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Week of October 13, 2015
PhD Comic
Tips for Grads

No matter how carefully you chose your courses as an undergrad, or how many skills you've tried to pick up through coursework as a graduate student, there are bound to be some areas where you find holes in your knowledge or skills. While you could always audit a course, you may be better off looking into a MOOC, a Massive Open Online Course, for a cheap, usually free, way to learn what you need. Hanna Peacock at GradHacker points out some of the most helpful attributes of MOOCs

1. They work well with busy schedules: Since they are designed to be online courses, you can often go at your own pace and log on only when it's convenient for you. 

2. The courses aren't intimidating: Most MOOCs don't assume much, if any, background knowledge on the subject. You also don't have to worry about grades ending up on your transcript. 

If you're interested in finding a MOOC to fill in one of your knowledge gaps, check out Coursera, EdX, Udemy, or Khan Academy

Interdisciplinary Graduate Reading Groups 

Are you a graduate student looking to connect with other students outside of your department? Well, here’s your opportunity! The Libraries, in partnership with the Graduate School Office of Professional Development, are organizing and hosting interdisciplinary graduate reading groups at the Memorial Library Commons.


If you find yourself at all intrigued by the idea of connecting with peers in other disciplines, please fill out this very brief questionnaire to learn more, provide suggested topics, and/or indicate your own level of interest in participating. Based on the responses to this questionnaire, we will determine reading group topics, dates, and times.

Dissertation Writing Camp - 2016 Winter Intersession - Now Accepting Applications


The UW-Madison Writing Center and the Graduate School Office of Professional Development are now accepting applications to the Mellon-Wisconsin Dissertation Writing Camp, which will take place January 4 – 8, 2016. Facilitated by Writing Center senior staff, the week-long Camp offers a structured opportunity for dissertators to make significant progress on their dissertations by drafting a substantial amount of writing.  Dissertators from all disciplines are invited to apply.
Acceptance in the program is competitive, and participation is limited to twenty dissertators.


The application deadline is November 2, 2015 at 12:00pm (noon).


Professional Development

Transferable Skills: What You Get When You Get a PhD and What Employers Want
Wednesday, October 14  |  4:00 - 5:30pm 
Union South, Check TITU

As a postdoc or PhD candidate you develop skills that are important for your career development and will be useful whether you stay in academia or pursue other careers. These “transferable skills” that you acquire can be used in many different types of jobs and are valued by employers. In this session, you will have the opportunity to identify these skills, discover career fields that are a good fit for your skills, and learn tips for presenting your skills to potential employers.

Careers in Publishing
Monday, October 19 - Friday, October 23
Versatile PhD Online Panel Discussion


Versatile PhD will host a free web-based asynchronous panel discussion on Careers in Publishing. All panelists are PhDs from Humanities or Social Science fields:

 

- A Humanities PhD who has served in several roles at an academic digital press and is currently its Director of Strategic Initiatives


- A Historian who is now Editorial Director at a major academic press, and formerly the executive director of a small scholarly press


- A Political Scientist who is Manager of Content at a digital service and app distributing global newspaper content, and formerly Digital Content Strategist at an educational publisher


- A Philosopher who is currently Senior Acquisitions Editor at an academic press, and formerly Associate Editor at an independent trade/academic publishing house


You can interact with panelists throughout the week on the site, or follow the discussion via email. All questions welcome, from the most general to the very specific.

Creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP) 
Thursday, October 22  |  4:30 - 6:00pm 
159 Wisconsin Idea Room, Education Building


Creating an individual development plan (IDP) encourages you to think about what you need to do next - and over the next year few years - so that you achieve your goals. We will discuss how to define achievable goals, identify resources, and develop strategies for implementing and sustaining your plans. Participants will begin to create a personalized plan that takes into account career interests and addresses the development of knowledge and skills for professional growth.

This event is co-sponsored by the Delta Program.

Interviewing for Faculty Positions
Tuesday, October 27  |  12:00 - 1:30pm 
1111 Genetics-Biotechnology Center Building


Successful interviewing relies on effective preparation. What should you know to prepare for faculty position interviews? What expectations will institutions have of you? What type of meetings might occur during the interview process? This session will focus on thinking through the process of preparing for interviews. A panel of new faculty who have recently gone through the interview process and seasoned faculty who have interviewed many applicants will give tips and answer your questions.

