Early career researchers benefit from inclusive, diverse and international collaborations: Changing how academic institutions utilize the seminar series

Catherine M Febria; Donna R Kashian; Kory R T Bertrand; Brittanie Dabney; Matthew Day; Madison Dugdale; Kate O Ekhator; Héctor J Esparra-Escalera; Ryan Graham; Keira Harshaw; Darrin S Hunt; Savannah Knorr; Katrina Lewandowski; Colleen Linn; Allison Lucas; Scott O C Mundle; Gelareh Raoufi; Chelsea Salter; Zoha Siddiqua; Smita Tyagi; Megan M Wallen

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2022.03.017

Early career researchers benefit from inclusive, diverse and international collaborations: Changing how academic institutions utilize the seminar series

J Great Lakes Res. 2022 Jun;48(3):849-855. doi: 10.1016/j.jglr.2022.03.017. Epub 2022 Apr 15.

Authors

Catherine M Febria¹, Donna R Kashian², Kory R T Bertrand¹, Brittanie Dabney², Matthew Day¹, Madison Dugdale¹, Kate O Ekhator³, Héctor J Esparra-Escalera², Ryan Graham¹, Keira Harshaw¹, Darrin S Hunt², Savannah Knorr¹, Katrina Lewandowski², Colleen Linn⁴, Allison Lucas⁵, Scott O C Mundle¹, Gelareh Raoufi⁶, Chelsea Salter¹, Zoha Siddiqua⁷, Smita Tyagi⁸, Megan M Wallen²

Affiliations

¹ University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9B 3P4 ,Traditional Territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations.
² Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, 5047 Gullen Mall, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wayne State University, 5050 Anthony Wayne Drive, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
⁴ Department of Anthropology, Wayne State University, 656 West Kirby, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
⁵ Department of Communication, Wayne State University, 585 Manoogian Hall, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
⁶ Department of Education, Wayne State University, 5425 Gullen Mall, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
⁷ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wayne State University, 259 Mack Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
⁸ School of the Environment, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave., Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada.

Abstract

Efforts to make research environments more inclusive and diverse are beneficial for the next generation of Great Lakes researchers. The global COVID-19 pandemic introduced circumstances that forced graduate programs and academic institutions to re-evaluate and promptly pivot research traditions, such as weekly seminar series, which are critical training grounds and networking opportunities for early career researchers (ECRs). While several studies have established that academics with funded grants and robust networks were better able to weather the abrupt changes in research and closures of institutions, ECRs did not. In response, both existing and novel partnerships provided a resilient network to support ECRs at an essential stage of their career development. Considering these challenges, we sought to re-frame the seminar series as a virtual collaboration for ECRs. Two interdisciplinary graduate programs, located in different countries (Windsor, Canada, and Detroit, USA) invested in a year-long partnership to deliver a virtual-only seminar series that intentionally promoted: the co-creation of protocols and co-led roles, the amplification of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion throughout all aspects of organization and representation, engagement and amplification through social media, the integration of social, scientific and cultural research disciplines, all of which collectively showcased the capacity of our ECRs to lead, organize and communicate. This approach has great potential for application across different communities to learn through collaboration and sharing, and to empower the next generation to find new ways of working together.

Keywords: Collaboration; Early career researchers; Education; Great Lakes; Interdisciplinarity; Seminar series.