General registration opens TODAY for Scientific Community Engagement Fundamentals (CEF21F). This 7-week online course, intended for new and more seasoned community managers alike, grounds learners in CSCCE’s core frameworks, offering a strong foundation for strategic community building in STEM.
This is the last time in 2021 that we’ll be running CEF, and it’s also your last chance to take this consistently oversubscribed offering at its current price point. So hurry and book your place today!
Building a common foundation for community managers in STEM
Incredibly professional in every aspect; I couldn’t think of one detail in structure or facilitation that wasn’t perfect!
Community Engagement Fundamentals participant, December 2020
Scientific community managers (SCMs) experience common challenges, particularly when it comes to strategically building and maintaining a community. But, because this is an emerging field, many SCMs often develop their skills via trial and error, without a set of core frameworks or shared terms to describe what they do. CSCCE’s frameworks and models, which form the backbone of our CEF course, are intended to help SCMs coalesce around a common language and explore new ways of achieving their community-building goals.
With our deep experience supporting scientific communities, our courses help learners practically embed new frameworks and strategies in their own work. Additionally, participants benefit from being part of a cohort and learning from others in their class – with dedicated time for connecting and reflecting together.
Course structure
CEF21F will run for seven weeks, with a lesson and a more practical Co-Lab every week. Participants stay connected throughout via a private channel in our community Slack, as well as be the first cohort to benefit from using our new LMS (learning management system) platform. The course will begin on 23 September and run on Mondays and Thursdays at 4pm UTC / 12pm EDT until Thursday, 4 November. The key dates are:
- Optional pre-course social: Thursday, 23 September at 4pm UTC / 12pm EDT. We recommend attending to start to get to know your coursemates.
- Lessons (90 mins) will take place on Tuesdays as follows: 27 September, 4,11,18, and 25 October, and 1 November.
- Co-Labs (1 hour) will take place on Fridays as follows: 30 September, 7, 14, 21, and 28 October, and 4 November.
- Graduation: Thursday, 4 November – an extended 2-hour session to include a 30-minute poster viewing session followed by poster presentations (3.30pm – 5.30 pm UTC / 11.30am – 1.30pm EDT).
What to expect
To date, feedback on the course has been very positive. Learners have expressed their appreciation for having the dedicated time and support to refine their community strategies and identifying areas in which their current strategies are not meeting their goals or expectations.
You will leave the course with new language to describe your role and your community, and as a final project you will create a poster that synthesizes everything you learned on the course. And, since we deliberately cap enrollment in this course at 20, you can expect to get to know your fellow learners (as well as the instructors!) over the course.
For a detailed overview of the course curriculum and the topics covered each week, visit the course webpage.
Note: We operate on a first come first served basis, so we encourage you to sign up early to secure your spot. Deadline: 2 September 2021