Accomplishments

Abstract: Mentoring relationships impact postdoctoral scholars’ ability to be independent, resilient, and productive professionals, well-informed to make career decisions. However, 40% of postdoctoral scholars are not satisfied with the mentoring they receive (2018 national survey), and many report anxiety in having conversations with their mentors and/or are fearful of conflicts. We propose to integrate Productive Postdoc Conversation frameworks in our Postdoc Academy content, to help initiate productive conversations on the topics covered in our MOOCs.

Our dialogue framework, informed by our research and other studies, aims to improve postdoctoral scholar/mentor relationships. The framework helps both parties relate the content of the Postdoc Academy 6- and 7-week MOOCs to their mentoring context with evidence-based introduction videos, and learn about peers’ experiences and strategies from recorded interviews. Self-reflection prompts encourage mentors to empathically listen, while postdoctoral scholars are empowered to lead productive discussions with mentors and maintain conversations in the future.

Description: The Postdoc Academy program is a comprehensive online and in-person professional development program available to all postdoctoral scholars (postdocs) to help them develop the transferable skills that will enable their success in a diverse set of biomedical careers. Our content includes free online courses, open educational facilitation guides and accompanying curricular materials, in-person workshops, and supported learning communities. We have reached over 7000 postdocs since our program launch, and 20% of our program participants are from underrepresented racial groups. Our research and program evaluation data has shown that postdocs use our program and its supported learning communities to have conversations with peers and facilitators that they are unable or uncomfortable having with their primary mentor, especially those postdocs from marginalized racial identities. This workshop will describe the resources we have created to enhance mentoring dialogues between postdocs and faculty, including dialogue frameworks and online modules, and promote discussion among GREAT practitioners on how to translate research mentor training opportunities into faculty taking action steps with their mentees.

Abstract: The Postdoc Academy has been providing flexible online and in-person professional development training opportunities for postdoctoral scholars (postdocs) to develop skills necessary to support a successful postdoc experience and to transition into their next career. Mentoring relationships play a critical role in postdoc training, especially the one postdocs develop with their advisor. Mentoring influences trainees’ satisfaction with the postdoc experience, overall self-efficacy, and professional well-being. However, postdocs may lack agency on the way they are mentored. To support postdocs further, the Postdoc Academy received supplemental funding to optimize mentoring relationships between postdocs and faculty, with an emphasis on promoting inclusive mentoring practices for marginalized groups. This supplement provides frameworks to support mentoring dialogues and facilitate Productive Conversations on the 10 topics covered in our courses.

By the end of our session, attendees will be familiarized with the Postdoc Academy Supplement offering for postdocs and how our Productive Conversation Framework can be leveraged to fill mentoring gaps for trainees at their institution.

Abstract: Supporting DEI initiatives and promoting positive climates within their work environments represent a crucial part of a postdoc’s professional experience. There is a wealth of content that STEM postdocs can access to gain professional development in this area, including the global Postdoc Academy courses. However, content created at scale often needs to be modified to meet the needs of local conversations and the backgrounds of individual postdocs. In particular, the increased disciplinary diversity of postdoctoral training, especially with the expansion of positions in the humanities, now requires different approaches to how to adapt DEI resources for a new group of postdoctoral peers. This workshop models for postdoctoral administrators how to tailor materials on creating inclusive intercultural environments from the Postdoc Academy for a non-STEM postdoc population. Presenters first describe the key milestones that distinguish humanities, engineering, and hard science PhD and then postdoc experiences. Then participants will break into small groups and discuss a comparison of two case studies: one used in the Postdoc Academy’s existing materials, and one adapted from the materials for a humanities Postdoc audience. Participants end by reflecting together on the effectiveness of these adaptations and also how they might adapt their own existing DEI programming in their institutions to a humanities postdoc audience.

Abstract: The Postdoc Academy: Succeeding as a Postdoc was designed to build postdocs’ skills in career transition, career planning, collaborative research, resilience, and self-reflection. This study examined self-reported changes in five skills as learners progressed through the course. Data were collected from participants who responded to both pre- and post-surveys and engaged with the course learning activities. Results from repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance revealed that all of the self-reported perceptions of skills improved significantly upon completion of the course. Hierarchical regressions revealed that underrepresented minority learners had greater gains in their development of skills in career planning, resilience, and self-reflection. Qualitative analysis of learners’ responses to learning activities found that postdocs perceived networking and mentor support as contributing factors to their skill advancement while tensions among multiple obligations and concerns of uncertainties were significant challenges to applying those skills.

