Guideline for Q/A session in departmental seminars.
Seminars, and the exchange of ideas and networking that they generate, can be a vital part of the academic endeavor. Being exposed to the thinking and the work of our guest speakers can be a catalytic thing for all of us as we seek to understand the context and advances of our own areas of work. The Q/A in seminars that results, and the person-to-person meetings we have (especially under ‘normal conditions’), are thus key activities as we work to excel as individual scientists and as a department.
We are excited to see the high attendance, increasing interests, and active discussions in our departmental seminars, especially over the last year or so, when these opportunities have been so strongly constrained by having to be done remotely. It is thus particularly important to think about how we can create a safe and inclusive learning environment for us and our guests. This means encouraging all of us to think about our participation in these visits. We hope these guidelines can create an atmosphere that is focused on the exchange of ideas and care for the relationship we hope to develop with our guests.
To ensure an inclusive and supportive atmosphere for scientific dialogs, please follow the following guidelines when you ask questions.
- All are encouraged to ask questions during the Q/A session after speech, especially graduate students and postdocs. Please keep asking interesting scientific questions. Some helpful suggestions for ‘getting in the spirit’ of this are appended below.
- We hope to encourage participation of graduate students by requesting that the first question be asked by a graduate student.
- We ask that questions be restricted to the content and context of the seminar and our visitor’s professional expertise whereaspersonal and political questions should be avoided. Although more socially-oriented discussions can sometimes be appropriate with visitors during face-to-face meetings (for example in small dinner groups etc), keep in mind that our seminars and the Q/A sessions are public and that they are recorded (this is true even when visitors are here in person).
Our hope is that the guideline will facilitate a positive and enjoyable environment that enhances the goals of our department and the professional development of each of us. These visits are valuable and worth enjoying as much as we can!
Many thanks for helping with our seminar series!
Some helpful ways to help generate interesting questions to ask at seminars (you might think of this as an ‘art-form’):
- Be open about the area of work encompassed by the seminar, and the conceptual and broader context for the speaker’s presentation. This means that we can hope to learn about and consider how our own, generally more specialized, work might interface with other areas of biology. This means we can use our thinking creatively in ways that might not be possible if we just read the person’s work.
- Focus on the work presented on its own grounds so that you can maximize the understanding of the speakers work and engage with that work.
- Think about areas you might want to engage with the work presented during the presentation. This means the questions you might chose to ask can be more precise and well formulated and thus benefit everyone. You might even write these down during the seminar so you are more comfortable when the moment comes.
- Think carefully about which of the many questions you might have will most enhance the engagement of our entire department. Who knows, your question might enhance networking and cross-talk within our department as well as with the speaker!