Find more Graduate School Professional Development events here

Careers & Financial 

Peace Corps Informational Meeting 
Wednesday, October 14  |  4:30 - 5:30pm 
Red Gym 


If Only I Knew Then What I Know Now: Tips From a Top CEO 
Thursday, October 15  |  12:00 - 1:00pm 
1163 Mechanical Engineering Building

Introduction to Finding Grants Part 1

Friday, October 16  |  10:00 – 11:00am

231 Memorial Library


Introduction to Finding Grants Part 2: Hands-on Session

Friday October 16  |  11:15am – 12:00pm

231 Memorial Library

 
Find & Apply for Jobs/Internships with State Government Agencies

Friday, October 16  |  12:00 – 1:00pm (with Q&A to follow)

Union South (Check TITU) 

Finding Your Creative Outlet, and Making a Living Doing It
Friday, October 16  |  1:00 - 2:00pm 
2195 Vilas Hall

Having Our Say: Madison Black Professionals Tell All
Tuesday, October 20  |  6:00 - 7:30pm 
2312 South Park Street

The Synergy of Art and Technology Entrepreneurship
Friday, October 23  |  4:00 - 5:30pm 
DeLuca Forum, Discovery Building

Teaching, Writing & Research

Teaching Philosophy Workshop
Wednesday, October 14  |  9:00am 
Union South, Check TITU

On the Academic Job Market: Writing Statements of Teaching Philosophy
Wednesday, October 14  |  3:30 - 5:00pm
6171 Helen C. White 

Papers in Progress: Making the Most of Student Conferences 

Thursday, October 15  |  4:00 - 5:30pm 
6171 Helen C. White 

A Writer's Retreat
Thursday, October 15  |  5:00 - 9:00pm 
6191 Helen C. White 

Simple Steps to Perfecting Your Punctuation 
Friday, October 16  |  1:00 - 3:00pm 
9171 Helen C. White


Researching and Writing Literature Reviews in the Sciences

Tuesday, October 20  |  12:00 – 1:30pm

105 Steenbock Memorial Library


Writing Book Reviews for Publication 

Tuesday, October 20  |  3:00 - 4:30pm
6171 Helen C. White 

Critical Thinking and Peer Instruction: Students Learning Together 
Wednesday, October 21  |  12:00pm 
CIRTLCast Online Webinar

A Dissertator's Primer: The Dissertation Stage 
Wednesday, October 21  |  2:30 - 4:00pm
6171 Helen C. White 

Teaching Fellows Program Information Session 
Thursday, October 22  |  2:00 - 3:00pm 
340 Steenbock Memorial Library 

Delta Roundtable: Teaching: An Essential Element of Broad Spectrum Career Development for Graduate Students
Thursday, October 29  |  12:00 - 1:30pm 
Varsity Hall, Union South

Registration is required

Technology

EndNote Desktop-PC

Wednesday, October 14  |  12:00 – 1:00pm

3268 Ebling Library


Excel 2: Data Visualization
Wednesday, October 14  |  6:00 - 8:00pm 
B1144A DeLuca Biochemistry Building

Digital Scholarship Workshop Series: Crafting Your Digital Identity 

Thursday, October 22  |  4:00 - 5:00pm 
BioCommons (110a), Steenbock Memorial Library 

For more technology courses from Software Training for Students (STS) click here

Special Events & Conferences

UW-Madison Leadership Certificate Information Session 
Tuesday, October 13  |  6:30 - 7:30pm 
Masley Media Room, Red Gym 

Public Works Seminar: The Art of Radio: Making Scholarly Voices Public

Tuesday, October 20  |  4:00pm 
University Club, Rm. 313


Wisconsin Science Festival 

Thursday, October 22 - Sunday, October 25 
Discovery Building

Please note: Some graduate students may be ineligible to hold graduate assistantship appointments. Be sure to check with your graduate program coordinator about your eligibility before applying.
Employment
Fellowships & Grants

Hult Prize Social Entrepreneurship Competition

Competition held November 20

Will you be the next $1 million winner?
 The Hult Prize is a start-up accelerator for young emerging social entrepreneurs from the around the world. The 2016 Hult Prize "President's Challenge" is Crowded Urban Spaces and will focus on economic inclusion, more specifically, doubling the incomes of the residents who live in some of the toughest conditions in the world through improved mobility and increased connectivity to people, products, services and capital by 2022. 


For more information, come to an information session on Wednesday, October 14 from 12:15 - 1:00pm, 2510 Grainger Hall. 


NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program 

Applications Due October 26 - October 30 


The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees.  Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $32,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.


The Mellon International Dissertation Research Fellowship
Applications Due November 3 


The Mellon International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF) offers nine to twelve months of support to graduate students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who are enrolled in PhD programs in the United States and conducting dissertation research on non-US topics. Eighty fellowships are awarded annually. Fellowship amounts vary depending on the research plan, with a per-fellowship average of $20,000. 



Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment
Pre-proposals due December 1


The Provost’s Office is soliciting outreach, translational, and community-based research and public engagement proposals from UW-Madison faculty, staff, and students through Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment for two types of awards (Projects and Mini-Grants). The endowment allows faculty, staff, and students to advance their knowledge and expertise in partnership with off-campus audiences in the tradition of The Wisconsin Idea – the notion that the knowledge and solutions generated at the University benefit the people of Wisconsin, our nation,  and our world. 

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