Faculty Mentorship RoundtableSPLASH 2021

Being a faculty was already a stressful job even before the pandemic, yet the challenges caused by the pandemic make this even more stressful. The good news is that you do not have to walk alone. We invite you to join and be thinking partners with others who have been walking along the same journey. The Faculty Mentorship Roundtable program at SPLASH’21 aims to connect junior faculty with more senior mentors, and with peers at similar stage of their career. It is intended to provide a low-pressure atmosphere to foster building one’s support group and mentorship.

Junior participants will have the opportunity to suggest the topics they struggle with, ranging from research directions to career tips to “soft skills” (e.g., helping students through the mental distress caused by the pandemic, strategies for increasing one’s resilience, managing priorities, a quality process for hiring students, mentoring students to grow into tomorrow’s leaders, etc). Mentors will get to meet junior faculty who may become rising stars and pass along their tips for success in software research and mentoring students.

The expected outcomes are:

• Increase the feelings of community and belonging among junior faculty through positive interactions with peers and more established faculty
• Exchange peer-best-practices in developing students (especially amidst all the challenges caused by the pandemic), along with lessons learned from trial-and-error
• Establish new connections and collaborations between junior and more established faculty
• Grow the roundtable discussion group into a support group that will be a growth and accountability resource long after SPLASH’21
• Create a culture of support, growth, and welcoming in our research community.

This session follows the success of the Faculty Mentorship Roundtables from FSE’18, ICSE’19, ICSME’19, ASE’19. The main motivation is the desire of junior faculty to discuss career advice with members of the community that have had more time to experiment and learn, and openly discuss solutions on how to hire, train and develop the next generation of students to become tomorrow’s technical leaders. We will discuss proven methods to raise student leaders, for example the philosophy and legacy of David Notkin “Focus on the students, since graduating great students means you’ll produce great research, while focusing on the research may or may not produce great students.”

By identifying faculty who are willing and excited to share what they are learning, we aim to reduce the pressure on the young faculty and facilitate connections in a relaxed atmosphere. The Faculty Mentorship Roundtable program will be held during lunch on Wed (Oct 20) and Thu (Oct 21) at the main SPLASH conference. We will have roundtable discussions during the lunch period to make it maximally easy for all participants to schedule. In-person participants attending SPLASH’21 will get a lunch-box and then walk to a nearby safe, socially-distanced place outside the main hotel. We will also strive to provide at least one roundtable for women only to make it easier for women faculty to address issues that are difficult in a gender-mixed roundtable.

Younger participants in the mentoring session will express which research areas they work in (and optionally which senior researchers they would like to meet) and what are the main struggles where they need advice. Based on these preferences, the organizers of the mentoring session will form the roundtable groups.

How To Participate

How To Participate

Application

Faculty will apply to the mentorship sessions using a brief application process. We ask for the following information: Stage in career (pre- or post-tenure faculty, etc.), What research area they work in, Whether they had a faculty support group in the past and how this engaged them, What are the main challenges they see they are not fully resourced to handle, and (Optional) Who they would like to meet with as a mentor.

Selection Process

We have only 20 slots available for faculty in this program. Mentors in the program are selected initially by the organizing committee, based on recommendations from other faculty that attended similar events. We will expand based on requests from participants. Junior researchers will be selected by the organizers based on a combination of factors, including experience, stage of career, and their needs and challenges, as indicated above. We aim to select a diverse group, based on the need for mentorship.

In-Person Participation

The Faculty Mentorship Roundtable program will be held during lunch on Wed (Oct 20) and Thu (Oct 21) at the main SPLASH conference. We will have roundtable discussions during the lunch period to make it maximally easy for all participants to schedule. In-person participants attending SPLASH’21 will get a lunch-box and then walk to a nearby safe, socially-distanced place outside the main hotel. We will also strive to provide at least one roundtable for women only to make it easier for women faculty to address issues that are difficult in a gender-mixed roundtable.

Younger participants in the mentoring session will express which research areas they work in (and optionally which senior researchers they would like to meet) and what are the main struggles where they need advice. Based on these preferences, the organizers of the mentoring session will form the roundtable groups.

Important Dates

Application deadline: Oct 16, 2021 EOD Anywhere on Earth.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/s5svchFaneaLLT568

Notification: Oct 18, 2021