Description, Assessment, and Outcomes of Three Initial Interventions Within a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT): Onboarding Event, Career Exploration Symposium, and Multidisciplinary Introductory Course

Board 245: Description, Assessment, and Outcomes of Several Interventions within a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT): Graduate Certificate, Field Trips, Internships and International Experiences

“…In a subsequent semester, students receive training on key transferrable skills in a course designed to integrate these skills with content covered in the foregoing INFEWS course. This transferable skills course has also been described previously [3]. Completing these core courses gives students 6 of the 12 credit hours needed to attain the certificate.…”

“…This graduate certificate aims to 1) impart both conceptual and technical knowledge related to INFEWS to students; 2) provide them with training on key transferable skills; and 3) equip them to consider the societal, cultural, behavioral, and economic aspects of research on the food, energy, and water nexus. The starting point of the certificate is a multidepartmental and interdisciplinary course on INFEWS that has been described in a previous contribution [2]. In a subsequent semester, students receive training on key transferrable skills in a course designed to integrate these skills with content covered in the foregoing INFEWS course.…”

“…The general structure of this NRT has been described in a previous contribution [1]. A follow-up manuscript has described the first three interventions within the NRT, namely, an onboarding and orientation event, a career exploration symposium, and a multidisciplinary introductory course, along with the assessment and outcomes of each of these interventions [2]. A third manuscript has presented three additional NRT components, i.e., a transferable skills course, an interdisciplinary research proposal and project, and a multidisciplinary research symposium, as well as their assessment and outcomes [3].…”

“…A follow-up manuscript has described the first three interventions within the NRT, namely, an onboarding and orientation event, a career exploration symposium, and a multidisciplinary introductory course, along with the assessment and outcomes of each of these interventions [2]. A third manuscript has presented three additional NRT components, i.e., a transferable skills course, an interdisciplinary research proposal and project, and a multidisciplinary research symposium, as well as their assessment and outcomes [3]. In a similar vein, this contribution describes several additional interventions within this NRT -a graduate certificate, field trips, as well as internships and international experiences -and discusses the assessment and outcomes of each of these interventions.…”