STEM Experiences Abroad Shape Graduate Students to be Competent Professionals - Evidence from the LOREX Program

Abstract:

International research exchange experiences that allow students to design their own research project, determine their milestones and initiate their own collaborations are rare. These experience-based opportunities can shape graduate students into being effective international collaborators and researchers. In an attempt to provide graduate students with these opportunities, the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography created the Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange (LOREX) program which sends US-based graduate students to institutions abroad for an up to 2-month long international experience. As members of the first LOREX cohort, we share our findings of the benefits of the program and recommendations for the establishment of future programs like this. The skills gained from this experience far outreach the original program goals and can serve as an example of a unique way to engage graduate students in self-driven science and foster lasting professional relationships.