professional connections

Conferences: How to Rub Elbows with Purpose

Published: 13 September 2013
Written by Sara
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Categories: blogs
Tags: conferences, graduate school, networking, personal connections, professional connections

Going to a conference soon? Make use of your time by introducing yourself to others in your field. Don’t be shy! Going to a conference is more than just listening and presenting research. It’s an opportunity to meet people outside your school who have the same interests that you do. If you successfully make new contacts at a conference, you may be in the wonderful position of sharing research collaborations,…

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Conference Tips: Presenting a Paper

Published: 30 August 2013
Written by Sara
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Categories: blogs
Tags: conferences, professional connections, research, science

About to give a paper talk at a conference? Here are some solid tips to ensure success: Practice, practice, practice It doesn’t matter how often you’ve given public speeches or how experienced you are in your research, you need to practice your presentation, and practice it numerous times. Practice it aloud by yourself or in front of your dog/cat/boyfriend/mother, just practice!Why? – You will become fluent in speech…

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Conference Tips: Presenting a Poster

Published: 9 August 2013
Written by Sara
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Categories: blogs
Tags: conferences, graduate school, professional connections, research, science

Are you about to present a poster at a research conference? Here are some tips to ensure a great poster session: Know your audience’s poster-viewing style People typically peruse the title posters and if it involves something that interests them, they’ll stop and check it out. Some people want to read your poster without interruption. They may decide to ask you questions, or they may walk away without asking questions. Other…

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Conference Presentations: Poster or Talk?

Published: 31 July 2013
Written by Sara
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Categories: blogs
Tags: conferences, graduate school, professional connections, research, science

Presenting your research at a conference? Should you present a poster or a paper? Here are some pros and cons of both. Poster Presentations Pros Easy to prepare Create a few summary sentences in PowerPoint, add some tables or figures, and you’re good to go. Interaction with people one-on-one Poster presentations are usually 2 hours, which means more opportunities to have…

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The Best Scientific Collaborations Start with…Facebook??

Published: 25 February 2013
Written by Bill
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Categories: blogs
Tags: developmental biology, networking, personal connections, professional connections

Following the theme of networking, I recently hosted my friend Pam from the University of Alberta.  I met Pam at the Northwest Regional Meeting of the Society of Developmental Biologists in 2007.   Pam was an undergraduate who works on the development of freshwater sponges, and I was a graduate student at the University of Oregon working on marine worms, and we found our shared appreciation for enigmatic invertebrates and how studying their…

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How Do YOU Make Connections?

Published: 11 February 2013
Written by Bill
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Categories: blogs
Tags: career outcomes, networking, personal connections, private industry, professional connections

Like most of my fellow life science PhDs, I have thought the most about tenure track research positions. Facing the reality that only about 14% of us will end up in those positions, I’ve tried to keep an open mind about the diversity of career outcomes that will enable me to apply my PhD towards.  As in almost anything in life, our professional and personal connections are so important,…

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