The following is an excerpt from the original Meaningful Science Proposal used to achieve support from McGill University.
Meaningful Science: A proposal for student-led dialogue groups within graduate school to develop self-identity, responsible leadership, and to bring impact, within science education.
The Need for Meaningful Science
As a career, science attracts many great minds who want to bring about positive, impactful change while also achieving a successful career. One important aspect of success is the fulfillment of a happy life[1],[2]. However, career achievements do not guarantee the fulfillment[3],[4] that arises from love, being content at work, and having good human connections[5]. This is where finding meaning for scientists, particularly relative to their work and career(s), can benefit the wellness of a researcher, develop proper leadership[6], and strengthen connections to society in support of the place of science in modern times[7]. Given the importance of values, meaning, and human interconnectedness to a ‘successful life’, it is unfortunate that graduate school primarily focuses on answering questions of what types of research there are and how to do them. This is unfortunate because it leads to the marginalization of questions about the meaning, value, and relevance of one’s own research project. One avenue for cultivating and experiencing meaning is through is self-awareness and connecting with others. A strong sense of self, the power of the shared experience of community, as well as clearly defined goals linked to public/community service are also ways to increase fulfillment. Enabling a space to break from the isolation of research, create a communal, shared space of dialogue, and cultivate the experience of meaning related to science and scientific research will, therefore, address this need for fulfillment in a graduate community. Without such a dialogical forum, McGill will continue to unintentionally promote an existential vacuum[4] of life without meaning[2] within graduate education and its graduate student body. To address this vacuum, the Meaningful Science project aims to increase graduate student well-being by initiating and enabling sustained reflection on personal fulfillment, community connection building and support, and outreach to others by encouraging ongoing partnerships between science and society. The project proposes to establish small, student-facilitated conversation groups across campuses. As a result, the project hopes to initiate a life-long dedication to seek personal and community fulfillment and exercise inclusive leadership within students’ careers.
The Goals of Meaningful Science
Vision and Impacts
The overall vision of the Meaningful Science Project is to host a space for graduate students to have significant and essential discussions about their research, including its meaning, value, and scientific impact. Meaningful Science also helps graduate students develop their identities as scientists, challenge and articulate their world view, and engage in the discussions they need to be responsible and impactful researchers. The Winter 2017 pilot run of Meaningful Science achieved that vision. For some participants, Meaningful Science addressed their own existential crisis of being a researcher. For others, it helped broaden their scope on responsible and active research.
The participants’ feedback showed that the series was highly relevant to them. For instance, one student said that she realized the fundamental importance of meaning for a person’s well-being through the series. The student linked the topics to her own research by bringing them into weekly lab meetings, into her PhD proposal and into her communication style with her supervisors. For another student, the key lesson was to open up to multiple views and values and to accept them as equally valid. Another participant highlighted the relief to connect to researchers with the same questions about purpose. She had changed her own career path because of the different values of her managers. Finally, participants were encouraged that this reflection would continue and compared Meaningful Science to a walk in the river, where ripples propagate from the steps taken.
These personal stories demonstrate the immediate impact of Meaningful Science and validate how the series allowed graduate students to discuss crucial topics of their work with other colleagues that are not normally discussed in academia, especially the graduate student experience.
[1] Frankl, Viktor E. The will to meaning: foundations and applications of logotherapy. NY, NY: Plume, 2014. Print.
[2] Maslow, Abraham Harold. "A theory of human motivation." Psychological review 50.4 (1943): 370.
[3] https://www.thestar.com/life/relationships/2017/06/01/the-problem-with-reaching-your-career-goal.html
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/02/work-revolution-mentally-ill-tackle
[5] Jeste, Dilip V., and Maja Gawronska. "Triumphs of Experience: The Men of the Harvard Grant Study." (2014): 230-231.
[6] Drath,W.H., & Palus,C.J.(1994). “Making common sense: Leadership as meaningmaking in a community of practice.” Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.
[7] http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/saving-science
Meaningful Science: A proposal for student-led dialogue groups within graduate school to develop self-identity, responsible leadership, and to bring impact, within science education.
