Training update: Let us know what CSCCE trainings you’d like to take in 2026!

As part of our mission to professionalize the role of the community manager in STEM, we’ve developed a comprehensive catalogue of online professional development trainings.

These Multi-week courses and Mini-workshops are designed in such a way that learners can pick and choose those most relevant to their needs, but with a throughline of vocabulary and frameworks that connect into a bigger picture. 

While we know that these trainings are making a real difference to our learners and the communities they support (see our recent evaluation of Scientific Community Engagement Fundamentals), we’re also aware that many STEM professionals are feeling the pressures of budget cuts, making it harder to prioritize taking our trainings. 

As we look ahead to 2026, we’re reaching out to our community to ask: 

What CSCCE trainings would you like to take in 2026? 

We’ve designed two Google Forms so that you can answer this question in detail, with opportunities to tell us: 

  • More about your timezone compatibility or other scheduling preferences
  • More about financial barriers to your participation and what we could do to help
  • More about your interests and what you’d like to see from CSCCE in the future 
  • And whether you’re interested in joining our Community Manager Certification Program next year

In this blog post, you’ll find the links to both feedback forms (one focuses on our multi-week courses, the other on our Mini-workshop offerings), as well as a brief overview of our trainings. If you have any questions at all about the information contained in this post, please reach out to training@cscce.org. 

Multi-week courses from CSCCE

CSCCE has created six different online courses for community engagement professionals in STEM: 

These trainings vary in length, from 3 – 8 weeks, and all include access to course materials in Canvas, two live sessions per week on Zoom, worksheets and resources, and weekly homework assignments. You can also expect ample opportunities for getting to know the other participants in the course, thus expanding your professional network of supportive colleagues, and upon successful completion of the training you’ll receive a digital badge to share. 

Let us know which courses you’d like to take and when you’d like to take them by clicking the button below! 

COURSE INTEREST FORM

CSCCE Mini-workshops

CSCCE also runs regular Mini-workshop sessions, 90- to 120-minute workshops that explore discrete topics in community management that are not covered elsewhere in our multi-week training courses. Our current Mini-workshop catalogue includes the following trainings: 

  • Creating core values statements
  • Giving and receiving feedback
  • Enacting culture change: The Four-Frame Model
  • Making a PACT for engaging virtual meetings and events
  • Selecting supplementary tools for virtual meetings and events
  • Designing for effective decision-making during virtual meetings
  • An introduction to project management for scientists
  • Preparing and designing for large-scale collaborations (2-part series)
  • Working with volunteers

Mini-workshop participants can expect access to worksheets and resources in Google Drive and a lively and interactive online session with CSCCE instructors.

Let us know which Mini-workshops you’d like to take and when you’d like to take them by clicking the button below!

MINI-WORKSHOP INTEREST FORM

The path to CSCCE Certification

CSCCE also runs a Community Manager Certification Program that is perfect for anyone interested in taking multiple trainings with CSCCE. It includes 3 multi-week courses, 6 Mini-workshops, and unlimited monthly Quarterly Skills Share sessions at which participants in the program give lightning talks about their work. All course work is organized in a Program Hub in Canvas, and participants join a private channel in Slack for networking and resource sharing. 

You can enroll in the Certification Program at any time, or use either of the interest forms above to indicate a future interest in the program. 

FAQs

What will you do with the responses to these forms? 

All of your responses will be confidential. However, the forms are not anonymous as we need to be able to reach out and follow up with individuals, depending on their responses. We will use the data we collect to inform what training we offer and when next year (especially in the first half of 2026). 

I’ve already taken several CSCCE training courses – can I apply these towards the Certification Program? 

Yes, absolutely. You can use the forms to let us know about your interest in certification, or you can reach out to training@cscce.org and set up a call with Lou or Camille to talk through your options. 

I’ve already taken several CSCCE training courses – do you have plans for further curriculum development? 

At the moment we are focusing on courses already available or in development (including our newest updated course, Nurturing Online Community, NOC and the forthcoming Communities of Practice, CoP). However, if we learn from your feedback that there is an overwhelming need for training in a particular area in which we can add value, we may decide to create a new training. 

I’m very interested in taking one or more of these CSCCE trainings, but I know I won’t be able to take anything in 2026. Should I still fill in the form? 

Yes, however please make this clear to us in your response. It is always helpful to know how much interest we have in a training, but right now we are focused on the near-term interest in our offerings. 

I work for an organization that would be interested in sponsoring places in one of your trainings, is that something I can talk to you about?

Yes, absolutely! If you are interested in sponsoring individual places or a private cohort of a CSCCE training, please reach out to training@cscce.org to schedule a call. 

I work for an organization that would be interested in a private chort of one of your training, e.g., for internal staff or a champions program. Is that something you do?

Yes, we’ve run multiple private cohorts of both our Mini-workshops (individually or as a package of two or three) and our multi-week courses. We can also add office hours between sessions to support your participants in applying the materials immediately and with expert guidance.