT: Communicating Your Strengths: A CliftonStrengths Workshop
REGISTER: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6RN72q3X9p6DbvM
How do you describe your five greatest strengths? You can leverage this information to communicate your capabilities to colleagues and potential employers, just in time for the fall all-industry career fair and other network-building opportunities. Using the CliftonStrengths assessment, this workshop will help you explore a new way to talk about your skills. We will investigate strategies for communicating your strengths to others, the challenges that your strengths might pose for you, and ways you can use information about your strengths to thrive in a team setting. Our facilitator is Melissa Bostrom, Ph.D., Senior Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Professional Development.
The online CliftonStrengths assessment is offered free to all registered participants in this limited-enrollment workshop open exclusively to Graduate School students and postdocs. If you have not yet taken the assessment, please request your code by Wednesday, September 9. This workshop will not be recorded.
Tues Sept 29, Tues Oct 6, and Tues Oct 13, 11 am – 12 pm
WHAT: Postdoc Research Communication Series: The Art of Research Communication
REGISTER: Details below
Sure, your research on fill-in-the-blank is fascinating and important, but in order to help the public understand why it matters (and why they should support it!), you need to be able to communicate what you do in ways that are clear and engaging. In this 3-part series, noted Research Communication expert Jory Weintraub PhD will teach you how to communicate your research effectively, no matter what field you are in.
The workshops will be participatory and include interactive exercises to provide opportunities to practice your research communication skills, so please have your audio and video enabled. For maximum benefit, participants are encouraged to attend all events in the series.
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Session 1: Research Communication Fundamentals
When: Tues Sept 29, 11 am-12 pm
Register for Session 1: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bQo65pp31SOHSVU
This activity-based session will introduce the fundamentals of research communication, including concepts such as:
- Your message: What is it, why does it matter, and how do you craft it?
- Your audience: Why is it so important to “know your audience”, and how do you frame your message for your them?
- Avoiding jargon and other essential skills for engaging your audience and communicating clearly
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Session 2: Communicating Your Research Through Storytelling
When: Tues Oct 6, 11 am-12 pm
Register for Session 2: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_804cDvl4oBPztEa
Research demonstrates that people learn new information more effectively, understand it better and remember it longer when it is delivered in the form of a story. In this session, we’ll dig more deeply into this and discuss the elements of great storytelling. You will then be introduced to a fun and simple method for telling the story of your research in three sentences, and get the opportunity to try it yourself (and receive facilitatory and peer feedback).
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Session 3: Engaging the Public in Your Research Through Outreach
When: Tues Oct 13, 11 am-12 pm
Register for Session 3: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d5VagDNZ7c59Rcy
Once you’ve learned the fundamentals of research communication and how to tell the story of your work, it’s time to apply these skills by engaging the public through outreach. This session will introduce and explore strategies for doing this, and participants will develop their own outreach plan.
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Speaker: Jory Weintraub, PhD is the Director of Science Engagement at North Carolina State University. From 2015-2022 he was the Science Communication Director with the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in science communication at Duke. He received a PhD in Immunology, did a postdoc in STEM education, and has spent the last 25 years doing, teaching and coaching science communication and science outreach.
Weds Sept 30, 11 am – 12 pm
WHAT: Engaging Constructively in Conflict
REGISTER: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3sArHLPVNSRIy0K
Conflict is inevitable in work, research, and learning environments, and our approach to it determines whether it becomes a source of growth or disruption. This presentation examines the nature of conflict, common assumptions that shape our responses, and the difference between healthy and unhealthy conflict. Attendees will explore various types of conflict and be introduced to a conflict competence model that highlights its emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions. Participants will learn strategies to assess and manage conflict productively, thereby strengthening both individual and team relationships.
Speaker: Jessica Kuchta-Miller, MA, JD, is the Duke University Ombuds. She holds a law degree with a certificate in Dispute Resolution and a master’s degree in counseling psychology. As a longtime mediator and qualified neutral, Jessica brings significant experience in training others in mediation, negotiation, conflict resolution, and communication skills. She is an active member of the International Ombuds Association (IOA), the largest professional association of organizational ombuds practitioners worldwide, and frequently teaches the Foundations of the Organizational Ombuds course while mentoring new Ombuds.
