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1. STEM Graduate Students’ Development at the Intersection of Research, Leadership, and Innovation

   https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3779055  

   Lenhart, Cindy; Bouwma-Gearhart, Jana; Keszler, Douglas; Giordan, Judith; Carter, Rich; Dolgos, Michelle (March 2021, SSRN Electronic Journal)

   null (Ed.)

   Researcher innovation and leadership skills are fundamental to create implementable solutions to pressing societal- and market-based global problems. The Research to Innovation to Society (R2I2S) program is a transformative approach to graduate education, training students at the intersection of research, innovation, and leadership. We detail the design of the program, and a three-year exploratory investigation of its impact at one research university in the western United States. We found that, overall, students who participated in the program realized the value of thinking about their scientific research from a market-need perspective. Students perceived enhanced interest in and understanding of societal and market insights related to their own and other’s research. As well, students developed professional skills in communication, team collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurial skills. We situate our findings in frameworks concerning the development of emerging professionals and argue for programming for STEM graduate students that extends the deep discipline knowledge-based model of professional development into one inclusive of leadership, communication, and innovation goals. 

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2. Implementing Project Management Skills Training Through Thesis Research Within STEM Graduate Education

   Gansemer-Topf, Ann M; Jiang, Shan; Liang, Yiqi; Chen, Dong; Li, Qing; Reuel, Nigel; Okudan_Kremer, Gül E (June 2023, ASEE)

   Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) graduate education traditionally has focused on developing technical and research skills needed to be successful in academic and research settings. In the past decade, however, STEM graduate students increasingly have sought positions in the industry [1]; a recent study by Sherman et al. [2] found that non-academic industry jobs were the most preferred career choice for STEM doctoral students. Despite this preference, graduate education has yet to adapt to better prepare students for their industry positions; a significant portion of students need critical professional skills, such as project management (PM), needed to be effective leaders in these non-academic environments [3-9]. Although a required skill in the industry, these professional skills also can significantly enhance future careers within research and the academy. 

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3. Non-Academic Careers for STS Graduate Students: Hopping off the Tenure Track

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-018-9360-6  

   Woodson, Thomas S.; Harsh, Matthew; Foley, Rider (January 2018, Minerva)

   Science, Technology & Society (STS) graduate programs primarily train graduate students to work in tenure track academic jobs. However, there are not enough tenure track academic jobs to match the supply of STS graduate students, nor does every STS graduate student want to become an academic. As a start to addressing these challenges, we hosted workshops before the 2017 Society for the Annual Meeting of the Society Studies of Science and the 2018 ST Global conference. In those workshops, panelists with PhDs in STS and related fields and working in non-academic faculty careers such as government agencies, non-profit foundations, and industry emphasized that students must showcase how their skills are useful to non-academic organizations. The panelists offered a wealth of stories on how their STS perspective supported their careers, yet most had faced implicit and explicit mentoring from STS faculty that ran counter to their career aspirations. The conversations centered on reframing research and conveying to potential employers how their STS training would support their future careers. A takeaway point that resonated with many participants was the need for STS graduate programs to rethink how they market themselves, recruit students, and critically reflect upon the measures of success. By implicitly steering graduate students solely towards an academic career, STS graduate training will miss an opportunity to make a positive impact on society 

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4. Interdisciplinary Convergence in Robotics and Autonomous Systems

   Dutta, Prashanta; Seo, Soobin; Probst, Tahira; Hewa, Joseph M (June 2024, ASEE)

   While the demand for interdisciplinary knowledge is undeniable, there are formidable challenges when offering graduate education to Engineering students. To address that, we designed an educational research project that delves into the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Trainee (NRT) program for engineering students studying robotics and autonomous systems. This newly funded NRT program aims to train next-generation scientists and engineers with professional skills through interdisciplinary courses such as leadership, business, and psychology in addition to cutting-edge technical knowledge in the field. We are using retrospective surveys and content analysis to identify student experience with interdisciplinary training and education programs. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis evidenced an increased level of confidence in soft skills such as interdisciplinary understanding, communication, and collaboration skills throughout participating in the interdisciplinary NRT program. 

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5. Introducing conflict resolution and negotiation training into a biomedical sciences graduate curriculum

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03494-5  

   Schaller, Michael D.; Gatesman-Ammer, Amanda (December 2022, BMC Medical Education)

   Abstract Background Analysis of the biomedical workforce and graduate education have produced recommendations for modifications of pre-doctoral training to broadly prepare trainees for wider ranging scientific careers. Development of training in professional skills is widely recommended, but details of implementation are not widely available. In alignment with these recommendations, we have incorporated professional skills training into the biomedical science graduate curriculum at West Virginia University. An important component of the training is developing conflict resolution and negotiation skills. This training will provide useful skills for academic careers, non-academic careers and life situations outside of the workplace. Conflict resolution/negotiation skills are also relevant in managing issues in diversity, equity and inclusivity. We report our experience in developing this component of the training program, provide an overview of the approach to delivery and practice of skills, and provide an analysis of the reception and effectiveness of the training. Methods Evaluation of effectiveness of training used the principals of the Kirkpatrick Four Level Model of Evaluation. At the end of the course, students completed a questionnaire about their perceptions of training and were asked how they would respond to different scenarios requiring conflict resolution/negotiation skills. Several months later, students were surveyed to determine if they used some of these skills and/or witnessed situations where these skills would be useful. Results We report our experience in developing conflict resolution/negotiation training in our graduate curriculum, provide an overview of the approach to delivery and practice of skills, and provide an analysis of the reception and effectiveness of the training. The results suggest this training meets a need and is effective. Importantly, these materials provide a template for others wishing to implement similar training in their curricula. Conclusions Conflict resolution and negotiation training meets a need in graduate education. A mixed approach using didactic and interactive components spaced out over time appears to be an effective method of training. 

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