Events

Mondays, once a month, 12-1pm online | Sept. 9, Oct. 7, Nov. 11, Dec. 2 | Register hereAccelerate to Industry, or A2i, is a professional development program dedicated to enhancing graduate and postdoctoral training for careers outside academia. First developed by the North Carolina State University Graduate School, this program connects graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with industry companies to explore employment opportunities.The Industry Insights series introduces graduate students and postdocs to the wide world of industry. Throughout this series, students and postdocs will hear about different opportunities within the life sciences industry, as well as the landscape and ecosystem of working in a corporate setting.

PhD Plus Career Design courses and series help students identify their core values and interests, explore diverse career pathways and practice professional development strategies. This series is best suited for Master's and PhD students in year 2 and above, and Postdoctoral Scholars at all stages of training.Please note: This series is strongly encouraged for participation in the PhD Plus Internship Program. Career Design for Master's Students consists of four weekly, 1-hour, in-person sessions.REGISTER HEREIntroduction, series overview, self-assessmentParticipants will complete a self-assessment exercise before the first sessionData on career outcomes and introduction of the range of possible career pathsParticipants will hear about actual and potential career paths for graduate students and postdocs in their disciplineParticipants will learn how to conduct informational interviews and will apply this skill before the end of the seriesIdentifying transferrable skills  Participants will extract skills from their graduate school and/or postdoctoral training experiencesParticipants will go through simulations in fields of interestParticipants will learn how to dissect a job ad to figure out what hiring committees are looking forIdentifying skill gaps and making a planParticipants will be introduced to 1Mentor, a new software platform designed to assist graduate students and postdocs in identifying skills acquired and skills needed for specific career pathsParticipants will draft an action plan and next steps for their career journey

Note: This series takes place on Tuesdays, Sept 24-Oct. 29 from 3:30-5:00 PMEnrollment will be capped at 25 - priority will be given to those who can commit to attending the majority of sessions.REGISTER HEREThis six-part workshop series is meant to give non-specialists a practical foundation for working with data and understanding approaches to answering questions with data that are rooted in statistical thinking. Topics covered:A) Data formatting: This session will get students comfortable with handling quantitative datasets, coding text into the appropriate format, understanding different types of variables (continuous, categorical, ordinal), understanding when transformations might be needed and how to execute them, and tidying data for analysis.B) Intro to graphs: Students will learn to visualize individual variables, relationships between different variables, and the appropriate way to present them depending on the question. This will also cover some basics of aesthetics associated with formatting figures to aid in showing patterns in the data through graphs.C) Intro to statistical thinking: Here students will learn the motivations for measuring central tendencies and spread of data, their relevance in hypothesis testing and data analysis, and how to interpret these summaries.D) Experimental design: We will cover appropriate study design to test hypotheses, types of statistical tests and how to determine which to use. Students will learn how to report statistical analysis in a way that describes patterns in the data.E) Storytelling with your data: Over the course of each of the previous 4 workshops, students will have time to come up with a question they would be interested in testing with a dataset of their choice (either gathered from existing databases, collected from their own projects, etc.) They will apply principles learned in the past 4 workshops to prepare, visualize, and analyze their own data and create a data analysis exercise for other students.F) Bridge to R: We will discuss the limitations of graphical user interface tools such as DCU and other platforms and when coding based statistical tools may be needed. We will then see how data visualizations and statistical tests can be conducted in a language such as R using our Bridge to R interface. At each point we will highlight relevant modules that students could take in other data literacy courses in R/Python.

