Promoting Team Building, Collaboration and Communication Skills in Graduate Students through Interactive Scientific Retreats
Authors: Schmidt Jean Marie , Porter James T , Rivera‐Amill Vanessa , Appleyard Caroline B 
Published: June 2021

Graduate students in the biomedical sciences receive intensive training in theory and hands‐on practice related to their scientific area of interest as part of their curriculum. Tools to help them find balance between work and personal life are still needed to ensure a successful graduate experience. We organized a philosophy of science retreat each summer between students in our biomedical sciences training program at Ponce Health Sciences University (RISE) and its faculty and staff in a less formal atmosphere.

Aim

To promote team building, improve collaborations and enhance communication skills in our graduate students.

Methods

Based on student feedback, we developed a yearly retreat focused on enhancing students' ‘soft skills' and professionalism. The retreat themes of “Who am I?”, “Leadership: A path to independence”, “Assertive Communication: key to success”, “Career Diversity’, “Science and Wellness' and “How to become a Science Ambassador” were addressed through short presentations, case studies, live podcast, webinars, focus groups, role play, and breakout sessions with various team building exercises to practice communication skills, and identify abilities, knowledge, values and behaviors. The retreats were held off‐site in a secluded location over 1.5–2.5 days. Prior to the retreat, participants were provided with relevant articles, books and case studies. Trainees gave short presentations and served as discussion leaders on topics related to the main theme of the retreat. Team building exercises and interactive activities accompanied the sessions. Guest speakers with expertise in the retreat theme participated in discussion sessions with the students. Evaluations were completed by all trainees at the end of the retreat.

Results

Over the past 6 years, a total of 32 trainees, 9 RISE Program faculty and staff, and 15 external speakers from industry, academia, media/journalism, the arts, psychology and holistic medical fields participated. The overall benefit of each retreat was rated 5.0 on a Likert scale of 1–5 by all trainees and 100% of the participants agreed the experience was productive and beneficial, with a good balance between talks and hands‐on activities. Feedback from the trainees indicated that they particularly enjoyed being able to share time and interact in a more personal manner with RISE program faculty, staff and fellow trainees. Participants expressed that the retreats allowed them to gain a better perspective of their strengths and weaknesses, and how they ‘fit’ into the RISE community. They also appreciated having the opportunity to learn soft skills, such as interpersonal communication, conflict resolution and leadership, which enhance their preparation for a career in science. Trainees stated that the retreats provided them with the motivation and inspiration to reach their scientific and personal goals.

Conclusions

Off‐site interactive science‐related retreats are a valuable tool for enhancing soft skills and sense of team identity in a biomedical sciences graduate program, while covering important issues related to pursuing a career in science.

Support or Funding Information

R25GM082406

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.