Guest Blogger: Dr. Sujata Bhatia, Harvard University:

On August 16-17, 2013, I had the distinct honor of attending the 10^th Anniversary Celebration of the PROMISE Summer Success Institute as a Distinguished Guest Speaker.  A question that arose from young PhDs during each of my mentoring sessions was, “How did you manage the transition from industry to academia?”  Indeed, my background as an academic leader is completely non-traditional: after completing my MD and PhD degrees, I spent close to eight years working in biomedical research and product development at DuPont.  I transitioned to my current position at Harvard in 2011, and found the transition to be very smooth.  Here are my tips for a young PhD who would like to keep the door open to academia.

 
1.      Recognize that various opportunities are available in academia, even if you have started your career in industry.  In other words, you have many options, and each of these options will have different demands.  You might decide to pursue a position at either a research-intensive university or at a primarily undergraduate institution.  The research and teaching demands of these positions will be different (heavier emphasis on research at the former, heavier emphasis on teaching at the latter).  It behooves you to show that you are competent at both, which leads to points #2 and #3.

2.      Look for opportunities to teach part-time at local universities while you are working in industry.  From 2009 to 2011, I served as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Delaware, while still working full-time at DuPont.  I taught courses in biochemical engineering and biomedical engineering, and also prepared a textbook to inform my teaching.  Many universities are happy to have adjunct professors from local industry, particularly in science and engineering fields.  Students benefit from the practical perspective that industry practitioners bring to the classroom.  As a university teacher, you will benefit by gaining valuable teaching experience, strengthening your academic network, and testing out whether you enjoy interacting with students.  I am convinced that my positive teaching evaluations from the University of Delaware, as well as my experience writing a textbook, were pivotal factors in Harvard’s decision to hire me.

3.      Look for opportunities to publish while in industry.  I received a key piece of advice from a gentleman at DuPont who transitioned into an academic leadership position at Rutgers University: when someone types your name into PubMed or Google Scholar, at least one publication from the past year should show up.  Publishing your work gives you legitimacy in your technical field, and forces you to stay current in your technical field.  If you are working on projects that involve intellectual property, talk with your supervisor about the possibility of publishing the work after patents have been filed.  If you absolutely cannot disclose your current projects in industry, think about publishing a review paper or book chapter (or even a book!) on your technical expertise.

4.      Keep your academic network alive.  You should set a goal of attending at least one major technical conference a year.  Again, talk with your supervisor about the possibility of presenting your work to an external audience.  Even if you cannot give a technical talk on your industry work at a conference, you could give a general overview talk on your technical field, and you can still use the opportunity to network with academics.  You should also look for opportunities to give seminars at universities – these visits will allow you to meet faculty one-on-one.

5.      Browse academic job postings.  My favorite websites for academic job postings are higheredjobs.com and chronicle.com.  By browsing the listings on these websites, you will have an idea of which universities are hiring, as well as the specific job opportunities and requirements.  I would suggest that you start applying to positions even if you haven’t completely decided to make the switch, just so that you can gain experience with applying and interviewing.  I applied for several positions, and interviewed at two other universities, before interviewing for my current job at Harvard.

Transitioning from industry to academia is not impossible.  In fact, it is a career path that is unique and valuable – you will bring a special flavor to your teaching, research, and overall leadership style.  If you develop your teaching, research, and publishing skills while pursuing an industrial project, you will certainly be an asset to any academic department.

Sujata K. Bhatia, MD, PhD, PE
Assistant Dean, Harvard Summer School
Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies, Biomedical Engineering, Harvard University
Associate, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
206C Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street
Cambridge MA 02138

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Bhatia served as a Mentor-in-Residence for the 2013 PROMISE SSI. She was an excellent mentor for students, postdocs, and alumni. More about Dr. Bhatia: http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/experts/2760/sujata_k_bhatia.html

Guest Blogger: Dr. Sujata Bhatia, Harvard University:

On August 16-17, 2013, I had the distinct honor of attending the 10^th Anniversary Celebration of the PROMISE Summer Success Institute as a Distinguished Guest Speaker.  A question that arose from young PhDs during each of my mentoring sessions was, “How did you manage the transition from industry to academia?”  Indeed, my background as an academic leader is completely non-traditional: after completing my MD and PhD degrees, I spent close to eight years working in biomedical research and product development at DuPont.  I transitioned to my current position at Harvard in 2011, and found the transition to be very smooth.  Here are my tips for a young PhD who would like to keep the door open to academia.

 
1.      Recognize that various opportunities are available in academia, even if you have started your career in industry.  In other words, you have many options, and each of these options will have different demands.  You might decide to pursue a position at either a research-intensive university or at a primarily undergraduate institution.  The research and teaching demands of these positions will be different (heavier emphasis on research at the former, heavier emphasis on teaching at the latter).  It behooves you to show that you are competent at both, which leads to points #2 and #3.

