Our Crowdfunding Groups
Raise funds to start a “Graduate Student Seminar Exchange” program between ISU and other land-grant universities.
We want to create a high-value opportunity for graduate students to visit peer departments to present their research, network with faculty and peers, and foster strong connections between different Plant Pathology and Microbiology Departments around the country.
For our first year, we are collaborating with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's department of Plant Pathology to make this "Graduate Student Seminar Exchange" program possible. Iowa State and UW-Madison have a long history of excellence in plant pathology, and we believe that a seminar exchange between our graduate student bodies would help continue to foster that longstanding strength and connection between us.
Today, we start with one university but in the future, we will expand to other universities.
We will be deciding which student will attend the exchange with an abstract competition, taking into account the student's seniority since a less tenured student will have another chance to participate in the exchange the next year.
Help students develop fist hand experience to communicate their knowledge outside their comfort zone
Allow students to expose themselves to different skills. Sharing knowledge practices pushes a person to become better at what they do while allowing them to develop better insights on problem solving skills.
They say two heads think better than one. When different skills and experiences collide, eye-opening ideas and solutions emerge. The more students learn how to communicate their work, the more they will be exposed to see the same problem from different angles.
The more students learn how to effectively communicate their science to others, the more likely they will be to reach someone who will be interested in supporting their idea and taking it further. It could be in the form of collaborations or attention from governmental or private organizations.
Scientist agree that communication with non-scientist is important. However, this is a difficult skill that many practicing scientists lack, likely due to the combination of increased specialization over time and the absence of formal training in science communication.
Help develop interesting and innovative ways of communicating complicated concepts to the public
As scientists advance in their academic careers from undergraduate to graduate student to postdoc, they become more and more specialized in their chosen discipline or sub-discipline. These sub-disciplines are increasingly disparate, requiring scientists to become better communicators to forge collaborations between disciplines