SPDAC Workshop “Developing a Web Presence for your Research”

Organizer: Sean Lema

How important is a web presence to student researchers? With continuing changes in the ease of making webpages, the internet has become a viable avenue for promoting one’s research to a larger audience, including dissemination of research findings to interested stakeholders and the broader public. But, how important is it to have a web presence for your research? Increasing your web presence takes effort, and should you invest this effort as a student, or are you just wasting valuable research time? A researcher’s web presence can range from an outdated website, to a strong homepage with access to research results, specialized computer programs, and even blogs or news feeds on one’s research specialization. In this workshop, we will discuss the variety of ways that undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers are using the web effectively to both promote and advance their research. We will also briefly consider the various tools available that can assist students in developing their own web presence for communicating their research more broadly.