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What's Your Work About?

What’s Your Work About? Written, Visual & Spoken Communication of Research

Learning how to communicate your research is invaluable in terms of your professional development and can be an important part of your career as a graduate student and beyond. Join us in this five-week program to develop your written, visual, and spoken communication skills. This program brings together GPSPD partners from the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center, the UT Libraries, and the Graduate School to help you as you answer the question “What’s Your Work About?”

All sessions will take place in person in Haslam Business Building, West Wing, and on Zoom accessed through a Canvas course available to registered attendees. These sessions will be recorded and accessible through the course for those unable to attend the live session.

Registration is now open and will remain open until October 2.

Being a Research Communicator

August 29, 2023—5:30p.m.–7p.m.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this session will take place on Zoom only. Registered participants can get the Zoom URL on the Canvas course.

The current media landscape has set the stage for researchers, including graduate students, to be research communicators. Whether it is to talk about your work to your colleagues, the media, funders, legislators, or your own family, you will find yourself needing to get your ideas across in a way that your audience can understand. In this session, we’ll talk about changes in traditional media and the advent of technologies like social media and discuss some of the main issues to consider when someone asks, “What’s Your Work About?”

Crafting Clear and Compelling Abstracts

September 5, 2023—5:30p.m.–7p.m.

This workshop will outline the purpose, expectations, and general structure of an abstract, a genre used to communicate complex ideas concisely for other researchers. The session is designed for graduate students who are or will be preparing to submit an abstract to present at a conference or for publication and will include hands-on writing practice.

Designing a Research Poster

September 12, 2023—5:30p.m.–7p.m.

Note that there has been a room change for this session. For those joining in person, the room is Haslam 402.

This workshop is designed to provide introductory information for individuals designing research posters. Participants will explore poster design concepts, research poster elements, software available for poster design, and campus resources to support poster design and printing. This session is designed for graduate students who plan to share their work through a research poster presentation and will include hands-on time to explore design software, during which students can work with sample data or bring their own data to work with.

Research as Storytelling

September 19, 2023—5:30p.m.–7p.m.

This workshop will provide tools and techniques for using the spoken word to communicate your research to a variety of audiences. This session is designed for graduate students who envision themselves explaining their work to potential funders, community partners, and other researchers in a way that is clear and compelling.

Feedback Session

October 3, 2023—5:30p.m.–7p.m.

In this session, participants will share works they have created or are currently working on (written, visual, or spoken). Session attendees and facilitators will provide constructive feedback and comments.

Certificates

The following participants have received certificates of completion. Starting Fall 2022, participants who attend all five sessions will receive a digital badge to let others know you’ve completed the series.

Fall 2019

  • Tori Bertram—PhD, Communication Studies
  • Jacob Dein—MS, Geography
  • Melissa Dein—MS, Food Science

Spring 2020

  • Kelly Buch—PhD, Mathematics
  • Johnny Richwine—PhD, Natural Resources

Fall 2020

  • Caroline Joy Billings—DVM, Veterinary Medicine
  • Gretchen Cook—PhD, Teacher Education
  • Burak Demir—PhD, Political Science
  • Meredith Goins—PhD, Communication and Information
  • Jennifer Sickles Huffman—MS, Information Sciences
  • Monica Keller—PhD, Education
  • Katherine Trubee—PhD, Political Science

Spring 2021

  • Amani Alshehri—PhD, Education
  • Marea Blake—PhD, Chemistry
  • Julie Coulombe—MS, Geology
  • Bobbie Ditzler—DVM, Veterinary Medicine
  • London Evans—MS, Recreation and Sport Management
  • Stephen Fatokun—PhD, Energy Science and Engineering
  • Tabatha Rainwater—PhD, Education
  • Ashley Reeves—DVM, Veterinary Medicine
  • Kristin Schrader—PhD, Communication and Information
  • Anisha Singh—PhD, Public Health Sciences
  • Indrani Singh—PhD, Education
  • Ge Wu—PhD, Economics

Fall 2021

  • Adedasola Ademola—PhD, Energy Science and Engineering
  • Lauren Munoz—PhD, Nursing
  • Alexandra I Rotzer—PhD, Political Science
  • Simon Rotzer—PhD, Political Science
  • Shahad Subiani—PhD, Child and Family Studies

Fall 2022

  • Scott Alan Benson—PhD, Psychology
  • Joseph Kingsley—PhD, Energy Science and Engineering
  • Tur Chung Lee—PhD, Education
  • Dale Michael Adams TeGantvoort—PhD, Higher Education Administration

Spring 2023

  • Ryan Gesme—PhD, History
  • Katelin Hubbard—PhD, Nutritional Sciences
  • Linh Mac—PhD, Philosophy
  • Iyanuoluwa Oyetunji—PhD, Nutritional Sciences