Complementary PhD communication skills training
18 June 2024 at 6:05:00 am
T14 Talk
10 min
Abstract
The Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia provides a program of training to enhance the development of PhD students aligned to the Institute’s research priorities. Responding to recognised gaps in the post-graduate training landscape, this program integrates development opportunities across four areas considered key to modern careers in research and innovation to better-prepare graduates for success in their future workplaces: 1.Science communication 2.Professional relationship management 3.Entrepreneurial thinking 4.Personal career management. Regular participant surveys demonstrate consistently strong appreciation for the value of the program and its impact as a platform for career development. 100% of 2023 survey respondents agreed they would highly recommend (92%) or recommend (8%) the program to potential applicants. MRIWA has recently been commissioned to expand the program to include PhD students supported by other government agencies.
Presenter/s
Relevance to conference themes
My talk presents a case study of a popular and successful program embedding core skills for boundary-spanning career success in post-graduate education. This directly addresses the conference theme of ‘Support, Connect, Grow’ in showcasing how communication skills and acculturation during the formative development of future research leaders can form the foundation to productive collaboration and communication, strengthening relationships between science, industry, government, and other technical stakeholder communities.
The content of this case study addresses conference pillars including:
- academic research,
- outreach & engagement, and
- education & training