The Academic and Research Leadership (ARL) Symposium is co-located with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Annual Convention. The ARL Symposium has two threads: (1) a faculty development thread, and (2) a research networking thread. The faculty development thread hosts workshops organized by members of the ARL network that strengthen and demystify fundamental components of academia. Past topics include: Obtaining a Faculty Position, The Ins and Outs of the Tenure Process, How to Write a Successful Proposal, How to Successfully Manage a Research Group, Strategies for Diversifying your Research Funding Portfolio. The researcher development and networking thread is critical to the goal of a self-sustaining ARL ecosystem.
*New this year* will be breakout sessions particularly for Engineering Education faculty, a growing number in our ranks with unique needs and strategies to be discussed. Check back here for updates.
The ARL Symposium provides an opportunity for seasoned researchers (university, corporate, government) to nurture connections with their peers, and be excited and inspired by the latest discoveries and technical advances across many disciplines of engineering and science. Opportunities for new collaborations and strategic career advancements are anticipated. The researcher development and networking thread consists of a networking reception, flash talks, getting your publications out the door, and an interactive poster session organized by members of the ARL network at all career levels for more in-depth technical discussions.
About ARLS and NSBE
The choice to locate the ARL Symposium at the NSBE annual convention is strategic. Currently, minimal programming is available at the NSBE National Convention for senior graduate students focused on academic careers, and researchers in academia and industry who may have participated in previous K-12, undergraduate and graduate NSBE activities. The ARLS will improve membership retention and help other minority engineers matriculate successfully through the academic and research workforce in universities, national laboratories and industry. The impacts of the ARL Symposium are many-fold, and include the following: this symposium serves as a (1) meeting place for minority researchers to share and gain new ideas leading to new intellectual products and technologies that benefit society; (2) constant pool of diverse faculty candidates for universities and researchers for government/industrial laboratories; (3) pool for funding agencies’ program managers needing to diversify their review panels; (4) pool of qualified senior Ph.D. students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty that can develop content for and teach workshops that are of critical importance to the success of the current NSBE graduate school conference (GSC); (5) critical mass of engaged minority researchers that can introduce ideas for increasing minority interest in the Ph.D. in ways not currently possible; and (6) “showcase” of minority researchers on scales that have never existed, that is also strategically placed in a venue with a built in audience of emerging minority engineers.