2024 NORDP Conference Experience as First-Time Attendees

Written by Andrea Navas and Roshni Singh

Conferences are a great way to connect to people, network, and learn about new processes, practices, and guidelines. Roshni Singh, an aspiring RD professional, and a first-time NORDP attendee, and Andrea Navas-Calixto, PhD, Vice President of the Colombian Association for Research Management and Administration (COREMA), also a first-time NORDP attendee, found the 16th NORDP conference important, well-balanced, and well-organized. We were impressed by how well the conference was organized with an attractive agenda, well-set goals, and objectives.

Andrea: At the School of Engineering Universidad del Valle, Colombia, we faced multiple challenges during and after the pandemic and had to change our practices and the activities for conducting research and obtaining funding, hence, the next conference needed to be in person to understand the changes. Upon registering for the 16th NORDP conference, I was pleasantly surprised by the conference organization and its details. The Whova app was a fantastic tool that allowed me to organize my schedule, exchange valuable information, and connect with wonderful people. At the conference, everyone greeted me with open arms, and the location was very convenient in a city that had a lot to offer. The conference agenda was very enriching; however, my biggest fear was that the information in the talks would only be useful for professionals in the United States, but that was not the case. Talks were relevant to anyone in RD roles, no matter the geographical location, which I can learn from, adopt, and adapt to Colombian institutions. Moreover, I was inspired by the focus on healthy eating, zero waste orientation, and support for beautiful causes like The Sophia Way. These details are something we can also learn to implement in Colombia. From the conference, I’m taking away some great ideas regarding initiatives related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) where we still have a lot to learn and have f a lack of clear tools and processes. Additionally, I believe I’ll propose programs like the doctoral intern’s program in the research office and ideas for multidisciplinary work, among others.

Roshni: I was one of the registration award recipients which made this conference achievable for me. As a first-time NORDP attendee and an aspiring RD professional, the NORDP conference was an immensely rewarding and fulfilling experience. During my career in industry, I have been to many conferences, but this conference had the audience in mind as the sessions were for every level, whether new to the conference, new to the RD field, or working on a new initiative. I loved the idea that the conference was organized by RD professionals, which is not often the case, as the majority of the time, sponsors run the show. The sponsors, however, played an important role in the conference giving insights on their services which was helpful for me in understanding the different services academic situations require. I contribute to NORDP by volunteering for the International Working Group and Career Stories, where I write blog posts recapping the latest featured professional. The conference allowed me to meet all the RD professionals I wrote blogs on and members of the committees whom I only see online. Everyone was warm and I made many new connections who gave me advice about the field.

Some talks Andrea and Roshni enjoyed:

• “What We Talk About When We Talk About Critique” by Susan Ferrari, Grinnell College, Kevin Boettcher, Binghamton University, Tisha Turk, Grinnell College: These types of talks motivate RDPs as they remind us of our limits. The temptation to edit proposals and rewrite is very high, especially when we work against the clock with deadlines on us.
• “Building Pathways to Careers in Research Development: Leveraging the Graduate Student Career Exploration Program at Illinois Office of Proposal Development (OPD)”by Richard Sallee, Limited Submissions Manager, Suzanne Berry-Miller, Assistant Director, Research Strategy Center for Social & Behavioral Science (CSBS), Sneha Das, Research Development Manager Brenda Koester, Associate Director: This is a program that seems quite easy to replicate in any institution, with clear rules and mutual benefits for both the graduate student and the research development office.
• “Lessons Learned from Seeding Interdisciplinary Teams: Outcomes, Challenges & Missteps”: this talk was valuable as it shows that programs can continue improving version after version and learning without forgetting the initial purpose, which, in this case, was to encourage teachers to engage in interdisciplinary work.
• “Beyond RD101” by Joanna Downer, Jill Jividen, Katie Shoaf, Sharon Pound, and Amy Carroll; this interactive workshop allowed the attendees to share their opinions on future topics for effective RD training.

We both would like to thank the NORDP conference committee for a wonderful and very informative conference.