2.      Look for opportunities to teach part-time at local universities while you are working in industry.  From 2009 to 2011, I served as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Delaware, while still working full-time at DuPont.  I taught courses in biochemical engineering and biomedical engineering, and also prepared a textbook to inform my teaching.  Many universities are happy to have adjunct professors from local industry, particularly in science and engineering fields.  Students benefit from the practical perspective that industry practitioners bring to the classroom.  As a university teacher, you will benefit by gaining valuable teaching experience, strengthening your academic network, and testing out whether you enjoy interacting with students.  I am convinced that my positive teaching evaluations from the University of Delaware, as well as my experience writing a textbook, were pivotal factors in Harvard’s decision to hire me.

3.      Look for opportunities to publish while in industry.  I received a key piece of advice from a gentleman at DuPont who transitioned into an academic leadership position at Rutgers University: when someone types your name into PubMed or Google Scholar, at least one publication from the past year should show up.  Publishing your work gives you legitimacy in your technical field, and forces you to stay current in your technical field.  If you are working on projects that involve intellectual property, talk with your supervisor about the possibility of publishing the work after patents have been filed.  If you absolutely cannot disclose your current projects in industry, think about publishing a review paper or book chapter (or even a book!) on your technical expertise.

4.      Keep your academic network alive.  You should set a goal of attending at least one major technical conference a year.  Again, talk with your supervisor about the possibility of presenting your work to an external audience.  Even if you cannot give a technical talk on your industry work at a conference, you could give a general overview talk on your technical field, and you can still use the opportunity to network with academics.  You should also look for opportunities to give seminars at universities – these visits will allow you to meet faculty one-on-one.

5.      Browse academic job postings.  My favorite websites for academic job postings are higheredjobs.com and chronicle.com.  By browsing the listings on these websites, you will have an idea of which universities are hiring, as well as the specific job opportunities and requirements.  I would suggest that you start applying to positions even if you haven’t completely decided to make the switch, just so that you can gain experience with applying and interviewing.  I applied for several positions, and interviewed at two other universities, before interviewing for my current job at Harvard.

Transitioning from industry to academia is not impossible.  In fact, it is a career path that is unique and valuable – you will bring a special flavor to your teaching, research, and overall leadership style.  If you develop your teaching, research, and publishing skills while pursuing an industrial project, you will certainly be an asset to any academic department.

Sujata K. Bhatia, MD, PhD, PE
Assistant Dean, Harvard Summer School
Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies, Biomedical Engineering, Harvard University
Associate, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
206C Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street
Cambridge MA 02138

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Bhatia served as a Mentor-in-Residence for the 2013 PROMISE SSI. She was an excellent mentor for students, postdocs, and alumni. More about Dr. Bhatia: http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/experts/2760/sujata_k_bhatia.html

Christopher attended the march with her mother. It was fine to have all those women political figures and great to have Evers-Williams address the rally, she said.

But, where, she asked, were the African-American women movement leaders, the thought leaders?

Read the entire article, "At ‘Realize the Dream’ March, Women Speak at Last", at RH Reality Check!

Courtesy of Stephanie Lazarus, UMBC’s Office of Human Relations

Got conflict?

Know your role, purpose, and context

Be present, provide your undivided attention, or create a space where you can

Strategies:

Collaborate – is there a way this can create a win-win situation for both of us?

Compromising -

Accommodate – often used with students who have a disability

Avoiding - Referring

Competing/Forcing

Developing Your Personal Conflict Toolbox:

Preventing Sexual Harassment Online Training (when registering, select the department that you are working with, not your major): http://training.newmedialearning.com/psh/umbc/

The Wellness Initiative Resources : http://www.umbc.edu/wellness/

Relationship Practice Archive: http://www.umbc.edu/wellness/relationships.html

Conflict Consultation and Referral:

Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution:

Mediation, Conflict Coaching, Conferencing/Restorative Justice, Facilitation, and Conciliation

Administration 902 phone: 410-455-8624, cmcr904@umbc.edu

http://www.umbc.edu/humanrelations/cmcr/index.html

Office of Human Relations Programs Administration 902-903,

http://www.umbc.edu/humanrelations/index.html

Questions or concerns related to race, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnic background, genetics, disability, age, sex, gender identity and expression, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, creed, and/or veteran status

Stephanie Lazarus phone: 410-455-5745 slazar@umbc.edu

Referral partners

Student Judicial Programs: http://www.umbc.edu/sjp/

Student Development and Success Center, Room 118, phone 410-455-2458

Student Code of Conduct:http://www.umbc.edu/sjp/articles/code.html

Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Response: Voices Against Violence Program: http://www.umbc.edu/vav/

Safety=Credible threats of violence for harm to self or others: UMBC Police: 410-455-5555 or 911

Student Resource: University Counseling Services: 410-455-2472 http://www.umbc.edu/counseling/

Student Resource: University Health Services: 410-455-2542 http://www.umbc.edu/uhs/

Student Resource: Student Disability Accommodation: Student Support Services: 410-455-2459 http://www.umbc.edu/sss/

UMBC Policy Website:http://www.umbc.edu/policies/

Earlier this week, we posted a position announcement for a Graduate Assistantship at UMBC. This post recaps that position announcement and outlines next steps for semi-finalists.

