Cheers to 2018!
Based on what I observed on social media over the past few weeks, for many of my friends and followers 2018 was… well… not so great. One meme that I particularly remember said, “2018…What the hell was that??” Hopefully your 2018 wasn’t quite that bad.
For the Postdoc Office, 2018 was a good year. Now that the office is a little over a year old, I thought I would share a few of the highlights and milestones from 2018.
January 2018 – We kicked the year off with a social mixer at The Thirsty Lion, and about 30 postdocs attended and enjoyed apps and beverages. This was the first official event of the new Postdoc Office.
February 2018 – We launched our Professional Development Series, with a Lunch & Learn on the Entrepreneurial Mindset. This lecture was led by Dr. Brent Sebold, Executive Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and gave postdocs a taste of what it is like to be an entrepreneur.
April 2018 – The first issue of the Postdoc Press was published. It included a message from Dean Artiles, a report from the National Postdoc Association Annual Conference, and a Postdoc Profile on Jesse Senko, ASU postdoc and expert fisherman.
June 2018 – The first-ever ASU Postdoc Research Blitz was held, designed to help postdocs in need of collaborators connect to other postdocs and members of the ASU community. Five ASU Postdocs presented their research challenges, and four of them ended up pairing off and collaborating with one another!
September 2018 – ASU celebrated National Postdoc Appreciation week, with seven events over the five days. The week included three social mixers, two Lunch & Learns, and Research Blitz #2. The week was highlighted by the Postdoc Appreciation Breakfast where Provost Mark Searle and Vice President for Research Cynthia Sagers both spoke about the importance of postdocs to the research enterprise.
December 2018 – The year culminated with the office’s 19th professional development workshop, “How to create a Project Plan,” and the year’s 8th social mixer at Casey Moore’s.
We hope, as a result of these events and activities, that you have made friends with other postdocs, you’ve learned something that will help you in your professional preparation.