Project Management FoundationsRegister hereThis online series introduces project management process and tools/ techniques to enhance the work that graduate students do within and beyond their graduate studies. It provides insight into the management of projects, including managing people involved in the project life cycle. Students gain an understanding of the project life cycle and best practices for project success, including how to account for changing conditions and project uncertainty. Students complete a culminating project that showcases their preferred project management style and what tools they would implement in future projects. By the end of this course, you can expect to be able to…   Gain insights on ways to effectively manage all stages of a project  Broaden knowledge of a project life cycle and key stakeholders    Discover key tools for managing projects  Create a plan for using these strategies in graduate work and beyondProject Management Showcase: Informed by self-assessments and topics introduced in the course, participants will develop a short presentation of their preferred project management style and what tools they would implement in a future project.   Fall 2024: Topics and Schedule – All sessions meet online on Zoom. The Zoom link will be provided on the course Canvas site.Project Management Overview (September 25, 1-3 pm EST) with Thea Litchfield Campbell  This session will define what constitutes a project, examine key differences between waterfall and agile project management, and introduce the concept of the Iron Triangle. Scope Management (October 9, 1-3 pm EST) with Thea Litchfield Campbell  This session will dive into the concept of project scope, exploring essential tools for both traditional and agile project management, like the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), product backlog, and flowcharts. These tools help define, organize, and visualize project tasks to ensure successful scope management. Schedule Management (October 16, 1-3 pm EST) with Susan Parente  This session will focus on key areas of schedule management, including defining and Planning the Project Schedules, Scheduling Tools and Software, Time Estimation, Monitoring and Controlling Schedules. Cost Management (October 23, 1-3 pm EST) with Susan Parente  This session will focus on key areas of cost management, including budgeting and cost estimation, cost control and monitoring (using Earned Value Management (EVM), and tools and techniques for cost management. Risk Management and Stakeholder Engagement (October 30, 1-3 pm EST) with Susan Parente This session will provide focus on two areas of project management which are essential to project success – risk management and stakeholder engagement. This session will provide students with tools and techniques for managing project risk and balancing stakeholder engagement. This is an engaging series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments in between sessions and engaging in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Upon successful completion, PhD students will receive a digital badge, issued by UVA School of Continuing and Professional Studies through Credly, that demonstrates proof of completion of the program. To earn the badge, you must attend 4 of the 5 sessions and complete the final assignment.Register today!

Consulting Workshop SeriesRegister here!This series, taught by Dr. Brendan Boler, is offered through 8 Sessions over the course of the academic year, 6 sessions in the fall semester and 2 sessions in the spring semester. It is designed to help graduate students and postdocs gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed for a consulting job. Trainees will learn a hypothesis-driven structured problem-solving approach used by many top strategy consulting firms and apply this approach to help improve their own skills in case interviewing. Students will also gain valuable experience with two important skills: data analytics for consulting using Excel, and storytelling for consulting using PowerPoint. Both of these skills are often tested as part of second-round job interviews and are key skills for success on the job. The course will require two deliverables (an Excel model and PowerPoint presentation), due by the 7th and 8th sessions. Students will have the time to complete the assignments during winter break. The assignments will each take about 6 hours of time, 12 hours total and are prerequisites for earning a digital badge for consulting. Upon successful completion (participation in 6 out of 8 sessions and assignment completion) of this series, graduate students and postdocs are eligible to receive a digital badge, issued by the PhD Plus Program through Credly, that demonstrates proof of completion of the program.In 2024-2025, the workshop sessions will take place:Fall 2024: The first six sessions in Fall take place 3:30-5 PM (ET) on Wednesdays from October 2 to November 6.Spring 2025: The remaining two sessions in Spring take place 3:30-5 PM (ET) on Wednesdays, Jan 22 & Jan 29.Fall Session Schedule: October 2: Consulting 101 & Practice Case Interview #1October 9: Communicating like a Consultant, Practice Case Interview #2October 16: Practice Case Interview #3 - Bain styleOctober 23: Networking for Consulting & Practice Case Interview #4October 30: Practice Case Interview #5 - McKinsey styleNovember 6: Telling Your "Why Consulting" Story & Practice Case Interview #6 Spring Session Schedule:January 22: Practice Case Interview #7 and Data Analytics for ConsultingJanuary 29: Practice Case Interview #8 and Data-Driven Storytelling for ConsultingRegister today!

