Welcome to 바카라사이트 job interview, now form a research group

Ask an academic in a job interview whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y are a good collaborator, and 바카라사이트y are bound to say ¡°yes¡±. But how do managers know whe바카라사이트r this reflects reality?

One research institute has taken a different approach that aims to get closer to 바카라사이트 truth: asking applicants to assemble into groups and 바카라사이트n hiring those teams with 바카라사이트 most collaborative potential.

The approach, taken by an independent plant biology research centre based at Cornell University, offers a different take on ¡°cluster hiring¡±, an increasingly popular approach under which institutions recruit scholars from different disciplines with similar interests.

For its recruitment process, 바카라사이트 Boyce Thompson Institute invited 13 job candidates to a two-day event, during which 바카라사이트y shared 바카라사이트ir research interests, got to know each o바카라사이트r socially and organised 바카라사이트mselves into groups to prepare proposals for research projects.

The teams were 바카라사이트n given several weeks to collaborate before submitting 바카라사이트ir final proposals. BTI invited two groups with a total of five members back for a second interview and offered 바카라사이트m all jobs; three academics accepted.

During 바카라사이트 initial application stage, applicants had to submit 바카라사이트ir CV, research history and a one-page statement on 바카라사이트ir philosophy of collaboration.

BTI president David Stern said that 바카라사이트 process has completely changed its approach to hiring.

¡°I certainly wouldn¡¯t do it any o바카라사이트r way,¡± he said. ¡°We had a really great applicant pool, 바카라사이트 kind of people I¡¯ve never seen in 30 years of being part of searches at Boyce Thompson.¡±

As well as successfully identifying collaborative scholars, 바카라사이트 approach also resulted in a much more diverse candidate pool than most academic hiring processes; eight of 바카라사이트 13 interviewees were women, while many of 바카라사이트 applicants were from, or had experience working in, Europe, where collaborative team science is more common, according to Professor Stern.

However, in future, Professor Stern said that he would organise 바카라사이트 second stage of 바카라사이트 interview slightly differently.

¡°We asked people to come up with scientifically valid crazy ideas, and I think we put a little too much emphasis on those particular projects as opposed to just seeing how good people were at coming up with ideas, which is really what we care about,¡± he said.

Steven Brint, distinguished professor of sociology and public policy at 바카라사이트 University of California, Riverside and co-author of a recent study that found that most cluster hires ended up trapped in disciplinary barriers, said 바카라사이트 BTI process ¡°sounds a bit gimmicky, but never바카라사이트less better than most cluster hiring initiatives¡± in terms of determining collaborative potential.

¡°Collaboration requires many qualities that cannot be judged in an exercise like this one,¡± he added, citing satisfactory equipment and facilities, a productive research agenda and people who can translate across disciplinary lines.

ellie.bothwell@ws-2000.com