This card presents a method for getting faculty and staff together in a thoughtful way to stimulate “making connections”.  The origin and development of the event was through Craig Downing and Kyle Gipson's 2022 Leadership Unleashed Workshop.  

We observed that "Connections" were made in such areas as research, equipment, teaching methodologies, workflow and software uses.  Examples of connections made include similarities in corrosion research in Biomedical Engineering (Metallic Orthopedic Implants in Bone) and Civil Engineering (Rebar in Concrete); and the use of open-source Biomechanical software (Kinovea) in mechanical engineering (robotics).

Prior to implementing the “making connections” workshop faculty were surveyed to determine topic interest, format, attendance motivators and timing. The survey questions are available as supplemental material.  Main takeaways from the survey:

-In person formats with hands on demonstrations prefered

-Equipment demos popular

-Brainstorming and interactive workshop formats favored

-Conference style and zoom were not in favor

-Motivating factors for attendance included food!, intellectual stimulation, peer collaboration and the ability to learn something new.

-Recognition by peers was not a motivating factor for attendance.

-A monthly lunch-N-learn was prefered.

-Specific topics were varied but included technical, workflow and pedagogy.

Survey information was then used to develop the event series.

The method ultimately developed is a guided monthly “Lunch-N-Learn” format highlighting the work of two faculty/staff members. The faculty and staff are thoughtfully pre-selected by the organizer to show how their work, although seemingly disparate, is relatable. Our first session showed how a mechanical engineering professor (Dr. Vedang Chauhan) learned to use the Kinovea software from a Biomedical Engineering professor (Dr. Andrea Kwaczala).  The biomedical engineering professor then showed the attendees how to use kinovea in a hands on demo while the mechanical engineering professor demonstrated the hands on use of a Fanuc robot. 

After the sessions faculty and staff are given “making connections” prompts for small group discussion and then report out to the larger group.  Our first group prompt was "what is your hidden talent?"  We learned, for example, that our financial administrator is a budding chocolateer...a skill that couple be used in the 3-D printing and tissue engineering fields!  Randomly making groups with faculty from different disciplines and staff from varying functions helped to stimulate connections that are not organically happening without this event.  We plan on exploring ways to make the connections as we more forward.

In addition to stimulating the making of connections among our team, we enjoy the team building of learning a little about about each other’s experiences, skills and enjoying food together.