Professional Development Working Group

The PDWG supports graduate student professional development!

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Launched in 2019, the Professional Development Working Group (PDWG) is a collaborative, cross-functional coalition that convenes regularly to integrate, assess, and promote all of the robust professional development programs, opportunities, and resources offered for graduate students across campus. This group’s shared mission is to expand the availability and visibility of graduate student professional development and to support this strategic priority of the Graduate School.

PDWG Goals

  • Provide strategic input regarding ways to build a campus ecosystem by engaging all campus stakeholders, academic departments (by division), alumni, and industry partners in collaboration efforts;
  • Organize a menu of programs, opportunities, and resources for the learning and acquisition of the eight core professional development competencies for students at each stage of their graduate education;
  • Identify gaps between graduate students’ needs and Princeton’s current offerings in each competency area and propose ways to address these gaps;
  • Recommend assessment strategies and measurable learning outcomes for graduate student professional development;
  • Identify and expand graduate student fellowships available across campus;
  • Explore ways to share quantitative and qualitative data and develop stories that demonstrate the impact of professional development on the graduate student experience and post-graduation outcomes.
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“My career has included many surprising twists and turns. Paying attention to what I need to learn, and how I can manage my own learning has helped me to progress. My current work gives me many opportunities to learn new skills, which I find wonderful. I have appreciated the welcoming community provided by GradFUTURES, connecting faculty, staff, graduate students and alums to each other. The conversations are creative and inclusive, and I am grateful for the careful facilitation to help all of us contribute."

Anu Vedantham, *94 (SPIA), Assistant University Librarian for Research Services

Current PDWG Members

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“The style of professional development at Princeton inspires and supports: when I see a common need from interacting with my peers, I set out to seek allies and create solutions so that others will have resources when they encounter the same challenge. GradFUTURES makes my experience at Princeton even more vivid than I expected!” 

Tianxia Xiao *23 (CHM)