EECS601: Intro to CSE Graduate Research (Fall 2023)

Purpose of this Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to form clear expectations with your advisor. We recognize that not all students have advisors or may not be able to get in touch with their advisor for the purpose of this assignment. Thus, students may choose to instead complete the second option which encourages them to reflect on the potential mentors in their life.

Task

If you are a PhD or Masters student with a research advisor, you must complete Option 1. If you fall into this category but cannot complete Option 1, you may complete Option 2 and email the instructors before the due date the reason why you cannot complete Option 1.

If you are Masters student without a research advisor, you may complete Option 2.

Option 1 - Developing Shared Expectations. Create a mentoring plan with your advisor. A mentoring plan is a two-way agreement detailing the expectations of your working relationship. We highly recommend that you use the Rackham MORE template, though you may add any discussion points based on your own preferences. Make sure to discuss: communication preferences, one-on-one and group meetings, research project roles, opportunities for feedback, your professional goals and/or skills development, and deadlines for the upcoming year (if any). The contents of your mentoring plan should be developed through a discussion with your advisor. This discussion can be done by video-conferencing (preferred) or via alternative methods of communication. Scan and submit your completed mentoring plan below.

Option 2 - Identifying Mentors. Reflect on your mentee expectation worksheet from class (If you did not complete this worksheet, it can be found here on p. 24-25 (Links to an external site.)). Identify three people in your life that could mentor you on any of the items you deemed important. You are welcome to include items beyond those listed on the worksheet. The items you choose should be distinct, and you can identify multiple topics for each potential mentor. For example, a senior graduate student could help you practice for job interviews and teach you about networking. For each of the three potential mentors that you identified, write a paragraph that details:

• Who you identified as a potential mentor

• What you would expect to gain from the mentoring relationship (e.g. practice for job interviews)

• Why you believe this topic is important for your success as a graduate student

• Why you think the person you identified would serve as an adequate mentor on this topic Then, contact one of the three prospective mentors and arrange a meeting with them to discuss the goals you identified above. In your submission, include which mentor you contacted and how they responded. Write a short reflection (1-2 paragraphs) on what you enjoyed during this experience, and what you would like to improve when contacting or interacting with future mentors.

Due Date: Friday October 6th, 2023

What to submit: Please submit your response as a pdf to this Google Form