The on-line form presented to the students is available here and the raw data is here.
21 students responded
Q1. How confident are you in the following knowledge areas?
| Not at all | Somewhat | Moderately | Very | |
| Genetics (mendelian, quantitative, population, molecular) | 0 | 4 | 13 | 4 |
| Genomics | 2 | 7 | 8 | 4 |
| Experimental design and statistics | 2 | 6 | 9 | 4 |
| Data management (collection, analysis, database) | 1 | 5 | 11 | 4 |
| Bioinformatics | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Factors in crop plants that impact productivity | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Selection theory and techniques | 2 | 10 | 6 | 3 |
| Methods for breeding in selfing and outcrossing systems | 1 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| Plant breeding strategies (traditional, molecular, physiological) | 2 | 7 | 9 | 3 |
| Teaching strategies (Inquiry-based learning approaches) | 11 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Genomic selection (experiment set up, analysis) | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| UAS-HTP (operating equipment, experiment set up, data analysis) | 9 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
Q2. Are there any other knowledge areas in plant breeding you feel are important?
- Experimental design based on budgets. What realistically you can accomplish as a breeder with certain funding brackets.
- How to connect with industry to develop new market class specific products.
- Maybe economics and variety protection.
- Genome assembly and pangenomics
- gene editing and transgenics
Q3. What are three knowledge areas you feel most confident in?
| Genetics (mendelian, quantitative, population, molecular) | 11 |
| Genomics | 4 |
| Experimental design and statistics | 7 |
| Data management (collection, analysis, database) | 6 |
| Bioinformatics | 5 |
| Factors in crop plants that impact productivity | 6 |
| Selection theory and techniques | 3 |
| Methods for breeding in selfing and outcrossing systems | 3 |
| Plant breeding strategies (traditional, molecular, physiological) | 6 |
| Teaching strategies (Inquiry-based learning approaches) | 2 |
| Genomic selection (experiment set up, analysis) | 4 |
| UAS-HTP (operating equipment, experiment set up, data analysis) | 7 |
| Other (please specify) |
Q4. How confident do you feel in the following skill sets?
| Not at all | Somewhat | Moderately | Very | |
| Work cooperatively | 0 | 1 | 4 | 16 |
| Design experiments | 3 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
| Define and solve problems | 0 | 4 | 14 | 3 |
| Manage data | 0 | 4 | 13 | 4 |
| Consider alternative hypotheses | 2 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
| Communicate your scientific ideas orally | 0 | 7 | 12 | 2 |
| Make phenotypic selections | 2 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Molecular techniques | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| UAV-HTP techniques | 8 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Genomic selection techniques | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Observe and interpret results | 1 | 3 | 13 | 4 |
| Make marker assisted selections | 8 | 1 | 9 | 3 |
| Utilize SNPs or genotype by sequencing (GBS) | 8 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Statistical analysis | 1 | 9 | 7 | 4 |
| Choose parents and make crosses | 2 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
| Make genome wide selections | 6 | 9 | 5 | 1 |
| Write scientific papers and grants | 7 | 9 | 5 | 0 |
Q5. Are there any other skill sets you feel are important in your field of study?
- presentation skills
- Data Analytics
- R Script
Q6. What are the three skill sets you feel most confident in?
| Work cooperatively | 15 |
| Design experiments | 4 |
| Define and solve problems | 7 |
| Manage data | 2 |
| Consider alternative hypotheses | 1 |
| Communicate your scientific ideas orally | 5 |
| Make phenotypic selections | 6 |
| Molecular techniques | 2 |
| UAV-HTP techniques | 5 |
| Genomic selection techniques | 3 |
| Observe and interpret results | 1 |
| Make marker assisted selections | 2 |
| Utilize SNPs or genotype by sequencing (GBS) | 3 |
| Statistical analysis | 3 |
| Choose parents and make crosses | 2 |
| Make genome wide selections | 1 |
| Write scientific papers and grants | 1 |
| Other (please specify) |
Q7. What percentage of your time did you use the following skill sets in the past year?
