Professional
Advising Leadership (PAL) 2006
Shevanti Narayan, USEFI, Kolkata
Executive Summary
Title: Graduate Program Search Methodology
Objectives:
- To expand knowledge about specialized graduate
programs in Biosciences and develop key contacts in the universities who are
responsible for planning, administering and regulating graduate programs.
- To gain a clear understanding of how search
engines work & be familiar with search mechanisms.
- To learn to combine different resources to
locate universities which fit the students’ requirements.
- To use the PAL program in enhancing the quality
services of our advising centers, thereby increasing the number of students
using our facilities and maintain the high number of Indian students going
to the USA.
Activities/Appointments:
- Participated in the PAL Orientation &
Leadership Seminar.
- Visited the Department of State to meet Program
Officers and participated in panel discussion.
- Networked with senior faculty mostly in Biosciences
and Computer Science programs and also with International Student offices
and graduate admissions professionals at various universities.
- Interacted with search engine professionals.
- Attended the NAGAP Conference at Las Vegas.
Learnings:
Search Engines:
- Insight into the usual search engines like
GradSchools.com & Petersons.com and their limitations.
- Knowledge of a non-traditional search engine
“clusty”.
- Usefulness of blogs & podcasts as innovative
ways of moving information around
Bioscience Programs:
- Usefulness of BioScience related associations
in giving trends in latest cutting-edge research.
- Necessity for having information on laboratories,
departmental contact with industry etc.
- Information on upcoming trends and funding
on “hot topics” like Bio-IT coalition, Computational Biology,
Structural Biology/Biophysics-modern imaging methods, Analytical Chemistry,
Analysis of Bio-molecules, research in cancer/AIDS, Stem Cell Research.
New Programs
- UG program in Simulation & Digital Entertainment
(SDE) at University of Baltimore.
- New program in Molecular Biotechnology at George Washington
University
Follow-up/Next Steps
- Have an interactive workshop with a colleague
at another advising center who has search service for students.
- Develop a user-friendly module for refined
search to be used by educational advisers.
- Undertake time-bound pilot study at my center
(USEFI-Kolkata).
- Roll out the search module nationally across
all centers in India.
Acknowledgements:
My REAC Kathleen Kisting Alam for igniting the initial spark. Dorothy Mora,
Program Officer, Department of State & Ella Clement, Program Officer, Department
of State, for accepting my PAL proposal. Janine Farhat and all her colleagues
at The College Board for looking after our individual project needs. Debbie
Hefferon, Educational Consultant for being a wonderful mentor. Professor Jane
E. Schukoske, Executive Director, USEFI, Dr. Jamshed Siddiqui, Deputy Director,
USEFI & Dr. Vijaya Khandavilli, EAS Country Coordinator, USEFI for having
the confidence in my abilities. Dr. Sunrit Mullick , Regional Officer, USEFI-Kolkata
for constant encouragement.
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