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The original Announcement:

This graduate assistantship requires knowledge of computer concepts and programming languages.   The position requires design, trouble-shooting, and support for websites and databases.  Duties include database management.  The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) PROMISE: Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) uses the Xcalibur Scribe Tracking System and Registry (TSR) as part of the national evaluation program, Survey Monkey, and software for webinars.  The position also requires extensive use of social media and includes website programming.  The GA in this position will have knowledge of webpage design using Hypertext Markup Languages (HTML), Cascade Style Sheets (CSS), Extensible Markup Language (XML), and Java; all are necessary for designing and maintaining the program’s website and blogs.

The GA will also have a sense of project management to assist with events and long-term projects.  The following media are used for PROMISE:  WordPress, Google sites, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogspot.    The GA in this position should have background in the following topics: online communities, database implementation (SQL-based interface), project management, decision technology, information management, emerging technologies, system design, system performance, usability, and system architecture.

This position will support several projects; the primary project will be the new Council of Graduate Schools Financial Literacy program: http://www.cgsnet.org/enhancing-student-financial-education, and will be responsible for implementing the “Go Live” project: http://www.cgsnet.org/project-summary-university-maryland-baltimore county.  The applicant should have basic knowledge about  credit rankings and scores, budgeting, and debt reduction. 

Roles: The GA will work with the PROMISE team for the multi-campus AGEP http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/, the Graduate Student Development unit in The Graduate School at UMBC, and UMBC’s campus-wide committee on financial literacy that includes a collaborative team of staff and students from Enrollment Management, the Graduate School, Financial Services, and The Office of Undergraduate Education.

This is a 20 hour/week assistantship. It includes tuition remission, and student health insurance for the GA. Assistantship stipend rates: http://www.umbc.edu/gradschool/funding/minimum_stipend_levels.html

To Apply:

Send a cover letter and CV to Dr. Renetta Tull at rtull@umbc.edu, with the subject “CGS GA Position.”

Additional criteria: The initial email must include links from websites that you have designed, and links to public social media sites that you manage, e.g., Linked In groups, Twitter, blogs. The links must be accompanied by a few sentences that describe your role, e.g., administrator, content provider, editor.

This opportunity is only open to graduate students at UMBC.

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NEW! UPDATE as of 11:50 PM, August 22, 2013

DEADLINE: 3:00 PM, Friday, August 23, 2013.

Due to the overwhelming response to this announcement, we will stop taking applications at 3:00 PM, Friday, August 23, 2013 so that we can take time to evaluate each applicant.  Applicants can begin to check their emails on Friday afternoon for notifications.  Interviews (for finalists only) will begin next week. Thank you for your interest!

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NEXT STEPS:

Semi-finalists, please see steps a, b, and c below, and complete them by Monday, August 26, at 9:00 AM. 

Finalists will be scheduled for interviews Tuesday and Wednesday, August 27-28.

a) Produce a short (3 minutes maximum) promotional video that advertises the Funding Seminar to undergraduate and graduate students on Saturday, September 7: http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/jobs-fellowships-grad-school-funding-saturday-breakfast-lunch-seminar-sept-7-2013-umbc/.

b) Embed your video into the comment on the site, http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/jobs-fellowships-grad-school-funding-saturday-breakfast-lunch-seminar-sept-7-2013-umbc/ and convince people to rate it.  Include 2-3 tips about managing a budget (provide sources) within the comment that houses your video. (Note: People who receive fellowships will have to manage a budget. Consider the example of a stipend of $15,000/year.)

c) Use social media or venues to encourage people to post information on fellowship opportunities in the comment section of the site,  http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/jobs-fellowships-grad-school-funding-saturday-breakfast-lunch-seminar-sept-7-2013-umbc/.  Include sources for fellowships for international students. Find a way to ask people to give you credit for leading you to the site, e.g., #YourName. All Twitter and Facebook posts should also have the hashtag: #PROMISEagep and should steer people to follow @PROMISE_AGEP.

Related articles

• Jobs, Fellowships, & Grad School Funding! Saturday Breakfast & Lunch Seminar: Sept. 7, 2013 @ UMBC (promiseagep.wordpress.com)