Abstract: We all spend countless hours working to be successful researchers. Similarly, searching and applying for a job takes time, dedication, focus, and most importantly, preparation.

No matter what your current professional situation is, from considering applying to graduate school to being ready to say goodbye to your postdoc to enter the next phase of your career, it is never too early to develop a strategy for implementing an effective career plan.

From exploring potential career paths to applying for a position in academia, agencies, industry, or in a non-government organization, this interactive workshop will provide practical tools for you to:

• Assess your skills, values and interests;
• Identify career paths aligned with your core values;
• Establish SMART goals;
• Develop your actionable career plan.

Abstract: Build your success by applying effective communication strategies to networking and interviewing situations. Knowing how to effectively communicate your strengths, research, background and other assets is critical in contexts such as conferences, networking events, and job interviews. In addition to planned presentations, unexpected situations sometimes arise, making it essential to be prepared to talk about yourself in the moment. This workshop will identify the value of strategic communications and how theater-based approaches can help develop narrative skills. Participants will review the Olsen ‘And, But Therefore’ framework and apply it to their own research and non-research elevator pitches. Finally, participants will learn how to develop, critique and improve their narratives and elevator pitches. Strategic communications is especially important as postdocs make transitions in their career pathway. The content of this workshop is drawn from the Postdoc Academy: Building Skills for a Successful Career course, which will be offered on edX in July 2022.

Session Description: The Postdoc Academy is an NIH-funded initiative supporting postdoc skill development and combines online courses with in-person or virtual Postdoc Academy Learning Sessions (PALS).

Expand your facilitation skills by joining the Postdoc Academy team in an interactive training for those interested in facilitating postdoc learning communities and adapting our content to your institutional programming. By participating in our workshop, you will receive hands-on facilitator training, professional development resources, and become part of our national community of PALS facilitators. Training is open to postdocs, faculty, and staff, including new facilitators. Participants will develop inclusive facilitation skills and practices, action plans for capacity building within their own institution, and join an active community of practitioners.

Abstract: Success as a postdoc often centers on training in research and teaching methods, though many career paths (including those in academia) require skills beyond those that advance scholarship. Many postdocs have become savvy in preparing for their next career steps and enrolling in professional development opportunities to develop their skills. But it can still be challenging to understand how to translate what is learned in professional development into qualifications and outcomes that are readily understood by employers, or to know where to start to identify what skills to focus on. In this keynote, we will provide a framework to help postdocs describe their current skills and strategically identify the areas they want to pursue and highlight during their job search.

Session Description: For everyone, especially during a global time of uncertainty, it is difficult to manage responsibilities across professional and personal lives. Developing and implementing strategies to proactively navigate these challenges and build resilience are critical for health and productivity. This interactive workshop will describe what it takes to develop and use resilient characteristics and identify how to recover from stress and prevent burnout. Participants will explore evidence-based strategies, develop a resilience action plan, and learn how to apply these effectively to meet their individual objectives.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discover and understand a department/institution’s commitment, actions, and resources regarding DEI based on the job search process from application to interview to negotiation.
2. Be able to clearly communicate your expectations regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the job search process from application through interviewing.
3. Reflect on values and expectations regarding DEI in the workplace.

Session Description: During career transitions biomedical science trainees often struggle with translating their skills outside of their traditional research environment. Trainees typically have only experienced an academic environment and might not recognize the universal skills they are already using that can be applied elsewhere. In this interactive workshop, we present a set of universal transferable skills – self-reflection, knowing your audience, goal alignment, and plan implementation. These skills can be applied to a number of different career-related activities, such as mentoring, pitching an idea, managing a collaboration, and organizing a meeting. Created in partnership with iBiology.

