Purpose
The purpose of the Network Partnership Program (NPP) is to help New-to-GLEON participants engage in effective, friendly networking and integration into the community of people and collaboration.
How did NPP Begin?
The program was developed by the GLEON Student Association (GSA) in 2009, in response to the perceived need* for a supportive environment for both students/early-career scientists & new members to the community. *Thanks to the previous GLEON Meeting survey results many of you contributed to, and recommendations made by the Committee for inClusive Collaboration (CCC).
NPP Roles
New-to-GLEON Partner (NP): the 1st- or 2nd-time GLEON meeting attendee:
- If you are a student and this is your first or second time attending a GLEON meeting/workshop, you will be enrolled as a NP automatically via GLEON meeting registration;
- If you are *not* a student but new to GLEON, you have the option to choose to sign up as a NP through the GLEON meeting registration;
GLEON Partner (GP): this is your 3rd time or more attending GLEON all-hands meeting:
- You can be a faculty member, scientist, technician or student that has been to more than two GLEON events AND willing to participate in NPP in a mentoring role. Sign up is available through the meeting Registration.
- The NPP organizers (GSA and CCC members) may invite you directly, too, to be a GP - depending on the demand & number of NP attending the meeting. (Translation: we need as many GP as we can get! This program is always in high-demand, since GLEON 13!)
Summary
| Student | Non-Student | |
|---|---|---|
| New-to-GLEON Partner (NP) | If this is your 1st or 2nd GLEON meeting. Automatically enrolled. | If this is your 1st GLEON meeting. Optional. |
| GLEON Partner (GP) | If you have been to 2 or more GLEON events please consider volunteering to be a GP! :-) | You have been to 2 or more GLEON meetings -- Please consider volunteering to be a GP for New-to-GLEON students. We need you! |
Pairing of Network Partners
The GSA and CCC work together to pair *one New-to-GLEON Partner (NP) with one GLEON Partner (GP) after the GLEON meeting Registration closes.
*Sometimes we may need to pair two NPs with one GP, depending on the registration results and availability of each role.
Suggested Activities and Expectations of Both Roles
The exact terms of the networking partnership will vary depending on the particular needs of your partner. Here are a few suggestions that NPP partners from the past GLEON meetings have honored and worked well:
- The GLEON Partner (GP) is expected to be friendly and supportive, to make frequent contact with the New-to-GLEON Partner (NP), introduce him/her to other GLEON members, help identify similar or complementary research interests among GLEON meeting attendees and general membership.
- The GP visits the NP's poster during the Poster Session, helps facilitate interactions with the audience if need be.
- NP and GP share at least one meal together during the GLEON meeting week.
Fun Facts of NP & GP Roles Development & Successful Collaborations
- When NPP was first implemented, the roles were 'Student Partner' and 'Senior Partner'.
- At G11 (Nanjing, China), it occurred to the organizers that some very experienced GLEON members are students or early-career/young scientists. 'Senior Partner' was not exactly advertising itself to solicit volunteers... Additionally, there were requests from mid-career and experienced scientists, interested in participating in the NPP because they had not been to any GLEON meetings before. Hence the re-naming of New-to-GLEON Partner and GLEON Partner - age is irrelevant!
- In GLEON we do not brand NPP roles as simply mentor vs mentee. We believe both partners contribute to the networking relationship - the GP may be more experienced in GLEON connections, but the NP often helps the GP extend his/her networks of collaborators as well.
- Here is one example through the serendipity of a NPP partnership at GLEON 13 (Lake Sunapee, October 2011), a collaborative relationship between two labs in Brazil and Denmark are formed, and they have continued to develop multiple projects, experiments, publications and scholarly exchanges.
How do I sign-up for the NPP?
GLEON All Hands' Meeting attendees can sign-up for the Network Partnership Program (NPP) during meeting registration.
Questions about NPP?
Contact the Committee for inClusive Collaboration (CCC) or GSA: gsa.gleon@gmail.com.
Updated: 6 September 2024