BGS Career Development

Making It Count!

Science: Working Life

Yale Ciencia Academy for Career Development – Congratulations to Kevin Alicea-Torres (CAMB)

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40 young science leaders began their year as fellows of the Yale Ciencia Academy for Career Development by attending the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC (February 14-18, 2019). The University of Pennsylvania and BGS were represented through the participation of Kevin Alicea-Torres (CAMB).

“The Yale Ciencia Academy (YCA) for Career Development provides graduate students with opportunities for mentoring, networking, and skills development, and for making contributions to their communities through science outreach. The program is led by the non-profit organization Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR), in collaboration with Yale University.”

Read the full press release here.

Science: “A passion for pathways: Careers in diversity and inclusion for STEM postdocs”

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This article in Nature explains how a doctorate in STEM prepares individuals for a career as a diversity and inclusion (D&I) professional within academia.

The article details the experiences of various underrepresented minorities (URMs) – the challenges they faced as doctoral students and the careers in diversity and inclusion that they built to ensure other scientists would have adequate support systems. The scientists interviewed focus especially on the parallels between their doctoral research and their current work in D&I.

Read more here.

Nature: “How to give a great scientific talk”

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Nature research journal has provided an online career guide on how to give a great scientific talk. As the author notes, “The gut-punch feeling of dread that the prospect of being on stage can trigger will be familiar to many early-career scientists.” Still, the ability to present one’s research with clarity not only helps to cement one’s own understanding of their subject matter, it can also help attract collaborators at conferences.

The article provides tips and suggestions on how to develop public speaking skills and keep calm in front of an audience.

Read more here.

Career Services: Negotiating for Faculty Positions and Postdocs

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Have you ever negotiated with an employer for salary or a job offer? Have you done it successfully? A Career Services counselor will discuss strategies for what to think about and do when you interview and when you receive an offer. This workshop will address:

  • The basic principles of successful negotiation
  • What can be negotiated
  • How should you respond when offered a position


We also have online resources on negotiating academic job offers, please visit: https://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices//careerfields/academicfaculty.php

When: February 19, 2019, 12 – 1:30 PM

Where: McNeil Building Conference Room 97

Register here

PGWISE Female Leadership Career Panel

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Please join Penn Graduate Women in Science & Engineering (PGWISE), Wharton Healthcare Club, and Wharton Women in Business (WWIB) at a panel discussion exploring leadership and careers in healthcare and biomedical sciences. Students from PGWISE and the Wharton Healthcare Club will moderate a discussion with:

HEATHER STEINMAN, PHD, MBA
The Executive Director of Technology Transfer and the VP of
Business Development at the Wistar Institute

DORA MITCHELL, PHD
The Vice President of Operations at Carisma Therapeutics

LINDA MILLER, PHD
Senior Director of Strategic Planning at CHOP; former Engagement
Manager at McKinsey

When: February 19th, 2019 at 4:30 – 6:00 PM
Where: The Wistar Institute Caplan Auditorium

Please RSVP here!

Age 21+ Reception Prior to Panel Discussion (starting at 4:00 PM in the Wistar atrium)!

Deciding Where to Publish: Finding Publication Venues that Align with Your Goals

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“Whether it’s your first-time publishing or you are a publishing veteran, deciding where to publish can be a daunting task that will impact you for years to come.  Not only is finding the right “fit” for your scholarship extremely important, but your publication venue also determines other important factors, like where and how you can share your scholarship after it’s published (your personal website, academia.edu or ResearchGate, etc.) or whether or not you can reuse your work elsewhere (conferences, subsequent publications, etc.).

This presentation will help get you started in establishing your publishing criteria, developing a list of journals/publishers, and evaluating those publication venues based on the criteria you develop. The session will also briefly cover some best practices for submitting, reading/negotiating publishing contracts, and sharing your work after it’s published.” (Via the Graduate Student Center)

When: Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Where: Room 305 (3rd Fl), Grad Center, 3615 Locust Walk

Register here.