Workshops and Development Series
The Graduate School offers several writing, teaching, communication, and professional development workshops and series. All workshops and development series adhere to the Attendance Policy and the Synchronous Zoom Workshop Policy. Both policies are posted at the bottom on the page.
Development Series
Development Series are non-credit course-style workshop series that provide sustained support, practice, and feedback on key aspects of teaching, communication, writing, and career management. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at any stage of their careers and in any discipline should enroll in these Development Series to improve their teaching, writing, speaking, and presentation skills, and preparation for industry. Development Series are non-credit bearing and free of charge (although some may require materials or refundable deposits).
Development Series that count toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate are indicated by an asterisk (*). Development series that count toward the Writing Certificate are indicated by a plus sign (+). Development series require compliance with the attendance policy. Email questions about Development Series to the instructor listed.
Fall 2022
Ahead of the Pack
Friday, September 9 – November 18 | 1 – 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Stella Jackman-Ryan
Ahead Of The Pack is a comprehensive development series that supports graduate students in their adjustment to graduate school. The series will include weekly sessions that provide sustained support, practice, and feedback on key aspects of graduate school inclusive of wellness, time-management, communication, writing, and career management. It begins on September 9 and continues through November 18.
Registration will open on July 30.
Job Search Strategies
Tuesday, October 4 – November 1 | 1 – 2 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Morgan Dalman
This module of A2i provides participants with an introduction to application materials and career pathways available in industry. Topics covered will include career exploration, corporate culture, career wellness, how to navigate career pathways, communication, leadership, portfolio development, etc. Speakers will be representative from a variety of companies around the U.S and industries.
Open to all grad students and postdocs.
Registration will open on September 1.
Workshops
Workshops that count toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate are indicated by an asterisk (*). Workshops that count toward the Writing Certificate are indicated by a plus sign (+). Workshops can only be counted for credit once unless otherwise indicated. Please be aware of the workshop attendance policy (below).
Summer 2022
July
Communicating Your Research in a World of Disinformation*
Thursday, July 28 | 9 – 11 a.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitators: Shahir Rizk, Ph.D. and Maggie Fink
In the workshop, we will discuss how to engage the public with information from our own research experience and how to effectively face public distrust and to battle misinformation. We explore different ways of engaging the public, including in person, through written communications, such as op/eds or commentary pieces, and through the arts. Facilitated by Dr. Shahir Rizk and Maggie Fink. Graduate students, postdocs, and faculty are all welcome!
Participants may apply up to 2 hours towards the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
How to Manage Conflict in the Classroom*
Thursday, July 21 | 1 – 2 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
AND
Thursday, July 28 | 1 – 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will explore strategies for managing conflict in the classroom. In the first session, we will examine various approaches to preventative and reactive conflict management, using real-life examples. In the second session, participants will role-play a variety of scenarios to practice assertive conflict management. Open to ALL graduate students and postdocs regardless of your teaching experience.
Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Participants may apply up to 3 hours towards the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
How to Process Your Course Evaluations*
Monday, July 25 | 10 – 11 a.m. | Zoom Webinar
AND
Monday, August 1 | 10 a.m. – noon | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will consider best practices for reading, analyzing, and using the data from your course evaluations. How can you make your evaluations work for you, so that they become part of a cycle of reflective teaching practice? How can you use them as evidence of effective teaching in your job materials? How can you separate constructive criticism from ad hominem attacks and excessive praise? And how can you supplement your standard course evaluations to get the information you really need to improve your teaching?
Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Participants may apply up to 3 hours towards the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Fall 2022
August
How to Organize Your Journal Article+
Wednesday, August. 31 | 10 a.m. – noon | In-Person, Engineering Building II, Room 1229
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Get a head start on your journal article or report! In this interactive workshop, participants will explore common strategies for organizing information in academic writing. Specifically, we will practice strategies for:
- identifying common organization structures for articles and papers
- comparing how information is organized in different disciplines using sample journal articles
- critically reading articles with an eye for structure
Open to all grad students and postdocs.
Participants may apply 2 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
September
Engineering Cafes: Writer’s Toolkit+
Thursday, September. 1 | 10 a.m. – noon | Zoom Webinar
AND
Thursday, September. 8 | 10 a.m. – noon | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
In this two part workshop, we’ll focus on strategies for planning and managing a writing project, as well as fundamental tips for structuring engineering writing. You will clarify your writing goals for the summer and learn strategies to implement on current and future writing projects. We will use different genres of engineering writing projects as case studies, so participants will also gain tips for summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing their writing projects.
