All Case Western Reserve University staff, faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are invited to save the date for the university’s inaugural Professional Development Day, which will be held, Tuesday, Jan. 29.
The event will feature several components to help university community members learn, share and grow.
The primary objectives of the conference are to:
- Provide professional development opportunities to staff, faculty, graduate students and postdocs;
- Improve student interfacing for faculty and staff;
- Increase engagement and enrollment across campus and across silos.
Members of the university community also are invited to participate in the Professional Development Day by sharing their knowledge, expertise, experiences and culture during all four of the day’s four main components: the expo, workshops and trainings, the Solutions Slam, and the Innovation Jam.
Professional Development Day Expo
Does your office, department or program offer ongoing professional development? The expo portion of Professional Development Day will give departments, offices and programs the opportunity to reach a wider audience at CWRU.
The expo, which will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, will feature professional development opportunities that members of the CWRU community can take part in throughout the year. Examples include online or part-time programs, certificate programs, community education (such as Green Dot and Safe Zone), and lecture series.
Departments and offices can host a table at the expo to highlight their program. Apply to host a table.
Workshops and training
Do you have a workshop, talk or seminar centered on the topic of professional and/or individual development? Is your research centered on professional growth models or do you have suggestions on exchanging ideas for employees on campus?
Individuals, teams and panels are invited to submit a proposal for a Professional Development Day workshop.
Event organizers anticipate sessions will fall into four categories: hard skills, team dynamic, career development and/or personal development. Sessions may address topics such as connecting to campus, how to have difficult conversations, identifying biases in the workplace, cultural competency, dealing with feedback and more.
The workshops will be offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Submit a workshop or training proposal through CampusGroups. The deadline to submit a proposal is Nov. 21.
Solutions Slam
Have you or your colleagues come up with a novel way of improving your work/classroom environment? Have you improved a process here at CWRU so that it is more efficient, more effective, less costly, or more mission-centric? If so, consider submitting an application or nomination for the inaugural Solutions Slam at the Professional Development Day. All graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff are invited submit applications or nominations for the Solutions Slam.
The Professional Development Day Solutions Slam is a one-hour, midday event featuring creative problem solvers from across the CWRU campus. This event will highlight solutions that may be applicable across the university, inspire new ideas, and allow attendees to look at problems from a new vantage point.
Each presentation will have to meet the following criteria:
- It is a new/novel solution to a challenge at work or in class;
- It has a wide appeal for the campus community;
- The solution had a valuable outcome; and
- Data demonstrates that the solution has made a favorable impact (does not have to be available at time of nomination/application).
Submit a nomination or application for the Solutions Slam.
The deadline for proposals is Nov. 30. All nominees and applicants will be contacted regarding their application/nomination status the week of Dec. 10.
Innovation Jam
The Innovation Jam is a half-day event in which participants are presented with a university-wide problem and some of its constraints, and then they are given the task of coming up with a creative solution.
The jam topic this year will not be revealed until the day of the event. Jam teams will be set by Professional Development Day staff prior to the event and will have at least one graduate student, postdoc, faculty member and staff member.
Jam participants’ solutions will be presented to a panel of judges, and winners will receive a small prize and recognition for their creativity and ingenuity.
The jam will be held from 1 to 4 p.m.