A novel paradigm for training graduate students in soft skills

Abstract

Most chemical engineering programs which offer masters and PhD degrees have a common seminar series for all the graduate students. Typical seminar series includes presenters with expertise in cutting edge topics are invited. Chemical engineering is expanding and many research topics could address only a portion of the students. Further, conducting seminars for the entire duration of the semester may be cost prohibitive, leading to reduction in number of seminars. Interestingly, there are very few seminars that introduce graduate students to nontechnical content that could be paramount to their future success. For example, basics of grant writing, the importance of maintaining a laboratory notebook, writing a technical report, chemical safety demonstrations or academic integrity are not addressed. At our University, we have incorporated these topics into the seminar series in addition to presentations dealing with cultural aspects. Most of the speakers are from different departments within the University. Each seminar also included a critique (homework) submission to get the feedback on their like and dislike about the presentations. These responses have been very positive and encouraging. Students have also expressed interest in many other topics such as time management, educational research and interpersonal management. Thus, there are a number of different topics that could be useful to graduate students, which potentially minimizes redundancy for resident graduate students. In summary, the seminar series can be used as a possibility of incorporating some of the soft skills into the graduate program. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2009.