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
You may apply 4 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate. Attendance at both sessions is mandatory to earn certificate hours.
Note: Attendance at both sessions is mandatory to earn certificate hours.
How to Synthesize Lit Reviews+
Wednesday, September 14 | 10 a.m. – noon | In-Person, Engineering Building II, Room 1229
Facilitator: Katie Homar
You’ve gathered lots of articles and other sources. What next? In this workshop, we address tips for effectively structuring and synthesizing sources (“literature”) in journal articles and research papers.
Participants will specifically practice strategies for:
- Summarizing sources and organizing summaries
- Integrating sources into their article of research paper using common “lit review” structures
- Paraphrasing sources
- Using appropriate reporting verbs and transitions to synthesize sources
- Revising their own lit review paper, chapter, or section
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
You may apply 2 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
How to Structure Results and Discussion Sections+
Wednesday, September 21 | 10 a.m. – noon | In-Person, Engineering Building II, Room 1229
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Write up the results! There’s more to it! In this workshop, we explore how to create strong results, discussion, and conclusion sections.
Specifically, participants will practice and discuss strategies for:
- Choosing an appropriate structure for results/discussion sections in their field
- Effectively organizing data commentaries
- Linking discussion section to literature/past findings
- Answering the “so what question” (impact) about their research in discussion and conclusion section
- Starting and/or revising their own results/discussion section
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
You may apply 2 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Engineering Cafes: Concise Sentences+
Thursday, September 22 | 10 a.m. – noon | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Do people say that your writing is wordy? In this interactive workshop, we’ll address the challenge of building clear, concise sentences that represent your science to diverse stakeholders. Using Richard Lanham’s famous “Paramedic Method” and other approaches, participants will leave the session with strategies for “user-friendly” sentences in reports and other workplace documents.
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
Participants may apply 2 hours towards the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Registration will open on July 30.
October
How to Craft Abstract and Introductions+
Wednesday, October 5 | 10 a.m. – noon | In-Person Engineering Building II, Room 1229
Where to start? In this workshop, we tackle the challenge of composing two key components of a research article: Abstracts and introductions.
Participants will specifically practice strategies for:
- Adapting common abstract structures to their own article projects
- Effectively organizing introductions using the “Create A Research Space” (CARS) model
- Using appropriate verb tenses in introductions and abstracts
- Starting or revising their own abstracts and intros
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
You may apply 2 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Engineering Cafe: Professional Emails+
Thursday, October 13 | 10 a.m. – noon | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Contact colleagues at NC State and beyond with tact and ease! In this workshop, you will gain strategies for crafting effective professional emails. Specifically, participants will practice and discuss strategies for:
- Organizing a professional email message
- Making inquiries and requests
- Creating a professional tone or voice in email
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
You may apply 2 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, NC State will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Requests can be served effectively if notice is provided at least 10 days before the event. Direct accommodation requests for professional development programs to professional-development@ncsu.edu.
Synchronous Zoom Workshops Policy
Unless otherwise noted, our online workshops and development series are synchronous Zoom meetings. These events are designed to facilitate discussion of the material through interactive exercises, polls, small group discussions, and other activities. When you register for a workshop or series, you are indicating that you are able to participate in a Zoom call at the scheduled date(s)/times(s). Only participants who attend the Zoom session(s) will receive access to workshop materials.
If you have a schedule conflict, you should drop the workshop or series using REPORTER to allow participants from the waiting list to enroll.
Attendance Policy
Participants who cancel their registration for any Professional Development event (e.g., workshops, seminars, symposia) more than 24 hours before the first session of an event will not be penalized. Registrants who fail to attend an event or who cancel their registration less than 24 hours before the first session of an event will be marked as a “No Show” for the event. Those with two recorded “No Shows” will automatically be dropped from all future Professional Development events for the remainder of the semester in which the two “No Shows” occur.
This policy is in place to encourage students to practice time management and professionalism. The instructors create materials and activities based on attendance so this information needs to be as accurate as possible in order for participants to get the most out of the session.
For development series, please review the syllabus for the attendance policy specific to your course.
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Digital Badges
The professional development team is pleased to announce new opportunities for digital credentialing. We will be issuing evidence-based badges through the Graduate School NC State account at Badge List. You can display the badges you’ve earned on your LinkedIn page. Create an account to get started, then join our group using this code: gradpack. We will add new badges throughout the year, so check back often.