CERi Fellowship: Diversity, Engagement, and Support

Diversity

One of the most fascinating aspects of the CERi Fellowship was its diversity, with each fellow coming from various disciplines. This diversity mirrored my experiences with CER, where one typically meets a wide range of individuals. Some come from worlds vastly different from my own in terms of lifestyle, background, and knowledge, while others share similarities with me but have entirely different interests. Interacting and communicating through these differences was challenging.

The people I met through the Fellowship came from various backgrounds, with different experiences and knowledge. Engaging with them required me to step out of my comfort zone and learn new ways of interacting. During my various interactions with them, I made it a point to carefully listen to our differences and actively discuss our similarities. I found that focusing on our differences helped me practice adapting to new perspectives, whereas emphasizing our similarities was instrumental in building common ground and fostering mutual understanding.

This journey taught me that adapting to different viewpoints and finding common ground can ultimately foster harmony and transform former 'others' into valuable new perspectives and collaborators.

Engagement

In the CERi Fellowship, the key to learning in such a diverse environment is active engagement. This engagement is manifested in various forms, from small hallway conversations and group discussions to workshop activities and informal gatherings such as meals or drinks with fellow members.

Initially, engagement among the CERi Fellows was minimal, but as our relationships deepened, we gradually began to share our resources, knowledge, and experiences. These interactions underscored the importance of engagement within CER and its community members.

Promoting active engagement in CER isn’t always easy; we often rely on structured programs like workshops, activities, and discussions, but they aren’t always effective. My experience with the CERi Fellowship taught me that the process of building relationships is crucial. While promoting active engagement is challenging – once strong relationships are established, it allows researchers and community members in CER to engage more deeply, share insights, and collaborate effectively.

Support

As engagement flourishes, so does the exchange of resources, information, and ideas. During the CERi Fellowship, I often gained new insights related to my research and shared them with the other members. This reciprocal process deepened relationships and led to more thoughtful consideration of what members needed to solve their research problems. This kind of mutual aid can be described with one word – support.

Support is crucial in CER. As researchers, we often hope our work will provide groundbreaking solutions to problems. However, through CER, I learned that what the community seeks is not just innovative ideas, but empathy, understanding, support, and the ability to identify and address their needs through our expertise.

This process of connecting my research with the community's needs and providing support was a valuable lesson.

Advice to Other Graduate Students

Traditional research often remains confined within academic circles, detached from practical applications. CER changes this dynamic by connecting academic inquiry with local communities, allowing research to directly tackle real-world challenges.

If you want your research to make a tangible difference rather than gathering dust in a library - bring it to the public.

To ensure your work has a meaningful impact both locally and more broadly, I recommend stepping outside the academic bubble and engaging with the real world!