The faculty series: What does it take to be a mentor?

Posted on 01 Feb 2016 by Jack Leeming

Being a great M.E.N.T.O.R will help you just as much as your students, says Nirmala Hariharan

Guest contributor Nirmala Hariharan

Mentoring is one of the most crucial roles played by faculty on a day to day basis. As a mentor, you provide scientific and technical guidance, and serve as the pillar of support for your team of students, postdocs and trainees. Mentoring can consume a lot of your time, and be very demanding, but has several long term benefits that will help you run a successful lab. Here’s what a great M.E.N.T.O.R provides for their students.

Nirmala Hariharan

Motivation. You’re the constant source of motivation for your team; you need to see the big picture and guide your team through the ups and downs. You’re the leader that inspires excellence and encourages scientific innovation. As a good mentor, you must recognise the true potential of your mentees – even if they don’t – and know how to bring out the best in them. In short, you should make them realise what they’re capable of.

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Jobs of the Future: What will a science career look like in 2030?

Posted on 15 Jan 2016 by Jack Leeming

Scientists should be the ones designing the jobs of the future, say Michael Fischer and Mandë Holford. The Jobs of the Future initiative enables them to do so.

The modern growth in cross- and multidisciplinary research in academia has already had huge impact on the world around us, and is set to reshape the jobs market for scientists globally. With this in mind, the UN recently announced their 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which includes the goal to create jobs with competitive salaries that lead to sustainable economic growth. We believe young scientists should be the ones establishing the new fields and areas of employment for the future, to address the 2030 SDGs.

The JOF team

The Jobs of the Future (JOF) initiative will provide a platform to do just that – it’s a that allows young scientists and engineers to describe their dream job of the future.

To answer this call, a group of early career scientists and engineers at the 2015 World Science Forum pitched ideas on tangible ways to address the SDGs to a panel of international judges composed of high profile decision makers from UNESCO, InterAcademy Panel, and The Academy of Science of South Africa. The winning pitch, made by a team including the authors, was the JOF initiative.

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The faculty series: Applying for grants

Posted on 11 Jan 2016 by Jack Leeming

A successful grant application is dependent on making your science and your message clear, says Viviane Callier.

Guest Contributor Viviane Callier

For many new investigators, applying for and winning grants is one of the biggest hurdles that will determine success on the tenure track. As federal grant budgets tighten, all investigators — and especially new investigators — are struggling to find ways to finance their research.

Viviane Callier

Obtaining federal grants is the criterion for obtaining tenure at research universities, according to David Lowry, assistant professor of plant sciences at Michigan State University. The pressure to obtain funding is even larger than the pressure to publish. “Grantsmanship — the ability to write a simple, compelling grant — is hands-down the single most important skill for assistant professors starting out,” says Alexander Shingleton, a tenured associate professor of biology at Lake Forest College, Illinois.

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Science communication: Do you struggle with staying impartial?

Posted on 08 Jan 2016 by Jack Leeming