Abstract: Incorporating evaluation theory and embedded evaluation practices has created continuous learning for the Postdoc Academy program. Embedded evaluation incorporates the voices of faculty, staff, researchers, and participants throughout the program. This approach allows the Postdoc Academy team to continually integrate learning from preliminary, formative, and summative evaluation. During this interactive session, participants will explore and learn how to apply 1) choosing evaluation frameworks, 2) embedding evaluation within a program structure and 3) integrating evaluation learning in the context of their own programs.

The Postdoc Academy is a new digital and in-person professional development program that incorporates evidence-based content with the voices of postdocs and professionals to support individuals throughout their postdoctoral position.

Description of the sessions: In addition to a Facilitator training and a poster, two professional development workshops were offered to postdocs:

• Building and Sustaining Resilience during Career Transitions
• Integrating Systems Evaluation into Professional Development Program Design

Session Description: One challenge of online learning is creating and sustaining a sense of community for participants. Utilizing peer feedback is a successful model to overcome this barrier. In this workshop, attendees will (1) discuss strategies to encourage peer-to-peer interaction and build a social presence throughout online learning; (2) share practices that promote inclusion; and (3) identify action steps for implementation. In this interactive session, attendees will examine the strategies employed by the Postdoc Academy, who is building an online professional development program through a Massive Open Online Course series. The team will share successes and failures around building and sustaining an inclusive community.

Session Description: Professional development is critical for postdocs to develop skills beyond the technical focus of their research. Integrating professional development for postdocs into existing onboarding processes can be an effective strategy to support them throughout their career development, from orientation to next career step. This workshop will (1) provide resources which can be integrated into existing programming and (2) provide support and feedback for attendees to build an action plan for implementation at their institution. In this interactive session, attendees will have early access to the open educational materials developed by the Postdoc Academy team.

Session Description: Engaging with the postdoctoral community within their institution can be a struggle for postdocs. Many find it difficult to take time away from their professional and personal responsibilities to attend in-person professional development events or other opportunities that extend beyond their role. The Postdoc Academy addresses this gap by bringing community right to the postdocs’ desktops and smartphones, through massive open online courses (MOOCs) and open educational materials focused on the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) core competencies. The content within the Postdoc Academy is complementary to existing professional development resources at local institutions and will provide institutions with the opportunity to develop their own local learning communities.

This short performance will depict two postdocs working late in the lab, again. A fellow postdoc returns from a workshop and asks why their labmates never go. One of the two postdocs at the bench reply, “we have so much on our plate….” The other postdoc at the bench says, “Well, I heard you can do professional development online. Let’s check it out.” Fast forward a couple weeks, and the postdocs are again working late in the lab. This time, while doing their experiments, they’re discussing peer feedback around career planning they received from a national community of colleagues in the Postdoc Academy.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define productive mentoring relationships & conversations
2. Explain how one can prepare for and initiate a mentoring conversation
3. Create a plan to initiate a post-workshop mentoring conversation

Abstract: Success as a postdoc often centers on training in research, though everyone’s career path requires skills beyond those that solely advance scholarship. Many postdocs have become savvy in preparing for their next career steps and enrolling in professional development opportunities to develop their skills. But it remains difficult to align personal aspirations and external motivations and pressures. I will tell the story of my career path, highlighting my personal process of alignment and choice making (which didn’t always work out). Along the way, I will provide a framework to help postdocs describe their current skills and strategically identify the areas they want to pursue and highlight for their pathway.

Learning Objectives:

1. Reflect on your perceptions of and experiences with leadership
2. Describe the key attributes and structures of evidence-based leadership frameworks
3. Explore how opportunities/styles/… for leadership vary in professional, cultural, career stage contexts.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn basics of the science of mentorship and mentor/mentee training
2. Raise your awareness about the importance of proactively managing your constellation of mentoring relationships (“mentoring up”)
3. Explore professional development priorities that you can work on with your mentors

Learning Objectives:

1. Reflect on your perceptions of and experiences with leadership
2. Describe the key attributes and structures of evidence-based leadership frameworks
3. Explore how opportunities/styles/… for leadership vary in professional, cultural, career stage contexts.

Learning Objectives:

1. Reflect on your perceptions of and experiences with leadership
2. Describe the key attributes and structures of evidence-based leadership frameworks
3. Explore how opportunities/styles/… for leadership vary in professional, cultural, career stage contexts.

