Graduate education of the future needs to prepare students to be equal to the task of overcoming the ever-changing and dynamic demands of our society. Funding mechanisms such as the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) awards and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) Program, specifically the Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) track, invest in innovative programs that often pilot new models for graduate education. Postdoctoral scholars, who are a vital part of the research workforce, also benefit from many of these programs that focus not only on the discipline-specific conceptual knowledge, but also the soft skills such as communication, leadership, and management. Catalyzing successful cultural change at the institutional level will require new incentives and drastic changes to our current infrastructure. However, these events must take place for us to tackle the grand challenges of the 21<sup>st</sup> century. Lessons can be learned from programs, such as the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Program, which strongly emphasize professional development in areas including policy, leadership, and communications. Given the global, and increasingly interdisciplinary nature of challenges that we face as a society, collaboration amongst universities, government, and the private sector will drive the advances in graduate education as we move forward. Persistence and perseverance exhibited by leaders who are committed to improving graduate education and postdoctoral training experiences will bring us closer to the implementation of graduate education paradigms that are effective and adopted. This presentation will explore innovative approaches to transforming graduate education and the applicability of those programs to support postdoctoral communities. There will also be a focus on stakeholder engagement, specifically generating excitement, energy, and commitment for advancing graduate education.

Conquer the challenge of change by communicating a shared vision of transformative graduate education

254th National Meeting (2017)

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