Today we opened general registration for the fourth cohort of our Scientific Community Engagement Fundamentals course (CEF21S). This 6-week online course, intended for new and more seasoned community managers alike, grounds learners in CSCCE’s core frameworks, offering a strong foundation for strategic community building in STEM.
Building a common foundation for community managers in STEM
Incredibly professional in every aspect; I couldn’t think of one detail in structure or facilitation that wasn’t perfect!
Community Engagement Fundamentals participant, December 2020
Scientific community managers (SCMs) experience common challenges, particularly when it comes to strategically building and maintaining a community. But, because this is an emerging field, many SCMs often develop their skills via trial and error, without a set of core frameworks or shared terms to describe what they do. CSCCE’s frameworks and models, which form the backbone of our CEF course, are intended to help SCMs coalesce around a common language and explore new ways of achieving their community-building goals.
With our deep experience supporting scientific communities, our courses all help learners practically embed new frameworks and strategies in their own work. Additionally, participants benefit from being part of a cohort and learning from others in their class – with dedicated time for connecting and reflecting together.
Course structure
CEF usually runs for six weeks, with a lesson and a more practical Co-Lab every week – with participants staying connected via a private channel in our community Slack. This session of the course is slightly different in that the course will span seven weeks due to a reading week around the 4 July holiday. The course will begin on 1 June and run on Tuesdays and Fridays at 4pm UTC / 12 noon EDT until Friday 16 July. The key dates are:
- Optional pre-course social: Friday, 28 May at 4pm UTC / 12 noon EDT. We recommend attending to start to get to know your coursemates.
- Lessons (90 mins) will take place on Tuesdays as follows: 1, 8, 15, 22 June and 6, 13 July.
- Co-Labs (1 hour) will take place on Fridays as follows: 4, 11, 18, 25 June and 9, 16 July.
- Reading week: Due to the 4 July holiday in the US we will be pausing lessons the week of 28 June and instead you will have the opportunity to join optional office hours with the course instructors.
- Graduation: Friday, 16 July – an extended 2-hour session to include a 30-minute poster viewing session followed by poster presentations (3.30pm – 5.30 pm UTC / 11.30am – 1.30pm EDT).
What to expect
To date, feedback on the course has been very positive. Learners have expressed their appreciation for having the dedicated time and support to refine their community strategies and identifying areas in which their current strategies are not meeting their goals or expectations.
You will leave the course with new language to describe your role and your community, and as a final project you will create a poster that synthesizes everything you learned on the course. And, since we deliberately cap enrollment in this course at 20, you can expect to get to know your fellow learners (as well as the instructors!) over the course.
For a detailed overview of the course curriculum and the topics covered each week, visit the course webpage.
Note: We operate on a first come first served basis, so we encourage you to sign up early to secure your spot. Deadline: 7 May 2021