It All Starts Here: Prospective Professors in Training (PPIT)

The Faculty's Prospective Professors in Training (PPIT) program prepares soon-to-be faculty members for academia and teaches participants how to best manage their time and resources between teaching, research, and university administration.

Participants in PPIT typically have an identified passion for teaching and mentoring in addition to excellent research abilities and are close to completing their PhD.

The PPIT program includes three components: a course on Engineering teaching and learning; core seminars on a topic of interest to new faculty including how to apply for academic positions, classroom management, and how to start research programs and apply for grants; elective seminars covering various topics on teaching and learning offered by the Office of Teaching Advancement (OTA) and the Teaching Assistants Training Program (TATP).

PPIT became recognized as an official program during the 2007-2008 academic year; Engineering launched a pilot program of PPIT in the 2006-2007 academic year.

Engineering Newsletter staff recently spoke with MIE PhD Candidate Edmond Young, former PPIT Teaching Assistant and Program Coordinator (2007-2008), about his involvement and knowledge of the PPIT program, which he participated in during the 2006-2007 academic year.

What is your involvement with PPIT?

I helped vet student applications, organized seminars, setup and maintained the website, and assisted with the administration of the program, all through the direction of Estina Boddie from the Graduate Studies Office in Engineering.

How would you describe the program to a person who is unfamiliar with it?

PPIT is a program designed for grad students who really wish to pursue an academic career, but have questions about the profession. They know there is a wealth of information out there that would help them prepare for the job, but they don't know exactly who to ask or where to look. This program takes the grad student from job interview, to starting up a research program, to teaching Engineering at a university, to getting tenure. It's a "behind the scenes" look at the steps one needs to take to get the most out of becoming a professor.

What benefit do you think PPIT has for its participants?

It benefits the student both technically as well as mentally because it helps manage some of the doubts grad students have about going into academia. If you decide to still go into academia after the program, it means that you're mentally prepared to take on the challenges, knowing exactly what they are, instead of jumping into it without being prepared.

There's so much to the profession that we never hear about as grad students. When we do hear about them, it's usually tidbits from different sources. But when you get to hear all the stories and ideas about how to approach this career, all from one source, it's so helpful. It makes me wonder how past professors were able to handle the job on Day 1 without a program such as PPIT.

You're also a graduate of the program; what was it like for you?

The experience I had in the program was wonderful. I joined the program in its pilot year when all the professors who initially conceived of the PPIT concept--Susan McCahan (MIE), Grant Allen (ChemE), and Bryan Karney (CIV)--were all involved and committed to providing a productive mentoring experience to all the students. They were all genuinely interested in making sure we learned everything there was to know about an academic career and they knew all of the preparation needed to succeed as a professor.

Perhaps the best part was getting to know the other participants and hearing that they had similar doubts and fears about becoming a professor. The camaraderie we shared was great, and I learned as much from them as I learned from the program itself.

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