Preparing Students for Careers, Licensure, Industry
Conveners
Matthew Pendleton, University of Waterloo Canada
Craig Nichol, University of British Columbia Okanagan
James Kubicki, University of Texas at El Paso
Rachel Phillips, University of South Carolina-Columbia
The goal of this workshop is to help initiate programmatic and departmental change to better prepare students for careers in geoscience, or careers reached via a geoscience degree. The workshop will expand upon the recommendations of the AGI's Vision and Change in the Geosciences document to enable teams from a department, or department champions, to explore best practices in supporting career preparation and transferable skills development. Over three days, the workshop will focus on: (1) information and career options exploration during engagement, recruitment, and introductory courses; (2) supporting career planning, stakeholder interactions and alumni involvement for students within degrees; and (3) preparing graduating students for career transitions including professional licensure. Participants will develop short-term and long-term action plans for their programs.
Overview
The workshop will expand upon the recommendations of the AGI's Vision and Change in the Geosciences document to enable teams from a department, or department champions, to explore best practices in supporting career preparation and transferable skills development. The pathway to careers in Earth Sciences begins with the information flow to students in K-12, and how to best convey information regarding the Earth Sciences as a discipline, and about careers in the Earth Sciences. Many students do not encounter the Earth Sciences until 1st or 2nd year of post-secondary. Early courses represent opportunities for recruitment and career information. We will examine strategies to incorporate career and licensure information into early courses. Higher year students benefit from career information, but also from instructional strategies that include industry related materials, greater connections to alumni, industry, and local stakeholders and employers. All students can benefit from comprehensive information on the scope of Earth Sciences covered by licensure in different jurisdictions, and those students who elect to study areas of Earth Sciences covered by professional licensure require comprehensive information on the processes and expectations relevant to their intended jurisdiction of practice.
Target Audience
This workshop is intended for those providing students information on careers in Earth Science. This includes department heads, program chairs, advisors and curriculum design specialists from 4 year and 2 year institutions. This would also include K-12 teachers and guidance counsellors preparing students for college/university entrance to Earth Sciences. Participants representing employers and stakeholders, particularly those holding geoscience licensure, are encouraged to attend.
Participants are expected to be familiar with the findings of the Vision and Changes in the Geosciences: The Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education Report. A guide to specific sections of the report to examine will be provided prior to the workshop.
Goals
The goal of this workshop is to help foster greater engagement with career planning for students and to develop a coordinated strategy that supports students from high school to eventual entry to careers post-graduation. The aim is to help participants from different parts of the educational system to best connect with their partners at other levels of the system, and to optimize the career assistance given to students in their own institution.
Workshop activities will be tied to developmental stages (i.e., years one, two, three, and four) with actionable objectives so that participants have a phased and planned approach to guide students through their education towards careers. The three days of the workshop will cover:
(1) information and career options exploration during engagement, recruitment, and introductory courses
(2) supporting career planning, stakeholder interactions and alumni involvement for students within degrees
(3) preparing graduating students for career transitions including professional licensure
(4) exploring mechanisms to update curricula to include input from a variety of careers.
Participants will develop short-term and long-term action plans for their programs.
Format
The workshop has three half day sessions. Each day's session will begin with a summary presentation from the workshop conveners. Participants will break out into small group sessions to share best practices, then reconvene to the group to report findings.