Summary: <br> At some point in your graduate training, you’ll want to host an event.<br> <br> <br> <br> For many students, that will mean inviting a speaker for a special seminar. For others, it might be an outreach event or a departmental retreat.<br> <br> <br> <br> But no matter the purpose, you’ll probably feel a little lost as you try to nail down all the details during weeks or months of preparation.<br> <br> <br> <br> We can’t make every scientist a certified event planner, but we’re here with a step-by-step guide for making your seminar or gathering a roaring success!<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Event Planning 101<br> <br> <br> <br> We start by sharing the hilarious and helpful article that inspired this episode: <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2021/04/how-not-plan-scientific-event">How (not) to plan a scientific event</a> by Adam Ruben for Science Careers.<br> <br> <br> <br> In it, Ruben relates his recent experience as an invited speaker at a University, only to find out that everything has gone wrong. He uses that story as a jumping-off point for all the ways you could REALLY screw up an event if you wanted to.<br> <br> <br> <br> The advice is instructive, as long as you do the exact opposite! For example, he writes:<br> <br> <br> <br> “If it’s a virtual event, provide a Zoom link—but only on paper, so that participants not only have to type an overwhelming string of characters but also have to figure out which ones are capital O’s and I’s versus zeroes and lowercase L’s. It should take participants at least an hour to type the information.”<br> <br> <br> <br> We pick up his thread on the other side – what exactly SHOULD you be doing if you want to plan an event?<br> <br> <br> <br> Planning is all about the Who, What, When, Where, and How on Earth am I supposed to get all of this done on time? We’ll start with the Who and What.<br> <br> <br> <br> Know Your Audience<br> <br> <br> <br> A successful event starts with understanding your audience – who exactly are you hosting this event for?<br> <br> <br> <br> It’s the first consideration because it will help you determine so many other things about the event.<br> <br> <br> <br> For example, if you want to host a seminar for grad students in your department, you might choose a speaker with a relevant career, you’ll pick a venue that will fit your cohort, and you’ll supply pizza. A seminar for the wider community might mean a bigger venue, a speaker who can translate complex topics for a lay audience, and much MORE pizza.<br> <br> <br> <br> Do your best to define that target audience. Write it down and share it with your collaborators so you’re all on the same page about who this event will serve.<br> <br> <br> <br> Timing is Everything<br> <br> <br> <br> Next up, the “When?” <br> <br> <br> <br> For any event, your goal is to book it at that perfect moment when everyone in the target audience can, and will, attend. That means avoiding conflicts, and aligning with motivations.<br> <br> <br> <br> Conflicts come in many forms. Check your department calendar to make sure you’re not double-booking your event with the journal club, weekly seminar, or fall retreat. Avoid the major conference dates when people are either attending the meeting or scrambling to create a poster.<br> <br> <br> <br> And it goes without saying that you’ll want to avoid holidays or even summer months when many people take extended vacations.<br> <br> <br> <br> The time is just as important as the date! Pay attention to the department’s normal rhythm for events like yours. If you book the talk at 8AM on Monday morning, you can be sure no one will remember or be awake. Same for 6PM on Friday afternoon.
