Leadership and Professional Development Opportunities

Stanford’s graduate students will be leaders in educational, governmental, business, community, and social organizations throughout their lives. This will require more than expertise in your particular field. You will need skills and abilities in leadership, communications, and management.

Stanford offers many ways to learn and practice important skills.

Student Projects for Intellectual Community Enhancement (SPICE)

VPGE is offering funds for student organizations within academic departments to support student-led initiatives to create and sustain intellectual community. See additional information and application materials.

SUMMER 2008 - Free Writing Help for Graduate Students

  • Individual Consultation - Get 1-on-1 help with whatever you're working on. 30-minute or 1-hour consultations are available between July 8 - Sept 11 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 - 4. Make an appointment at http://hwc.stanford.edu, or drop in at Building 460, room 020.
  • Dissertation Bootcamp - An intensive 2-week experience for students in the final stages of dissertation writing, maximum enrollment 20 students each.
    Session 1, June 20 - July 3, registration begins on June 9 at 10am.
    Session 2, August 12 - 22, registration begins on July 28 at 10am. Registration requires a $100 refundable payment. See detailed description.
  • Workshops - Seven different workshops for graduate students and postdocs are offered for free.
    • Establishing an Effective Dissertation Writing Group. Monday, June 30. Noon – 2pm
    • Writing and Publishing the Journal Article. Monday, July 14,
      2-4pm
    • Writing Fellowship Proposals (Humanities and Social Sciences). Thursday, July 31. 7-9pm
    • Writing the Dissertation: Getting Started (Sciences and Engineering). Tuesday, August 5. 7-9pm
    • Writing Fellowship Proposals (Sciences and Engineering). Wednesday, August 6. 7-9pm
    • How to Get the Most Out of Academic and Professional Conferences. Friday, August 15. 4-6pm

See detailed descriptions and sign-up information.

Other Written and Oral Communication

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Leadership Development

  • GSBGEN 374: Interpersonal Influence and Leadership. Open to graduate students outside of the school of business, this course combines two popular and long-standing GSB courses. It teaches students to build productive, effective and rewarding relationships at work. Students develop self-awareness, and learn to raise and work through difficult issues, to give and receive feedback, and to work effectively in groups. Winter quarter. For more information, including the pre-qualification assignment (due October 15, 2007), see the course Web site.
  • IMMUNOL240: Professional & Leadership Development. Open to bioscience graduate students, this course complements their scientific training and focuses on interpersonal skills relevant to the scientific arenas of academia, research, development, business, and government. Students develop their skills in communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, and presentation. Spring quarter. For more information, including the short pre-qualification application (due March 1, 2008) see course website.
  • Haas Center for Public Service

Management and Entrepreneurship

  • Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) , the entrepreneurship education and research center, teaches courses in innovation, creativity, and entrepeneurship.
  • Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (aka the d.school) embraces design thinking as the glue for multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation. The d.school teaches project-based interdisciplinary classes. d.school classes are team taught and loosely organized into themes or initiatives (social entrepreneurship, business and design). Participants get to tackle real world projects to learn more about design thinking and practice innovating together.

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Career Mentoring and Development

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