Events

This April, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) hosts its Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop in person in Washington, DC. The workshop is an exciting opportunity for graduate students to learn about science policy and advocacy. The University of Virginia regularly participates as an institutional sponsor, with the goal of enabling a small cohort of graduate students to attend this entry-level workshop every year. Selected students participate in the 3.5-day program in Washington, DC, and learn about the structure and organization of Congress, the federal budget and appropriations processes, and tools for effective science communication and civic engagement. In addition, students will participate in interactive seminars about policy making and communication. The registration fees and travel expenses will be covered through the PhD Plus program. An internal review process will select the University’s participants. Click here to learn more about the eligibility requirements and review submission guidelines.
Rodman Room A238, Thornton Hall
This is the second session of the PhD Plus Business in Society: Adding value with your PhD skills series. This session will explore how 21st Century businesses have adopted the idea that the purpose of business can be greater than just making profits. It explores the flaws in an old narrative of business that is set deeply in society. Through the case study we examine how businesses can begin to see themselves as subject to societal forces as well as market forces. PRIOR READING The Power of And: Responsible Business Without Tradeoffs by R. Edward Freeman, Kirsten E. Martin, and Bidhan L. Parmar, Chapters 6-8. Participants will be given access to reading materials. INSTRUCTOR R. Edward Freeman, Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration, Darden School of Business REGISTER HERE This is a popular 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.  Priority of attendance will be given to those who commit to participating in the majority of series (including learning time in between sessions) and are at advanced stages of training (e.g. PhD students in years 3+). Registration will close by 5 PM (ET) on Jan 26, 2024 or when we reach our maximum registration capacity (whichever is earlier).
Rodman Room A238, Thornton Hall
This is the fourth session of the PhD Plus Business in Society: Adding value with your PhD skills series. We negotiate every day—with merchants, service providers, employers, coworkers, friends, and family—determining what price we will pay, the amount of our salary and compensation, what movies to watch, where to go to dinner, who will clean the kitchen, and so forth. Although negotiations are a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives, many of us know little about the strategy and psychology of effective negotiations. Why do we sometimes get our way, while other times we walk away feeling frustrated by our inability to achieve the agreement we desire?    The session is designed to address a broad spectrum of negotiation problems that are faced by managers and professionals. It will provide you with the opportunity to develop your negotiation skills experientially through role-playing exercises. Specifically, we will examine the following:  Basic negotiation concepts  Key strategies for effective negotiations  Overcoming psychological resistance and other barriers to accomplishing superior negotiation outcomes  PRIOR READING Case study INSTRUCTOR Roshni Raveendhran, Assistant Professor in Business Administration, Darden School of Business   REGISTER HERE This is a popular series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments between sessions and engage in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Priority of attendance will be given to those who commit to participating in the majority of the series (including learning time in between sessions) and are in advanced stages of training (e.g. PhD students in 3+ years). Registration will close by 5 PM (ET) on Jan 26, 2024, or when we reach our maximum registration capacity (whichever is earlier).  
Rodman Room A238, Thornton Hall
This is the third session of the PhD Plus Business in Society: Adding value with your PhD skills series. Critical to working in a business, or any organization, is learning to think strategically.  In this session, you will explore the meaning and importance of business strategy to an organization's competitive positioning and success. You'll learn about strategic analysis and SWOT, competitor, and environmental analysis tools.  Central to the success of any organization is the ability to leverage capabilities to deliver value for stakeholders.  In this session, we'll also examine the tangible and intangible assets that form an organization's strength.  PRIOR READING Case study RECOMMENDED VIEWING Intro to Strategic Analysis  Analyzing Firm capabilities Participants will be given access to online materials. INSTRUCTOR Yo-Jud Cheng, Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy, Ethics, and Entrepreneurship area of Darden Business School REGISTER HERE This is a popular series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments between sessions and engage in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Priority of attendance will be given to those who commit to participating in the majority of the series (including learning time in between sessions) and are in advanced stages of training (e.g. PhD students in 3+ years). Registration will close by 5 PM (ET) on Jan 26, 2024, or when we reach our maximum registration capacity (whichever is earlier).  
Rodman Room A238, Thornton Hall
This is the final session of the PhD Plus Business in Society: Adding value with your PhD skills series. In this session, we will pull together your learnings from the course and apply them to analyze and discuss the company Uber.  What is the mission and values of a company like Uber?  For whom do they create value and how? How do they think about their competitive position in the marketplace and how does that influence their behavior? And, lastly, what would you advise the company about their future direction and how would you exercise your voice if you worked for Uber? PRIOR READING Case study INSTRUCTOR Yo-Jud Cheng, Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy, Ethics, and Entrepreneurship area of Darden Business School   REGISTER HERE This is a popular series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments between sessions and engage in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Priority of attendance will be given to those who commit to participating in the majority of the series (including learning time in between sessions) and are in advanced stages of training (e.g. PhD students in 3+ years). Registration will close by 5 PM (ET) on Jan 26, 2024, or when we reach our maximum registration capacity (whichever is earlier).  
