Tag Archives: connections

The Art of Supervision in the Arab and Gulf Region

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The upcoming generation of Arab scientists has to be mentored differently, says Mohamed Boudjelal

This piece was cross-posted with Nature Middle East

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The majority of the Arab world gained independence from western colonization during the second half of the 20th century. While Western states were building their research base then, most Arab states were focused on education. Now, the Arab world is trying to catch up. The two main challenges we face today are improving scientific training, and engaging more women in science.
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Bonding in Boston: The importance of networking in science

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Naturejobs journalism competition winner Ashish Nair finds new hope at our Boston career expo.

A long time ago in a land galaxy far far away, there was a great gathering where those weary of the well-trodden trail of tenureships and grants repaired themselves. The gathering in question was the Naturejobs career expo, a free one-day event organized for students and scientists alike. Featuring some truly inspiring speakers, it gave a much-needed boost to my hope for a career in science that can be both emotionally and financially (yes, $$$) satisfying.

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Finding job satisfaction as a data scientist

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Following your interests and making connections can launch a career.

Unlike most US students, Nathan Sanders declared his specialty as soon as he started undergraduate studies. He’d known for years that he wanted to study astronomy, but during his PhD at Harvard University he realized that the analysis itself enthralled him more than the applications for astronomy. He describes how he used his technical skills, and connections outside his academic program, to launch his career.

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Counting all the ways connections matter

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New research shows that the size of a faculty member’s network predicts productivity, promotion, and probability of winning an NIH R01 grant.

Guest contributor Viviane Callier

Connections matter – in terms of productivity, in terms of obtaining grants, in terms of promotion and advancement, and in terms of retention in academic positions, a new Harvard-based study shows. Women and underrepresented minorities (URMs) have a smaller “reach” – a measure of second-order connections – and the discrepancy between the reach of women & URMs and that of white men is greatest at the junior faculty level. This discrepancy may account for differences in productivity, promotion, and retention of women and URMs in academia.

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CREDIT: CC-BY-SA Atos/Flickr

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Skills for your next networking adventure

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Networking may seem terrifying, but once you master the basics, it can be a real career boost

Naturejobs journalism competition winner Andy Tay

Networking during academic events such as conferences and seminars can be nerve-wrecking. Most of us can remember when we pretended to be engrossed in a programme booklet, wishing we could finally muster the courage to speak to the speaker with ground-breaking research standing ten feet away. You’re not alone, and there is a solution. Effective networking is a skill and anyone can benefit from more practice.

Do your homework

It’s a good habit to read the abstracts of presenters and download their papers to learn more about them before you join a conference. If you’re interested in their work, look up their profiles on platforms like Google Scholar, PudMed and ResearchGate. These platforms automatically update publications and can be better sources of information than many lab webpages, which are less regularly updated. By being diligent, and finding out more about the presenters and their research, you’ll be more confident and ready to ask critical, intelligent questions.

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