Workshop on Enhancing Postdoctoral Professional Skills to Advance Research and Workforce Development

新墨西哥大学将主办一次研讨会，以实现博士后学者在国家研究界的可持续参与。博士后学者是STEM专业劳动力的重要组成部分。许多NSF项目为新近毕业的博士后学生提供了一个机会，让他们获得博士后经验并获得宝贵的学科专业知识和技能，使他们能够在学术界、政府以及商界和工业界从事富有成效的职业生涯。因此，NSF要求任何雇用博士后学者的项目都要有博士后指导计划。这样的计划通常包括与学术职业相关的培训和机会，如先进仪器、专门分析以及教学和出版。然而，其他各种知识领域、技能和能力也是博士后职业生涯成功的核心，例如领导技能、协作和团队科学。这个研讨会的主要目标是确定博士后学者认为对他们正在进行的研究和未来职业生涯成功做出最大贡献的特定知识、技能和能力，并开发一个最佳实践指南，以带来更有效的博士后指导和培训经验。具体研讨会活动包括：1)设计和实施全国博士后研究人员调查，以确定他们在特定知识、技能和能力方面的培训需求，以及作为其学术培训的一部分，他们接受这种培训的程度；2)组建一个主题专家团队，设计教育模块和培训活动，以满足博士后研究人员确定的需求；3)为教师和管理人员提供指导，以设计和实施更有效的博士后指导计划。作为研讨会的一部分，确定、采用和部署最佳实践和解决方案将导致博士后学者在进入学术、行业和政府职业生涯时准备更充分、更成功。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The University of New Mexico will host a workshop to effect sustainable engagement of postdoctoral scholars in the national research community. Postdoctoral scholars represent a critical component of the STEM professional workforce. Many NSF projects provide an opportunity for recently graduated doctoral students to pursue postdoctoral experiences and gain valuable disciplinary expertise and skills that enable them to pursue productive careers in academia, government, and business and industry. Consequently, NSF requires postdoctoral mentoring plans for any project that employs postdoctoral scholars. Such plans routinely include training and opportunities related to academic careers such as advanced instrumentation, specialized analyses, and teaching and publishing. Yet, various other knowledge areas, skills, and capabilities are also central to postdoctoral career success such as leadership skills, collaboration, and team science. The primary objectives of this workshop are to identify the specific knowledge, skills, and capabilities that postdoctoral scholars believe would contribute most to their ongoing research and future career success and to develop a best-practices guide that can lead to more impactful postdoctoral mentoring and training experiences.The specific workshop activities include 1) designing and implementing a nation-wide survey of postdoctoral researchers to determine their needs for training with respect to particular knowledge areas, skills and capabilities, as well as the extent to which they receive this training as part of their academic training; 2) assembling a team of subject experts to design educational modules and training activities that would address the needs identified by postdoctoral researchers; and 3) provide guidance to faculty and administrators for designing and implementing more effective postdoctoral mentoring plans. Identification, adoption and deployment of the best practices and solutions identified as part of the workshop will result in postdoctoral scholars that are better prepared and more successful as they move into careers in academic, industry, and government.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.