Dear Ecologgers, How did you learn to manage the financial side of your research? If you're a student, do you see opportunities for training in these skills or will you learn them on-the-fly? Do you perceive a bias towards or against teaching business skills in the academic research community?
I am one of the organizers of the upcoming ESA course in Sustaining Biological Infrastructure (esa.org/sbi), which provides training in the finance and business skills applicable to long-term research projects (for example: diversifying project funding, communicating with stakeholders, and developing budgets and strategic plans). This has prompted interesting conversations about the role of business in science, and I'm seeking perspectives from the broader ecology community as we further develop the course. If you'd like to comment on the above questions, respond here or email me directly at scienceint...@esa.org. Thanks for your time and consideration-- Eliza Oldach For more information about SBI and the upcoming training, visit esa.org/SBI.