University of California
President's and Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs
2011 Academic Retreat
Friday, September 30 – Sunday, October 2, 2011
UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center
- Agenda (pdf)
- Directions
- REGISTRATION FORMS
- Contact Information (pdf)
REGISTER NOW! for the 2011 Academic Retreat for Postdoctoral Fellows and their Mentors. The retreat was developed to provide opportunities for postdoctoral fellows to present research papers and to receive both substantive and stylistic feedback on their presentations. The retreat is also an opportunity to network with UC faculty members and other postdoctoral fellows and relax in the beautiful environment of the Lake Arrowhead Conference Center.
Each fellow will have an opportunity to present a 25-minute discussion of their research in group sessions organized by discipline to facilitate in-depth discussion and questions. These presentations are an opportunity to prepare for job interviews and to practice presenting papers at professional meetings or other public events. Each presentation will be followed by an additional 10 minutes for Q&A.
Faculty mentors and other University faculty are being invited to this retreat to serve as the audience for these presentations, and to provide constructive feedback and comments for fellows on their research and career goals. Fellows will also have the opportunity to attend each other’s presentations and offer suggestions and responses to the research.
Other programs will include workshops on grant writing, publishing, the academic job search, and the tenure process.
Last year's retreat was another incredible success! We invite you to read some of the comments from faculty and fellows who attended previous retreats.
Here's how some postdocs described the most valuable aspects of the retreat:
"The fellow’s presentation of the research – they're brilliant!"
"The fellow’s presentations were exciting and promising."
"Written response to my presentations, and the former fellows were also great."
"The professional development on the second day – really helpful."
"My favorite retreat!"
"The research presentations are immensely valuable – both as models and for feedback received. I also think the social time (reception, meals) are very important for meeting people."
"Meeting faculty from other campuses is extremely useful."
"Brilliant retreat! You did an excellent job, as always!"
"This event is one of the highlights of my academic year! Keep up the good work."
"The networking is always the most important."
"Being forced to organize a talk – helped organize my plan!"
"The presentation portion was very helpful because of the great feedback and advice that I received. I also found the discussion groups extremely beneficial. UC faculty gave very important insight into the job search, negotiations, and the tenure process. This retreat has been uplifting and I thank the UC president’s fellowship for this wonderful opportunity."
Some comments from faculty mentors and former fellows:
"Really enjoyed the talks. The fellows are doing great interdisciplinary work."
"All 4 aspects were valuable to me; the postdoc’s presentations were excellent; the evening lectures interesting and delightful; and meeting the program leadership, the fellows and other mentors was very interesting and very special- thank you!"
"The presentations on Saturday were helpful to understand the quality of the program"
"Learning about [postdoctoral fellow's] research is a really special opportunity for faculty – we see the new work going on, we can provide networks for our own students and postdocs."
"I like how we featured the research of our former fellows in the evening presentations. Speaking with senior faculty about aspects of career advancement and networking. Learning about exciting new research."