Abstract: For everyone, especially during a global time of uncertainty, it can be difficult to manage responsibilities across our professional and personal lives. Navigating these challenges effectively and building resilience are critical for our mental health and productivity. This interactive workshop will describe the characteristics of what it takes to be resilient and identify strategies to recover from stress. Participants will explore evidence-based strategies, including drafting a resilience action plan, and learn how to apply these effectively to their individual objectives.

Learning Objectives:

1. Reflect on how identity influences postdocs in professional settings
2. Develop criteria for assessing whether a job aligns with interests and values
3. Identify next steps to ensure that interests and values are incorporated into the career exploration process

Learning Objectives:

1. Explore the notion of a community of practice, articulate your role in this community, and how postdoc roles can differ from each other, as well as be different from other members of a research group.
2. Reflect on your goals for your postdoc
3. Align your goals with actions you can take to achieve them

Description: A key component of applying and interviewing for jobs is communicating your strengths to potential employers. This interactive webinar will explore how to communicate your strengths to key stakeholders through applications and interviews. Even more, this workshop will discuss how to approach negotiations and succeed once you’re in your new position.

Learning Objectives:

1. Reflect on values and expectations regarding DEI in the workplace.
2. Discover and understand an academic unit/institution’s commitment, actions, and resources regarding DEI based on the job search process from application to interview to negotiation.
3. Clearly communicate your expectations regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the job search process.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the common language and terminology behind project management and administration and be able to use it in developing a project
2. Distinguish the administrative functions of managing a project from the project content or goal(s)
3. Apply concepts of project management to their own example project

Learning Objectives:

1. Reflect on your perceptions of and experiences with leadership
2. Describe the key attributes and structures of evidence-based leadership frameworks
3. Explore how opportunities/styles/… for leadership vary in professional, cultural, career stage contexts.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the Postdoc Academy and the two interactive courses on professional development for postdocs nationwide.
2. Describe the ‘And, But Therefore’ approach to personal narrative and communication.
3. Draft an effective narrative on your research
4. Practice narratives and examine with a strategic communications rubric

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the importance of setting explicit expectations
2. Implement effective strategies for communicating and promoting positive relationships
3. Reflect on and practice strategies you will use as a supervisor to develop and manage an effective team

Learning Objectives:

1. Explore different types of career planning tools and recognize strategies to use them effectively
2. Describe and prioritize your goals for your postdoc position
3. Draft a career plan, mapping goals onto a timeline and the milestones you need to achieve in order to be successful
4. Integrate the career planning process and reflections into day-to-day practice

Learning Objectives:

1. Reflect on your perceptions of and experiences with leadership
2. Describe the key attributes and structures of evidence-based leadership frameworks
3. Explore how opportunities/styles/… for leadership vary in professional, cultural, career stage contexts.

Session Objectives:

1. Describe methods to incorporate evaluation throughout program development (integration of theory, methods for evaluating)
2. Engage Participants – program evaluation design
3. Share initial Evaluation results (evidence of impact of an emerging initiative)

Learning Objectives:

1. Integrate the career planning process and reflections into day-to-day practice
2. Explore an evidence-based model to managing stress and developing resilience (deteriorating, adapting, recovery, and growing)
3. Identify opportunities for recovery from work and life stresses (especially while job searching!)

Learning Objectives:

1. Explore different types of career planning tools and recognize strategies to use them effectively
2. Describe and prioritize your goals for your postdoc position
3. Draft a career plan, mapping goals onto a timeline and the milestones you need to achieve in order to be successful
4. Integrate the career planning process and reflections into day-to-day practice

Learning Objectives:

1. Integrate the career planning process and reflections into day-to-day practice
2. Explore an evidence-based model to managing stress and developing resilience (deteriorating, adapting, recovery, and growing)
3. Identify opportunities for recovery from work and life stresses (especially while job searching!)

Learning Objectives:

1. Integrate the career planning process and reflections into day-to-day practice
2. Explore an evidence-based model to managing stress and developing resilience (deteriorating, adapting, recovery, and growing)
3. Identify opportunities for recovery from work and life stresses