PhD Plus Career Design courses and series help students identify their core values and interests, explore diverse career pathways and practice professional development strategies. This series is best suited for Master's and PhD students in year 2 and above, and Postdoctoral Scholars at all stages of training.Please note: This course or series is strongly encouraged for participation in the PhD Plus Internship Program. Career Design consists of five weekly, 1-hour sessions.REGISTER HEREIntroduction, series overview, self-assessmentParticipants will complete a self-assessment exercise before the first sessionData on career outcomes and introduction of the range of possible career pathsParticipants will hear about actual and potential career paths for graduate students and postdocs in their disciplineParticipants will learn how to conduct informational interviews and will apply this skill before the end of the seriesIdentifying transferrable skills  Participants will extract skills from their graduate school and/or postdoctoral training experiencesParticipants will go through simulations in fields of interestParticipants will learn how to dissect a job ad to figure out what hiring committees are looking forIdentifying skill gapsParticipants will be introduced to 1Mentor, a new software platform designed to assist graduate students and postdocs in identifying skills acquired and skills needed for specific career pathsIndividual Development PlanParticipants will draft an action plan and next steps for their career journey

Consulting Workshop SeriesRegister here!This series, taught by Dr. Brendan Boler, is offered through 8 Sessions over the course of the academic year, 6 sessions in the fall semester and 2 sessions in the spring semester. It is designed to help graduate students and postdocs gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed for a consulting job. Trainees will learn a hypothesis-driven structured problem-solving approach used by many top strategy consulting firms and apply this approach to help improve their own skills in case interviewing. Students will also gain valuable experience with two important skills: data analytics for consulting using Excel, and storytelling for consulting using PowerPoint. Both of these skills are often tested as part of second-round job interviews and are key skills for success on the job. The course will require two deliverables (an Excel model and PowerPoint presentation), due by the 7th and 8th sessions. Students will have the time to complete the assignments during winter break. The assignments will each take about 6 hours of time, 12 hours total and are prerequisites for earning a digital badge for consulting. Upon successful completion (participation in 6 out of 8 sessions and assignment completion) of this series, graduate students and postdocs are eligible to receive a digital badge, issued by the PhD Plus Program through Credly, that demonstrates proof of completion of the program.In 2024-2025, the workshop sessions will take place:Fall 2024: The first six sessions in Fall take place 3:30-5 PM (ET) on Wednesdays from October 2 to November 6.Spring 2025: The remaining two sessions in Spring take place 3:30-5 PM (ET) on Wednesdays, Jan 22 & Jan 29.Fall Session Schedule: October 2: Consulting 101 & Practice Case Interview #1October 9: Communicating like a Consultant, Practice Case Interview #2October 16: Practice Case Interview #3 - Bain styleOctober 23: Networking for Consulting & Practice Case Interview #4October 30: Practice Case Interview #5 - McKinsey styleNovember 6: Telling Your "Why Consulting" Story & Practice Case Interview #6 Spring Session Schedule:January 22: Practice Case Interview #7 and Data Analytics for ConsultingJanuary 29: Practice Case Interview #8 and Data-Driven Storytelling for ConsultingRegister today!

Mondays, once a month, 12-1pm online | Sept. 9, Oct. 7, Nov. 11, Dec. 2 | Register hereAccelerate to Industry, or A2i, is a professional development program dedicated to enhancing graduate and postdoctoral training for careers outside academia. First developed by the North Carolina State University Graduate School, this program connects graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with industry companies to explore employment opportunities.The Industry Insights series introduces graduate students and postdocs to the wide world of industry. Throughout this series, students and postdocs will hear about different opportunities within the life sciences industry, as well as the landscape and ecosystem of working in a corporate setting.

