Our Communication Lab teams are always thinking about new communication skills and scenarios that we can help to demystify and support. Find our latest resources below:
Blog posts
Quick tips on handy skills and first-hand reflections about communication experiences, from Communication Fellows and MIT community members
- Weathering the Undergrad Thesis: Survival Tips from a Recent Graduate, by Liam Hines, September 2022
So you have an undergraduate thesis to write? No stress, the semester hasn’t even started yet. When it does, you have an entire academic year to write it. And most of the work will be done Spring semester, so there’s no need to worry about it now! Oh, if only…
- Fantastic BATS and how to give them, by Jelle van der Hilst and Brandon Dorr, September 2022
At face value, BATS might seem like one of the most intimidating aspects of the entire Biological Engineering PhD. You may feel like it is too early to share your research progress with the department—it may be the first time you’ve spoken in front of a large audience of peers and professors—and perhaps you feel worried about being compared to the other speakers.
- AAAS STPF Applicant Statement, by Viraat Goel and Hannah Varner, August 2022
“The AAAS STPF is the largest & most prestigious science policy fellowship in the nation, and it’s an excellent opportunity to work in government.”
- On Finding and Choosing a Postdoc, by Victoria Barber and Meghan Blumstein, CEE Postdocs and Comm Lab Fellows, June 2022
After years of working on your Ph.D. the end is finally in sight! You’ve weighed your options, thought about your career goals, and decided that a postdoctoral position is the next logical step for you. What now?
- The Comm Lab Models Mutual Learning: Q&A with CEE Comm Lab Fellow Souha El Mousadik, Interview complied by CEE Comm Lab Manager Chris Featherman, June 2022
Souha El Mousadik is a Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate student in the Environmental Dynamics Lab in MIT’s Mechanical Engineering (MechE) Department. Souha has been with the CEE Communication Lab (CEECL) since May 2021, helping out with workshops, panels, and coaching students and postdocs in the department on various science communication topics.
- Meaningful Engagements: Q&A with CEE Comm Lab Fellow Sid Pai, Interview complied by CEE Comm Lab Manager Chris Featherman, May 2022
Sid Pai is a senior graduate student in the Heald Group in MIT’s Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department. Sid has been with the CEE Communication Lab (CEECL) since May 2021, helping out with workshops, panels, and coaching students and postdocs in the department on various science communication topics.
- Peer-to-Peer Coaching as a Collaborative Effort: Q&A with CEE Comm Lab Fellow Matti Gralka, Interview complied by CEE Comm Lab Manager Chris Featherman, May 2022
Matti Gralka is a postdoctoral fellow in the Cordero Lab in CEE and has been with the CEE Communication Lab (CEECL) since its inception in March 2020, leading workshops, panels, and coaching many students and postdocs on various topics surrounding science communication.
- Shedding Light on Faculty Applications: Insights from Assistant Professor Dr. Jasmina Burek, by CEE members Ipek Bensu Manav and Ignacio Martin Arzuaga Garcia, March 2022
Whether you’re considering, preparing for, or in the midst of applying for faculty positions, the faculty job search can be daunting. For many of us, this process means several rounds of applications, with anywhere from 20 to 80 applications each round.
- Managing up: how to communicate effectively with your PhD adviser, by CEE members Lluís Saló-Salgado, Angi Acocella, Ignacio Arzuaga García (Communication Fellow), Souha El Mousadik (Communication Fellow) & Augustine Zvinavashe, December 2021
When you start a PhD, you also begin a professional relationship with your PhD adviser. This is an exciting moment: interacting with someone for whom you might well have great respect and admiration, but who might also slightly intimidate you.
New & updated CommKit articles
Discipline-specific how-to’s and annotated examples, covering both technical and professional communication.
- Fellowship Personal Statement, by Hannah Varner and Simo Pajovic (MechE Comm Lab), Fall 2021
- Statement of Purpose for Graduate School, by Carlos Diaz-Marin, Simo Pajovic, and Hannah Varner (MechE Comm Lab), Fall 2021
- Research Qualifying Examination (RQE), by Mazdak Abulnaga and Rohan Chitnis (EECS Comm Lab), Winter 2021
- Grant Application, by Samiya Alkhairy and Eugenia Inda (EECS Comm Lab), Fall 2020
- Virtual Presentations, by Charlie Hirst (NSE Comm Lab), Summer 2020
- Cover Letters, by Patrick White & Robbie Stewart (NSE Comm Lab), Summer 2020
- CV / Resume, by Robbie Stewart & Patrick White (NSE Comm Lab), Summer 2020
- Figure Design, by Marina Dang, Xinyao “Anna” Liang, & Steve Jepeal (NSE Comm Lab), Spring 2020
For a full directory of all of our CommKit articles, click here.