The need for career planning and preparation to be integrated into graduate programs has been highlighted in a range of surveys, studies, and reports, including the American Chemical Society Graduate Commission report “Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences”. The National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) program provided funds and guidance through an entrepreneurial process for determining whether and how ACS could help graduate students relieve their career planning and preparation “pains”, and provide “gains” they need to complete their degrees and launch successful careers. The results of this program precipitated ACS developing ChemIDP<sup>TM</sup>, an Individual Development Plan web tool designed to guide graduate students through the career planning process. This presentation will share 1) the insights gained from the NSF I-Corps process of interviewing students and those supporting professional development; 2) strategies for scaffolding career planning guidance throughout the graduate school experience; 3) and approaches for incorporating IDP workshops and the new ACS Individual Development Plan online tool, ChemIDP.org, into graduate programs to create the greatest impact for the student.

Guiding career planning and preparation: ACS development of Individual Development Plan (IDP) resources

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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