The Professional Development Core (PDC) from the Hispanic Alliance of Clinical and Translational Research (Alliance) in collaboration with the UPR/MDACC Partnership for Excellence in Cancer Research recently offered an online “Grant Writing webinar series”. The purpose of this professional development activity was to provide trainees with the understanding of key elements that make up a grant proposal and helpful tips and guides.
The webinar series had two sessions on November 2 and December 9, 2022, each 1.5 hours long. The webinar was presented by Dr. María González-Pons, Ph.D., Alliance Scientific Writing Unit (SWU) Consultant and Assistant Investigator at GI Oncology Division of Cancer Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Comprehensive Cancer Center. Figure 1 summarizes the topics and objectives discussed in each part.
Figure 1. Topics and objectives of the Grant Writing webinar series
Participants profile
Most attendees (55.8%) were affiliated with the UPR Medical Sciences Campus followed by 13.5% from the UPR Comprehensive Cancer Center and 13.5% from the Ponce Health Sciences University. Participants were also from Ana G. Mendez University, Universidad Central del Caribe, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, UPR Rio Piedras Campus, and UPR Mayagüez Campus. The largest group of participants identified themselves as “investigator/researcher” (17.3%), followed by “graduate student” (15.4%).
A total of 24 participants successfully completed both parts of the webinar series and received a certificate of completion.
According to the post-evaluation report, all respondents (100%) were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with each part of the webinar series (Graph 1). All of them found that the webinar series was “very good” in terms of content, organization, schedule, length of time, presenter expertise, and webinar technology. In addition, they “strongly agreed” that these series were useful and relevant to their professional development, and it is one they would recommend to others.
Graph 1. Quality of the Grant Writing webinar series Source: Tracking and Evaluation Core (2023). Grant Writing webinar series: Post webinar evaluation report (2022 edition).
Participants feedback
Source: Tracking and Evaluation Core (2023). Grant Writing webinar series: Post webinar evaluation report (2022 edition).
A New Grant Writing webinar series coming soon!
We are excited to announce that the 2023 edition of the Grant Writing webinar series is already scheduled for March 24, 2023, and April 21, 2023. Please subscribe to our monthly newsletter at https://mailchi.mp/upr.edu/alliance-email-listing and stay tuned to the institutional emails and social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for additional details, including the promotion and registration that will be available soon!
