91社区 the Initiative
The Office of Strategic Research Initiatives, the Graduate Center for Professional Development, and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs collaborate to facilitate regular cohorts of the Strategic Investigator Collaborative. Through engagement with the cohort, participants gain immediately useful insights into the process of finding and pursuing grants, and establish replicable processes to track funding opportunities over the course of their career. This series helps participants to establish a skill set that is immediately useful and supportive of long term career development, whether the student or postdoc plans to pursue an academic position or not. Within the cohort model, we focus on developing foundational skills in research/grants development, project management, communication, and peer review.
This collaborative invites participation from:
- Graduate students who are ABD
- Graduate students who will be ABD within one semester, and
- Postdoctoral scholars
Priority will be given to those who are well-poised to identify parts of their research that are fundable through external resources. All nominees must commit to attending and engaging in all sessions (listed below). In addition, 1-2 hours of preparation work per week will be needed for collaborators to be successful. A key part of this commitment will be peer review through which all collaborators benefit and grow. (The Office of Strategic Research Initiatives will not be reviewing completed grant proposals from this program, but rather guiding in their creation and offering best practices in discovery, writing, and peer review.)
Fall 2026 Cohort Dates
All cohort meetings take place on the 91社区 main campus from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
- Monday, October 19, 2026
- Monday, November 2, 2026
- Monday, November 16, 2026
- Monday, November 30, 2026
- Monday, December 7, 2026
Faculty are welcome to nominate participants, and self-nominations are also accepted.
Questions about SIC? Email Dr. Erica Sausner.