Type
Presentation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/q1cx-km07
Session Description
The brainchild of our former colleague Celestina Savonius-Wroth, IU Libraries’ event “Supercharge Your Dissertation” has become an avenue for community, connection, and one of our most popular offerings for dissertating graduate students. We have taken up the mantle to provide a welcoming atmosphere and support network for our graduate students. Routinely through surveys and discussions, graduate students note that they feel quite alone during the dissertation process. They have support through their department, colleagues, and other avenues, but the writing process itself is a very solitary activity and can be isolating. The Supercharge event is one way to combat this by bringing them into a community where they can learn and discuss their process and challenges together.
Initially structured as a day-long “mini conference,” featuring presentations, a lunch, and chance for discussion, we have had to innovate its format while still maintaining its original goals of inspiration and support during the pandemic. Through partnerships with the University Graduate School, Writing Tutorial Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, subject librarians, IU Press, and more, we are able to connect students to the wide array of resources, people, and services available to them through each step of their writing journey at this large and sometimes labyrinthian university. This presentation will discuss the event’s original format as well as its pandemic iterations which differ radically to meet the time and needs. I will highlight successes, developments, and difficulties with this initiative, as well as the partnerships it maintains through the university community.
This session will be of interest to programming librarians, and also those who routinely work with support offices on campus. I hope it will also be helpful to those attempting to assess and address graduate needs, particularly those of students who have made it past the coursework portion of their PhD program.
Type of Library
University Library
Keywords
graduate, graduate students, graduate student support, campus partnerships, campus partners, dissertation support, writing support, writing, dissertation, grads, grad students, outreach, library outreach, events, workshops, symposium
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
From Supercharging to Rewiring to Thriving: Dissertation Support and Partnerships
Comments
https://doi.org/10.7275/q1cx-km07