Byย Eileaย Knottsย
ASLO recently began theย LOREX program (anย NSF-funded initiative,ย award #1831075, 2019-2021)ย where ~30 students can be selected to undergo professional development training and participate in a self-led international collaboration. Iย was a member of the 1stย cohort in 2019.ย ย
After theย summerย collaboration, I thought that it might be the end of my training. Iย checked off the boxes - completedย the workshopsย (check), attended the conferencesย (check), and shared my experiences with the next cohortย (check).ย I figured that I had shared the information to the right people and my journey was โcomplete.โ As you can probably tell from the title of the blog....it was not.ย ย
I had the amazing opportunity to reconnect with tenย membersย of my cohort while writing a blog about our shared experiences and what we would do differently if we had the chance.ย I loved our meetings together! We were able to reconnectย as a familyย and share stories and troubles with each other. It was unexpected and delightful to achieve a sense of companionship weย initiallyย missed out on when going to different countries. It was during those meetings that the idea of a living handbook was mentioned by Emily Chua and Matt Woodstock.ย Wouldnโt itย beย nice to have all the information we had gained through our LOREX experience written somewhere?ย We were sharingย ourย advice through conversations but what ifย future participantsย forgot or didnโt hear us?ย Emily agreed to head up the idea of creating aย livingย handbook on how to initiate and complete international collaborations.ย
But what is a living handbook? I knew what a handbook was...but living?ย Emilyย andย Mattย explained that people would add to the document when they saw advice or information was missing.ย I thought this was perfect for ASLO! While we had a lot of experience from LOREX, we couldnโt cover everything! But what if ASLO members were able to see the document?ย Researchers who were well-versed in international collaborations could add their knowledge to our own creating a more comprehensive document on international collaborations! Think of how other students and early career researchers could use this information and gain important knowledge!ย
Of course, our decision to create this handbook arrivedย at the same time thatย COVID-19 shut down the United States. Ten members of the first LOREX cohort decided to use this time to meetย regularlyย and build the Living International Collaboration Handbook.ย I lovedย ourย time spent laughing, sharing stories, and putting together the best advice we could think of.ย Writing this handbookย was a bonding experience and I am grateful for the opportunity.ย
And now, itโs done. The link to theย Handbook for International Research Collaborationsย can be foundย here. Please feel free to peruse it, control-find the key words you need, and share it with friends, co-workers, and fellow collaborators. If you see an area of the handbook that is lacking or would like to contribute your own advice, please contactย [email protected]ย ย with the following information: 1) the section you wish to contribute to, 2) the subheading you believe it falls under, and 3) the paragraph, link, etc. that you wish to contribute.ย
Enjoyย the advice and pass it on!ย ย