Does anyone else find that the well-meaning trend in seminar of “first question from a student” tends not to succeed?
My proposal: THIRD question must be from a student.
Students usually need time to process the talk and build up the courage/conviction to ask it. And once faculty get the ball rolling it feels easier to raise your hand. I think it’s on hosts to check the vibe partway through and explicitly ask for students to talk, but at the start never seems to work well.
@askennard that's a good idea! I was once at a Gordon Conference where they really pushed 1st q from trainee (rewarded with candy bars) and it worked. But thinking back, it only encouraged one or two trainees to go for it and hoard the candy bars -they are now super-successful PIs (make of that what you will). Any strategy that encourages wider participation would be better.
@steveroyle I’m really impressed with the variety of good ideas that emerged in this thread!
