Education and Training Committee

The Education and Training Committee’s objective is to identify the training and capacity building requirements of the members of the Centre. In a collaborative, inclusive and transparent manner, the Committee designs, promotes, delivers and evaluates an annual series of education-based events.

The Education and Training Committee is chaired by CBNS CI Professor Maria Kavallaris AM (UNSW). The committee is formed of members from across all nodes with each node being represented by a Postdoctorate researcher and a PhD candidate.

The CBNS Education and Training Committee met monthly during 2019 to assess and organise the training and education needs of the Centre. 2019 Education and Training Committee events: Event title Date Node

ACEMS, CBNS and CLEX Media & Presentation Training* Storytelling for Leaders 28 Feb Monash

2 Apr Monash

Storytelling

Illustrator Workshop

ACEMS, CBNS, CEPAR, CLEX and CQC2T Media & Presentation Training* Fiji/Image J Workshop 15-16, 18-19 Jul Monash and UQ

23 Aug UNSW 10-11 Sep UQ

Targeting EMCRs and late-stage PhD students, this six-month training program assisted participants in learning how to influence, engage and inspire with stories. The program comprised a oneday workshop and an on-going practice program. The training aimed to improve communication and presentation skills. Participants were taught how they could tap into the natural power of storytelling in a pragmatic and authentic way. The one-day workshop was highly interactive and participants engaged in hands-on activities designed to build their skills and knowledge. Delivered online, over six months, the Deliberate Practice Program involved one practical activity each week, helped participants practice their new skills in the workplace. Animal Imaging Workshop Frontiers in Bio-Nano Science

Biomedical Applications of Engineered Antibodies and Proteins

*Joint Education and Outreach event

Illustrator Workshop

Nowadays, a researcher can no longer rely on the power of their words to convey a convincing scientific argument – information in the form of diagrams plays just as important a role. Being confident in one’s own ability to produce such diagrams is a fundamental skill. This two-day workshop was specifically designed for scientists to help them understand basic graphic design software Adobe Illustrator. During the training, participants developed skills using this software through step by step learning and practice-based projects. 12-13 Sep UQ 25 Oct UQ

18 Nov Monash

Illustrator workshop

FIJI/Image J Workshop

A two-day workshop that introduced digital imaging and basic navigation in Fiji/Image J. The training covered basic manual analysis such as cell counts, area, segmentation and tracking, as well as how to automate previously collected analysis using programming and scripting.

Animal Imaging Workshop

Over two days, participants had the opportunity to focus their time on imaging practices. The workshop covered the theory, practical, analytical information and hands-on practice needed for doing the imaging experiments with the aim of preparing the participant for future imaging studies.

Storytelling program

Mentoring Program

Mentoring relationships support the professional and personal growth of mentees through the development of new skills, finding new approaches to old problems, identifying areas for professional growth and accessing a wider professional network. These strategies are provided through the guidance or sponsorship offered by a mentor. Similar to previous years, mentors are chosen and matched with mentees based upon their relevant skills, knowledge, experience or influence. Through the mentor-mentee relationship, the mentor may assist the mentees in developing future career goals and defining a framework to assist the mentee in reaching those goals. Mentoring can be beneficial in skill development, career and goal planning, developing successful networks, confidence building, developing managerial/leadership capabilities and understanding organisational structures. The CBNS-led mentoring program is a formal mentoring arrangement and is designed for Early Career Researchers (ECR) and Mid-Career Researchers (MCR). The mentor-mentee relationship may last through the progression of the mentees current postdoctoral research project. Through the development and progression of the mentorship, the interaction can either focus on a particular challenge or concern, or on broad career questions. The agenda is led by the mentee – the mentor is there to facilitate, not influence decisions. The CBNS continued with the same mentoring team as in 2018 to review the applications and try and match each with a mentor – either from within the CBNS or external. The CBNS Mentoring Team is supported by CBNS CIs Professor Maria Kavallaris AM (UNSW), Professor Stephen Kent (UoM) as well as the Chief Operating Officer Dr Natalie Jones.

While CBNS postgraduate students are not formally part of the mentoring program, support for students is provided by resources available at each node or institution. The Centre encourages students to interact with senior research leaders and ECRs at their node and more broadly with CBNS members through regular research and training opportunities. In 2019, the Centre offered Mentoring Circles as part of their Annual Research Workshop. This provided a larger group of mentees with an informal opportunity to ask mentors questions relating to their career path or their research.