Overview of Our Programming

Learning how to do great science requires a toolbox of skills. Skills for effectively communicating science. To secure funding for scientific work. To identify where and when job opportunities arise. To get the offers to start your first job and build the record to keep that job. No one takes a class to acquire this toolbox, who has the time? Yet, we still need these tools, so where do we find them? We launched the Future Directions Forum to help you build your scientific toolbox. At the Forum, we dedicate a full day to offering professional development workshops, as well as small group and one-on-one expert consultations on all aspects of academic work. In keeping with our focus on the future of science, we also dedicate time to learning about innovative areas of mental health research, based on featured content from a leading mental health journal, the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (JCCAP). In particular, thought leaders write articles for JCCAP’s Future Directions series, and these scholars devote their careers to topics as diverse as health disparities, implementation science, neuroscience, sleep, stigma, and suicide. As such, at the Forum we cover research relevant to anyone allied with disciplines for which its scholars share interests in mental health, including Counseling, Education, Human Development, Neuroscience, Nursing, Pediatrics, Psychology, Psychiatry, Public Health and Policy, Social Work, and Sociology. 

Yet, learning new skills and learning about the future of science only gets you so far. Some of you need a space to showcase those skills and what you have to offer. Many of you are looking to apply these skills to your ongoing work. Thus, a key element of the Forum is that it raises the public awareness of its attendees and provides them with mentoring on taking their work to the next level. Our Forum Science Social features poster presentations rendered in an all-digital environment, and we leverage the small, intimate atmosphere of the meeting for networking opportunities between presenters and the world-class speakers we invite to the Forum. We also leverage this atmosphere for our Talks-to-Tales Series, wherein attendees deliver talks in an innovative setting. The talk serves as a vehicle for receiving mentoring on how to translate research findings into scholarly products, by leveraging the power of narrative structure and principles of science communication. 

Overview of Our Theme for 2023: Living a Balanced Academic Life

An academic’s toolbox of skills is not limited to those tools that facilitate producing impactful work. These tools must also help you address a perennial challenge with working in academic settings. In particular, to lead a healthy, balanced academic life, we at the Forum are mindful of the need to disengage from your work on a regular basis to reduce the effects of job-related stressors and the risk of burnout. However, how often do we have a platform for learning strategies to lead a balanced academic life? How do we stay productive in our work and at the same time, stay human and find time to unwind? In an effort to begin building these resources, our theme for this year―Living a Balanced Academic Life―inspired us to build programming that literally strikes a balance between academic skills and skills for balancing work and life. We intentionally recruited members of our Professional Development Team who not only can serve as effective mentors on a host of aspects of academic work, but also have the capacity to consult on making time for life outside of work. Our programming includes activities for both work and life, and we intentionally built a programming schedule that allocates “work programming” for later in the day, to give attendees the morning for time to themselves, as well as copious amounts of space on the schedule for “life programming.” 

The result: An exciting suite of programming designed to flow at a pace that you find manageable, so that you leave the Forum inspired, invigorated, and inclined to apply what you learned!            

Visit Our Website for an Extended Description of Our 2023 Programming and Stay Tuned for Information on Registration!

More From Spring 2023

More From Spring 2023

More From Spring 2023

More From Spring 2023