Project Management FoundationsRegister hereThis online series introduces project management process and tools/ techniques to enhance the work that graduate students do within and beyond their graduate studies. It provides insight into the management of projects, including managing people involved in the project life cycle. Students gain an understanding of the project life cycle and best practices for project success, including how to account for changing conditions and project uncertainty. Students complete a culminating project that showcases their preferred project management style and what tools they would implement in future projects. By the end of this course, you can expect to be able to…   Gain insights on ways to effectively manage all stages of a project  Broaden knowledge of a project life cycle and key stakeholders    Discover key tools for managing projects  Create a plan for using these strategies in graduate work and beyondProject Management Showcase: Informed by self-assessments and topics introduced in the course, participants will develop a short presentation of their preferred project management style and what tools they would implement in a future project.   Fall 2024: Topics and Schedule – All sessions meet online on Zoom. The Zoom link will be provided on the course Canvas site.Project Management Overview (September 25, 1-3 pm EST) with Thea Litchfield Campbell  This session will define what constitutes a project, examine key differences between waterfall and agile project management, and introduce the concept of the Iron Triangle. Scope Management (October 9, 1-3 pm EST) with Thea Litchfield Campbell  This session will dive into the concept of project scope, exploring essential tools for both traditional and agile project management, like the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), product backlog, and flowcharts. These tools help define, organize, and visualize project tasks to ensure successful scope management. Schedule Management (October 16, 1-3 pm EST) with Susan Parente  This session will focus on key areas of schedule management, including defining and Planning the Project Schedules, Scheduling Tools and Software, Time Estimation, Monitoring and Controlling Schedules. Cost Management (October 23, 1-3 pm EST) with Susan Parente  This session will focus on key areas of cost management, including budgeting and cost estimation, cost control and monitoring (using Earned Value Management (EVM), and tools and techniques for cost management. Risk Management and Stakeholder Engagement (October 30, 1-3 pm EST) with Susan Parente This session will provide focus on two areas of project management which are essential to project success – risk management and stakeholder engagement. This session will provide students with tools and techniques for managing project risk and balancing stakeholder engagement. This is an engaging series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments in between sessions and engaging in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Upon successful completion, PhD students will receive a digital badge, issued by UVA School of Continuing and Professional Studies through Credly, that demonstrates proof of completion of the program. To earn the badge, you must attend 4 of the 5 sessions and complete the final assignment.Register today!

Note: This series takes place on Tuesdays, Sept 24-Oct. 29 from 3:30-5:00 PMEnrollment will be capped at 25 - priority will be given to those who can commit to attending the majority of sessions.REGISTER HEREThis six-part workshop series is meant to give non-specialists a practical foundation for working with data and understanding approaches to answering questions with data that are rooted in statistical thinking. Topics covered:A) Data formatting: This session will get students comfortable with handling quantitative datasets, coding text into the appropriate format, understanding different types of variables (continuous, categorical, ordinal), understanding when transformations might be needed and how to execute them, and tidying data for analysis.B) Intro to graphs: Students will learn to visualize individual variables, relationships between different variables, and the appropriate way to present them depending on the question. This will also cover some basics of aesthetics associated with formatting figures to aid in showing patterns in the data through graphs.C) Intro to statistical thinking: Here students will learn the motivations for measuring central tendencies and spread of data, their relevance in hypothesis testing and data analysis, and how to interpret these summaries.D) Experimental design: We will cover appropriate study design to test hypotheses, types of statistical tests and how to determine which to use. Students will learn how to report statistical analysis in a way that describes patterns in the data.E) Storytelling with your data: Over the course of each of the previous 4 workshops, students will have time to come up with a question they would be interested in testing with a dataset of their choice (either gathered from existing databases, collected from their own projects, etc.) They will apply principles learned in the past 4 workshops to prepare, visualize, and analyze their own data and create a data analysis exercise for other students.F) Bridge to R: We will discuss the limitations of graphical user interface tools such as DCU and other platforms and when coding based statistical tools may be needed. We will then see how data visualizations and statistical tests can be conducted in a language such as R using our Bridge to R interface. At each point we will highlight relevant modules that students could take in other data literacy courses in R/Python.