The Need for Meaningful Science
As a career, science attracts many great minds who want to bring about positive, impactful change while also achieving a successful career. One important aspect of success is the fulfillment of a happy life[1],[2]. However, career achievements do not guarantee the fulfillment[3],[4] that arises from love, being content at work, and having good human connections[5]. This is where finding meaning for scientists, particularly relative to their work and career(s), can benefit the wellness of a researcher, develop proper leadership[6], and strengthen connections to society in support of the place of science in modern times[7]. Given the importance of values, meaning, and human interconnectedness to a ‘successful life’, it is unfortunate that graduate school primarily focuses on answering questions of what types of research there are and how to do them. This is unfortunate because it leads to the marginalization of questions about the meaning, value, and relevance of one’s own research project. One avenue for cultivating and experiencing meaning is through is self-awareness and connecting with others. A strong sense of self, the power of the shared experience of community, as well as clearly defined goals linked to public/community service are also ways to increase fulfillment. Enabling a space to break from the isolation of research, create a communal, shared space of dialogue, and cultivate the experience of meaning related to science and scientific research will, therefore, address this need for fulfillment in a graduate community. Without such a dialogical forum, McGill will continue to unintentionally promote an existential vacuum[4] of life without meaning[2] within graduate education and its graduate student body. To address this vacuum, the Meaningful Science project aims to increase graduate student well-being by initiating and enabling sustained reflection on personal fulfillment, community connection building and support, and outreach to others by encouraging ongoing partnerships between science and society. The project proposes to establish small, student-facilitated conversation groups across campuses. As a result, the project hopes to initiate a life-long dedication to seek personal and community fulfillment and exercise inclusive leadership within students’ careers.
The Goals of Meaningful Science
- To guide students in introspective self-development that helps them realize what gives them meaning, identify their values, and become conscious of their world view while developing personal resilience;
- To create understanding and acknowledgement of other’s perspectives and needs in order to become responsible future group leaders;
- To motivate students to actively engage with society and to address community and global problems through their science
Vision and Impacts
The overall vision of the Meaningful Science Project is to host a space for graduate students to have significant and essential discussions about their research, including its meaning, value, and scientific impact. Meaningful Science also helps graduate students develop their identities as scientists, challenge and articulate their world view, and engage in the discussions they need to be responsible and impactful researchers. The Winter 2017 pilot run of Meaningful Science achieved that vision. For some participants, Meaningful Science addressed their own existential crisis of being a researcher. For others, it helped broaden their scope on responsible and active research.
The participants’ feedback showed that the series was highly relevant to them. For instance, one student said that she realized the fundamental importance of meaning for a person’s well-being through the series. The student linked the topics to her own research by bringing them into weekly lab meetings, into her PhD proposal and into her communication style with her supervisors. For another student, the key lesson was to open up to multiple views and values and to accept them as equally valid. Another participant highlighted the relief to connect to researchers with the same questions about purpose. She had changed her own career path because of the different values of her managers. Finally, participants were encouraged that this reflection would continue and compared Meaningful Science to a walk in the river, where ripples propagate from the steps taken.
These personal stories demonstrate the immediate impact of Meaningful Science and validate how the series allowed graduate students to discuss crucial topics of their work with other colleagues that are not normally discussed in academia, especially the graduate student experience.
[1] Frankl, Viktor E. The will to meaning: foundations and applications of logotherapy. NY, NY: Plume, 2014. Print.
[2] Maslow, Abraham Harold. "A theory of human motivation." Psychological review 50.4 (1943): 370.
[3] https://www.thestar.com/life/relationships/2017/06/01/the-problem-with-reaching-your-career-goal.html
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/02/work-revolution-mentally-ill-tackle
[5] Jeste, Dilip V., and Maja Gawronska. "Triumphs of Experience: The Men of the Harvard Grant Study." (2014): 230-231.
[6] Drath,W.H., & Palus,C.J.(1994). “Making common sense: Leadership as meaningmaking in a community of practice.” Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.
[7] http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/saving-science