Sustainability Leadership Program for Postdoctoral Scholars
The Sustainability Leadership Program – an initiative between the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and the Environmental Defense Fund – brings together emerging scholars at the postdoctoral level to prepare for transformational careers in sustainability leadership.
The initiative is premised on the belief that a sustainable future requires rapid transformation of research to impactful action along multiple dimensions and across all institutional and career frameworks – academic, non-profit, governmental, and in the private sector. Our goal is to position postdoctoral scholars to make informed choices about where they can make the greatest impact, to prepare them to work across any institutional boundary, and to craft a fruitful and long-lasting career using the totality of their expertise and talent.
The program helps sustainability scholars develop essential skills in interdisciplinary, cross-sector, and community collaboration as well as science communication, policy development, career design, and leadership.
Program Structure
Postdoctoral scholars supported by Cornell Atkinson and EDF participate in a series of workshops and seminars over the course of two years.
Workshops
Two day, in-person workshops expose postdocs to essential concepts in key areas, teach specific skill sets, and provide opportunities to practice with guidance and feedback from workshop facilitators. In-person workshops occur typically in the spring and fall. Sample topics include:
- Communicating your research
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Managing and leading teams and people
Seminars
One-hour virtual seminars provide postdocs with shorter, more specific skills and access to topics that are relevant to their careers. Seminars are offered at regular intervals throughout the year. Sample topics include:
- Using social media as a researcher
- Science communication in action
- Career paths after the postdoctoral fellowship