Rodman Room A238, Thornton Hall
This is the fifth session of the PhD Plus Business in Society: Adding value with your PhD skills series. In this session we will review the over-arching role of financial accounting, and how the numerous stakeholders benefit from the outputs of the financial accounting process. The financial statements of Boeing from 2020 will serve to lead our discussion on how the strategy of an organization should correspond to what is ultimately reflected in the financial statements. Read the document titled “Learning More About Accounting”. You will find the descriptions of the financial statements easy to follow, and help you appreciate the basis behind the information contained in the balance sheet and income statement. PRIOR READING Boeing's 2020 Balance Sheet and Income Statement Learning More About Accounting, by Denny Beresford INSTRUCTOR Paul Simko, Associate Professor of Business Administration   REGISTER HERE This is a popular series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments between sessions and engage in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Priority of attendance will be given to those who commit to participating in the majority of the series (including learning time in between sessions) and are in advanced stages of training (e.g. PhD students in 3+ years). Registration will close by 5 PM (ET) on Jan 26, 2024, or when we reach our maximum registration capacity (whichever is earlier).  
200 Wilsdorf Hall
This is the eighth session of the PhD Plus Business in Society: Adding value with your PhD skills series. Your academic training and the capacity for learning you have developed during your education can be exceptionally beneficial for many organizations. However, your potential value for a new career path may not be apparent to hiring managers unless you can help them connect the dots between your skills and experience and the career you are pursuing. In this interactive workshop, we will explore the following questions:  How do your various experiences and abilities collectively make you an ideal candidate for your next career move?   What is the central thread or theme that ties together the choices you have made in your career and education?   How can you tell your story in a way that makes clear sense of your career path to a recruiter or hiring manager?  PRIOR READING Articles INSTRUCTOR Brian Moriarty, Assistant Professor in Business Administration, Darden School of Business     REGISTER HERE This is a popular series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments between sessions and engage in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Priority of attendance will be given to those who commit to participating in the majority of the series (including learning time in between sessions) and are in advanced stages of training (e.g. PhD students in 3+ years). Registration will close by 5 PM (ET) on Jan 26, 2024, or when we reach our maximum registration capacity (whichever is earlier).  
Zoom (Register for link)
This is the sixth session of the PhD Plus Business in Society: Adding value with your PhD skills series. This session will focus on how decisions are made using projected financial data. From our discussion you should begin to appreciate the differences between cash flow and earnings, and importantly how basic financial models are constructed and evaluated. PRIOR READING Worldwide Paper Company Case Study See accompanying assignment below INSTRUCTOR Paul Simko, Associate Professor of Business Administration   REGISTER HERE This is a popular series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments between sessions and engage in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Priority of attendance will be given to those who commit to participating in the majority of the series (including learning time in between sessions) and are in advanced stages of training (e.g. PhD students in 3+ years). Registration will close by 5 PM (ET) on Jan 26, 2024, or when we reach our maximum registration capacity (whichever is earlier).  
ZOOM (Register for link)
This is the seventh session of the PhD Plus Business in Society: Adding value with your PhD skills series. Leadership is a fundamental aspect of business. Despite myths about leadership being an inherent trait, you can develop critical skills through practice to improve your leadership ability. In this session, we will explore how to effectively lead yourself and lead others by reflecting on your strengths. This session uses an evidence-based appreciation perspective and applies a positive organizational scholarship lens to help you discover individual and collective strengths. Together, we will uncover our best-self enablers and blockers, and how to learn from both our successes and failures to bring out the best in ourselves, and in others. Specifically, we will explore the following questions:  How can I become aware of my own leadership strengths and shortcomings? What does it mean to be at my best? What enables me to be my best self? What blocks me from being my best self? How can I leverage my strengths to create strong relationships with colleagues and effectively lead others? PRIOR READING Reflected Best Self Exercise (please come to the session with your self-portrait completed and contribution stories from at least 3 individuals) INSTRUCTOR Ayana Younge, Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.    REGISTER HERE This is a popular series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments between sessions and engage in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Priority of attendance will be given to those who commit to participating in the majority of the series (including learning time in between sessions) and are in advanced stages of training (e.g. PhD students in 3+ years). Registration will close by 5 PM (ET) on Jan 26, 2024, or when we reach our maximum registration capacity (whichever is earlier).  
Rodman Room A238, Thornton Hall
This is the ninth session of the PhD Plus Business in Society: Adding value with your PhD skills series. Once you have accepted a job offer, it is essential to get off to a positive start. Managing relationships effectively is challenging when you enter an unfamiliar work culture.       This session discusses a real business case study to help you:  Prepare for a successful career entrance   Learn how to read and navigate an organizational culture   Build relationships at work  Seek relevant feedback  PRIOR READING Case study INSTRUCTOR Brian Moriarty, Assistant Professor in Business Administration, Darden School of Business   REGISTER HERE This is a popular series and requires commitment to full participation. Registrants are expected to complete readings/assignments between sessions and engage in weekly sessions through instructor-student and peer-to-peer interactions.  Priority of attendance will be given to those who commit to participating in the majority of the series (including learning time in between sessions) and are in advanced stages of training (e.g. PhD students in 3+ years). Registration will close by 5 PM (ET) on Jan 26, 2024, or when we reach our maximum registration capacity (whichever is earlier).