Group Values and Expectations

When you commit to a PhD (or other menteeship) in a research group, it’s incredibly important to know what you’re getting into. We seek to be as transparent as possible about the culture we strive to create in the ACME group by laying it out here on our website. Group members are also encouraged to submit pull requests to amend/update this document!

Values

All group members strive to uphold the following qualities and principles:

• Curiosity! We’re here because we like to learn and to create new knowledge. To do so, it’s imperative to constantly be asking questions of ourselves and of each other.
• Honesty and openness
  • We will uphold the principles of academic integrity in our research
  • When possible, we will be advocates for open access to code and research
  • We will be honest with ourselves and each other about what we know and what we don’t know, and whether we clearly understand our expectations of each other
• Good faith engagement and mutual support/respect
  • We will do the best we can at all times, recognizing that what our best is is itself a time-varying function (hopefully with a mostly positive first derivative)
  • We will support each other (both professionally and personally) and strive to be active members of the group and broader department/University communities

Expectations

The prior section can be thought of as setting out expectations that everyone in the group can have of everyone else. Here are a few expectations that go in particular directions.

What YOU (a mentee) can expect of ME (Rachel)

• To be available to you as a mentor in a generally timely fashion
• To set clear and reasonable expectations about your progress in your work
• To provide the resources (financial, computational, physical, professional) you need to be successful in that work
• To be attentive to your long-term career goals and help you work towards realizing them

What I (Rachel) expect of YOU (a mentee)

• Diligence to remain in good standing in your academic program
• Taking initiative (within reason) to seek out new knowledge, resources, and skills:
  • Keeping up with literature related to your area of research
  • Applying for funding opportunities such as fellowships, conference travel support, etc.
  • Developing communication skills: writing, presentations, etc.

Note that the fact that I expect you to do these things does NOT mean I expect you to do them alone! I am happy to help you in these matters, but I expect you to be proactive in engaging with them!