Improving Geoscience Graduate Student Preparedness for the Future Workforce Workshop
August 18-19, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
An NSF sponsored Workshop on Improving Geoscience Graduate Student Preparedness for the Future Workforce will be held on August 18-19, 2022 at Stanford University near Palo Alto, CA. This workshop is primarily designed for administrative leaders who have the ability to make and lead change and employers of Ph.D. and M.S. students in Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences who are involved in making hiring decisions or setting priorities for their organization. Our goal is to develop strategies for transformative changes in geoscience graduate education.
The workshop will address these questions:
- What skills and competencies should be part of graduate geoscience education for Ph.D. & M.S. students in Earth, Ocean, & Atmospheric Sciences so they can be successful in future careers? How has this changed since the 2018 Geoscience Employers Workshop?
- What are the best ways of developing these skills/competencies and mentoring students during their graduate career?
- What successes or roadblocks have academic leaders had in implementing development of these skills and competencies in graduate geoscience programs?
- What balance should graduate programs have between developing technical skill sets, research and broader educational goals?
The workshop starts at 8:00 am Thursday, August 18th and will end at 3:00 pm Friday, August 19th at the Ruth Wattis Mitchell Building (397 Panama Mall; Stanford, CA 94305); School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University.
We have some participant funding to help defray the costs associated with transportation and lodging. Please indicate on the registration form if you will need partial (airfare or lodging), full, or no financial support. On the form if you choose lodging support, we will make the reservation for you, and we will be billed directly for your stay. If you choose airfare, you will need to provide an estimate of the cost, and you will be reimbursed for the amount of your estimated airfare. We encourage you to make your reservations now as airline prices are increasing. Depending on the timing of your registration, you may or may not receive the payment before the workshop.
We have negotiated a group rate at the Stanford Guest House; continental breakfast, complimentary parking and WiFi access is provided. If you have not requested lodging support and would like to stay at the Stanford Guest House (2575 Sand Hill Rd.; Menlo Park, CA 94025; 650-926-2800), please use the following code to make your reservation: “TEX23” either by phone or online. Shuttle service from the Stanford Guest House to campus is provided by the SLAC line of the Stanford Marguerite service. This is a free shuttle bus that runs throughout the day, Monday-Friday.
This workshop builds on a 2018 Geoscience Employers Workshop with participants representing broad spectrum of Ph.D. and M.S. geoscience employers, including industry, business, government agencies, non-profits and academic research universities, and a 2019 Summit of Heads/Chairs and Graduate Program Directors in Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences.
This 2022 workshop will connect geoscience academic leaders and employers for further dialogue about what skills and competencies graduate students need to be successful in the future workforce regardless of their career path and how graduate programs can effectively develop these for graduate students.
Both new and previous participants of the 2018 workshop & 2019 summit are encouraged to attend. Feedback from academic leaders who have started implementing their 2018/2019 action plans will be instrumental in helping us develop best practices for creating positive changes to graduate education. Additional employer advice on needed skills and competencies and input on recent workplace changes will allow us to develop robust recommendations for enhancing graduate education to prepare students for a successful future.
For questions about the workshop content and goals, contact Sharon Mosher (smosher@jsg.utexas.edu) or Jeff Ryan (ryan@usf.edu). For logistical questions, please contact Tony Wright (anthony.wright@jsg.utexas.edu).
This workshop is the second of two with the same agenda. The first workshop was in May 23-24, 2022 in Washington, D.C.
Workshop PowerPoint Slides
- Geoscience Academic & Employer Workshop Intro & Logistics
- Status of Geoscience Employment and Graduate Outcomes – Keane
- Outcomes of 2018 Geoscience Employers Workshop & Recent Input
- Outcomes of 2019 Heads Chairs Summit
- 2019 Department Action Plan reports
Summit on Improving Geoscience Graduate Student Preparedness for the Future Workforce
May 11-13, 2019 – Austin, Texas
Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
A NSF sponsored Summit on Improving Geoscience Graduate Student Preparedness for the Future Workforce was held on May 11-13, 2019 in Austin, Texas. This summit brought together geoscience academic leaders (Deans, Heads, Chairs, and Graduate Program Directors) to discuss the skills and competencies Ph.D. and M.S students need to be successful in the future workforce, regardless of the career path they choose. Only about half of Ph.D. students and few M.S. students in the geosciences end up in academia, yet universal skills needed for other careers are generally not emphasized or developed in graduate school.
The goal of the Summit was to explore how graduate programs can effectively develop these skills and competencies in graduate students in Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. This summit was specifically designed for administrative leaders who have the ability to make and lead change.
- Summit Agenda, Presentations & Webcasts
- AGU/AGI Heads and Chairs Webinar
Geoscience Employers Workshop
In October 2018, we held a Geoscience Employers Workshop, with participants representing a broad spectrum of employers of Ph.D. and M.S. students in Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, including industry, business, government agencies, non-profits and academic research universities. This workshop identified the skills and competencies universally needed by graduate-level geoscientists regardless of their field or future career. Employers also discussed effective methods for developing these skills and competencies, and their role in these educational activities. The Summit discussed these results and other national graduate student STEM reports on workforce preparedness. An overview of the workshop results was presented at the 2019 Summit.