tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374266320411149509.post446995633630944337..comments2024-03-25T10:22:36.277-04:00Comments on Women In Astronomy: ADVICE: Affordable Suggestions for Department ChairsAmanpreet Kaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08734178178113146899noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374266320411149509.post-89348279802883994732015-09-18T02:18:45.154-04:002015-09-18T02:18:45.154-04:00This not only helps the younger students get over ...This not only helps the younger students get over the common road bump where they are discouraged by their first challenging physics course - but there's nothing like teaching for mastering the basics.<br /><a href="http://www.womenunderconstruction.com/" rel="nofollow">Christian</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13720274091094712578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374266320411149509.post-80663991239769047672014-07-03T05:44:51.757-04:002014-07-03T05:44:51.757-04:00These are great! Some other examples that might he...These are great! Some other examples that might help are to work across universities/research centres to do annual or semi-annual workshops for postgraduate students focused on career issues. This is especially useful for students in smaller universities who might not get a chance to work with other women or minorities from their field. The workshop could include a panel on how to publish; how to write a grant; managing supervisor relationships; and of course a session on diversity. We talked about this on STEM Women with Erin Kane – how do we manage sexual harassment in the field or in a lab? We don’t often get a safe space to discuss these tricky issues, which leaves students especially vulnerable if they don’t know their rights, obligations and sources of support. Additionally, organising online events would be helpful for students studying in rural or remote areas. Google+ Hangouts would be one cost-effective way to extend participation of these students as well as others who may find it difficult to travel long distances, such as disabled students. This enables people to send in questions beforehand as well as during the HOA, and it can be integrated with other social media.<br /><br />I participated in a two-year interdisciplinary leadership course as a postgrad and it's one of the best things I ever did. The course included an eclectic mix of disciplines. There were around 12 of us in the group, including engineers, medical students, psychologists, neuropsychs, mathematicians, designers, materials scientists and sociologists. The idea was to choose strong students who could be leaders in their fields, but also facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration. Learning about leadership, team work and communication in this context, with a focus on diversity across STEM, was incredibly useful and it would help my later career working in interdisciplinary research. Even if postgrads stay in one area (like astronomy) they leave their degree with training about team-work, how to engage with different personality types, cross-cultural communication and diversity issues, such as how to be aware about gender, other cultures, sexuality and negotiating with people who think differently about science. The course ended with teams producing research presented to senior scientists who would come in for one session and gave us feedback. It was a heavy time investment by our university, but it was one of the most challenging and most productive ways to learn.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12721726730363951567noreply@blogger.com