Theme |
Description |
Examples |
State of the Science
|
Individual postdocs give a brief talk and lead a discussion about the
current state of their field, with the goal that it stimulates
intelligent, thoughtful conversations outside our specialty.
|
“Carbon in inland waters”
“Quantifying and measuring controls on the terrestrial carbon sink”
“Urban plant communities”
|
Skill share
|
We identify areas in which we are interested in building skills and
someone (within or outside the group) who can lead us in building those
skills
|
Science communication with non-scientists
How to implement meaningful justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion
(JEDI) initiatives
|
Career navigation
|
We explore potential careers, their skill requirements, and what
work-life balance would look like through formal and informal
conversations and activities
|
Built a shared list of potential options based on members of our
networks and passing on resources from our individual searches
Identified our values and strengths
Developed alternative 5 year plans (based on a template from (Burnett
& Evans 2016)
|
Social bonding
|
We set aside a few minutes at the start of each weekly meeting and
occasional whole lunches or ad hoc evening hours (virtual or in-person)
to socialize
|
Sharing pictures and stories from our childhoods
Craft nights
Recounting a personal achievement from the week
Game nights
|
Metacognition
|
Every few months, we revisit our goals, assess how well we are meeting
them, and make a plan to adaptively manage our program
accordingly.
|
Writing this paper
Periodically revisiting schedule and balance of weekly activities
|