What? There's no mentoring in Academia? say it aint so...
Maybe the funding structure needs to be less dependent on faculty in
general and institutions need to have independent research funding for
students and postdocs that does not require any involvement of a faculty
boss? This might solve the issue you're noticing, or go a long way
toward it.
Also, maybe even more importantly, I would HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY
recommend that all grant applications and publication manuscript
submissions/review be ANONYMOUS - ie: the reviewer is intentionally left
in the dark as to who the grant or manuscript is. This would improve
science and innovation immensely. Ability to do the work can be vetted
after the best ideas are selected - but why would one want to fund a bad
idea/project just because they believe it's from an OTHERWISE good (or
well connected/funded) scientist? A bad project is a bad project no
matter who proposes it. A good project is a good project... and it
behooves the funders to at least try to work with those who propose good
projects. Just because they dont' already have awesome jobs or tons of
resources doesn't mean that they wouldn't to awesome things with
resources if they had them.
On 6/3/2013 10:13 PM, malcolm McCallum wrote:
After having reviewed a number of student grant proposals this week, I
was compelled to send this small tidbit out for all you folks who
serve as student advisors. It is frankly critically important.
1) If you student is submitting a proposal, try to take the time to
read it before they submit it. Its your job to advise them and to
protect their public image!
2) If you student's ideas are not sufficiently developed to warrant
funding through a particular program, advise the student to wait until
the next round. The practice will not be practice unless the student
is actually writing a proposal that is focused, developed, and cited
sufficiently to compete.
3) If you are unable to write a letter that says anything beyond "my
student is doing what all students do and are expected to do at this
stage in their career," maybe this proposal should wait. After all,
if they have not convinced you they are worth a glowing letter, why
would a stale letter convince a funder?
Having reviewed scores of proposals over the years, I am seriously
concerned about this problem. Students need advisors who are focused
on making the student all they can be. Just having them crank out
proposals without any guidance and without any real support is simply
a poor strategy.
Signed,
an anonymous grant reviewer for over a dozen funding programs
nationally and internationally.
--
Malcolm L. McCallum
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
School of Biological Sciences
University of Missouri at Kansas City
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