Individual Development Plans

SB2 trainees will attend two 90-minute workshops developed and run by BU’s Office of Professional Development & Postdoctoral Affairs (What is an Individual Development Plan? and Writing an Individual Development Plan), where they will undergo self-assessments in skills, values, and interests and then develop and write a structured Individual Development Plan that aligns with their own goals and values.

Once drafted, the IDP will be discussed with and approved by both primary and secondary faculty mentors, ensuring that multiple research perspectives have been appropriately and robustly considered. Moving forward, this IDP will serve as a living document, which will continue to be referenced and updated as the trainee’s research evolves (with the input of both the primary and secondary mentors). In this way, students will gain experience initiating their research projects, gain ownership over their project, and be encouraged to delve deeply into the literature and design novel experimental plans, all the while being supported by SB2 faculty.