Coastal Institute IGERT Project (CIIP) Trainee Job Description

 

The University of Rhode Island Coastal Institute invites highly motivated graduate students in their first or second year who are pursuing Ph.D. studies in coastal disciplines to apply for Integrated Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) fellowships.  The IGERT fellowship is a National Science Foundation funded two year program designed to foster an integrated multidisciplinary approach to problem solving in science. A successful trainee candidate will demonstrate interest and experience in an area of research pertaining to the coastal environment and be willing to integrate the Coastal Institute IGERT Program (CIIP) philosophy of multidisciplinary thinking into their work as a Ph.D. student.  Candidates must also be motivated to learn from other disciplines, and be a good team member.

 

      The IGERT program seeks to break down traditional instructor-student relationship roles both inside and outside of the classroom.  Trainees are encouraged to take on leadership or support roles as appropriate while working closely with faculty and peers to design, execute, and evaluate the CIIP curriculum. Trainees contribute to and learn from a diverse team of students, faculty, staff, and guest speakers in an atmosphere of cooperation and camaraderie.  Trainees must respect and encourage differing points of view, offer support to each other, and develop the ability to effectively give and receive feedback both peer to peer and with the faculty.  Working in groups and independently, trainees must challenge themselves and their peers to discover personal strengths and weaknesses, embrace situations which require thinking and acting outside of their comfort zone, and demonstrate a willingness to take initiative.  Trainees will also be challenged to adapt to changes in the curriculum as they program evolves, and to assist in and offer feedback for strengthening the program.  Over the course of the CIIP curriculum, trainees will enhance their ability to think critically and communicate effectively and proficiently to multiple audiences.   

 

      During the first year of the fellowship, trainees will participate fully in all aspects of a multidisciplinary problem solving course.  Trainees will also attend a one week intensive winter session course in communication and leadership, and participate in a three month spring partnership with a non-academic host institution for which trainees will research and write a white paper on a coastal issue.  Between the first and second years, trainees will participate in, and assist in organizing a one month long field and lab practicum which reviews methods of collecting and analyzing data in different disciplines.  During the second year of the program, trainees will be responsible for planning and supervision of the fall course for the next year’s cohort of trainees, as well as conducting a six month intensive on-site internship experience with a non-academic partner institution.  During the entire process, trainees will be involved in ongoing evaluation and critique of themselves, peers, faculty, and the curriculum in general.  Throughout these tasks, CIIP trainees will demonstrate a high level of independent thought, integrity, responsibility, motivation, and professionalism.  Trainees will work together to maintain an enjoyable and exciting atmosphere while constantly challenging themselves and their peers to achieve excellence, and to be ambassadors of the Coastal Institute to URI and the greater Rhode Island community.

       

 

* Prepared by CIIP Trainees, January 2007

 

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