Other Opportunities and Activities

IGERT trainees will participate in a number of other activities designed to develop them into a strong cohort.

Annual Retreat

A two-day retreat will be held each year at one of multiple field stations in the state. The retreat will include oral and poster presentations by fellows and faculty; formal assessment and evaluation of student progress, program design and implementation; and short courses on selected topics. Each year the retreat will include a field excursion to a different aquatic habitat to discuss associated cross-cutting issues in the field. A video was filmed during the first, April 2011 retreat.

Water Law, Policy and Science Conference

UNL conducts a national Water Law, Policy and Science Conference, which rotates among different groups on campus and addresses a different topic each year. During the conference, students will serve as hosts and meet with selected speakers for in-depth discussions. One of the keynote speakers will extend his/her visit to meet with students in a specialized mini-course.

Law and Resilience Symposium

In September 2008, we organized the first symposium on this topic, sponsored by the UNL College of Law, the Center for Progressive Reform, and the Resilience Alliance, and papers presented there are being published in the Nebraska Law Review. Because of the success of this event, we expect to create a recurring symposium on this theme.

Seminar Series on Water and Summer Water Tour

UNL’s Water Center sponsors an annual Spring Seminar Series on water and natural resource issues and a Summer Water Tour, which brings together citizens, resource managers, state and federal agencies, and scientists to tour areas of the state with water-related problems.

Responsible Conduct of Research Training

The National Science Foundation requires that all students involved in NSF research (including IGERT students) must complete required training in the responsible conduct of research during their first semester of enrollment. As part of the UNL’s commitment to support high-quality intensive training of graduate students, the Office of Graduate Studies developed this training. In Spring 2010, "Responsible Conduct: Research" was offered as course GRDC 901.

In August 2010, this became available as a Blackboard-based, on-line training module, GRDC 98. All UNL graduate students will automatically be registered for this non-credit course.

Grant Writing Workshops and Preparing Future Faculty Series

UNL hosts a series of programs designed to help graduate students prepare for careers as faculty members. These programs include an annual grant writing workshop and a formal graduate course devoted to preparing future faculty. This one credit hour seminar course covers topics such as vita preparation and job search skills, teaching statement development, and mentoring and advising. The UNL Office of Research also offers an annual grant writing workshop and research fair, providing opportunities to learn about funding trends and to talk with program officers.