| 0-25% | 25-50% | 50-75% | 75-100% | |
| Work cooperatively | 5 | 4 | 7 | 5 |
| Design experiments | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Define and solve problems | 5 | 2 | 9 | 5 |
| Manage data | 3 | 3 | 12 | 3 |
| Consider alternative hypotheses | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| Communicate your scientific ideas orally | 12 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| Make phenotypic selections | 11 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Molecular techniques | 14 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| UAV-HTP techniques | 11 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Genomic selection techniques | 10 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| Observe and interpret results | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
| Make marker assisted selections | 13 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Utilize SNPs or genotype by sequencing (GBS) | 10 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Statistical analysis | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| Choose parents and make crosses | 12 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| Write scientific papers or grants | 9 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Make genome wide selections | 16 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
Q8. How important do you believe the following methods are in educating graduate students?
| Not at all | Somewhat | Moderately | Very | |
| One-on-one mentoring | 0 | 1 | 5 | 15 |
| Collaboration with faculty other than your advisor | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 |
| Collaboration with other graduate students at your institution | 0 | 4 | 10 | 7 |
| Collaboration with graduate students from OTHER institutions | 0 | 8 | 9 | 4 |
| Teaching experience | 1 | 9 | 8 | 3 |
| Independent development of hypothesis | 1 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Independent development of research designs | 1 | 8 | 7 | 5 |
| Field experience | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| Laboratory experience | 0 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Exposure to diverse research methods and tools | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Experience writing grants | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| Experience presenting results (meetings, papers) | 2 | 0 | 7 | 12 |
| Exposure to plant breeding students from different ethnic backgrounds | 2 | 3 | 9 | 7 |
Q9. In your opinion, what are the three best methods for educating graduate students?
| One-on-one mentoring | 18 |
| Collaboration with faculty other than your advisor | 4 |
| Collaboration with other graduate students at your institution | 7 |
| Collaboration with graduate students from OTHER institutions | 4 |
| Teaching experience | 3 |
| Independent development of hypothesis | 2 |
| Independent development of research designs | 4 |
| Field experience | 6 |
| Laboratory experience | 4 |
| Exposure to diverse research methods and tools | 8 |
| Experience writing grants | 1 |
| Experience presenting results (meetings, papers) | 3 |
| Exposure to plant breeding students from different ethnic backgrounds | 1 |
| Other (please specify) | 1 |
This comment is more in regards to Q10 & Q11: I have become less motivated to pursue a career in plant breeding not from lack of interest but because I am a female with disabilities and frankly the job prospects looked too slim for me; the bioinformatics field seemed much more likely to hire someone like me.
Q10. To what extend are you interested in the plant breeding field? (0 to 10 scale)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
Q11. How motivated do you feel in pursuing a career in plant breeding? (0 to 10 scale)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
Q12. Please indicate the percentage of time you participated in the following activities over the past year
| 0-25% | 25-50% | 50-75% | 75-100% | |
| Mentoring an undergraduate student | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Inquiry-based learning approached | 4 | 9 | 7 | 1 |
| Planning research | 3 | 6 | 8 | 4 |
| Working in the field | 1 | 9 | 7 | 4 |
| Conducting research | 2 | 1 | 11 | 7 |
| Being mentored by your advisor | 4 | 10 | 5 | 2 |
| Participating in the online community | 11 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Gathering, analyzing, and managing data | 2 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| Problem solving | 2 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
Q13. Please indicate the value of these activities for understanding the profession of plant breeding
| Not at all | Somewhat | Moderately | Very | |
| Mentoring an undergraduate student | 3 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| Inquiry-based learning approached | 0 | 5 | 13 | 3 |
| Planning research | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
| Working in the field | 0 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| Conducting research | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
| Being mentored by your advisor | 0 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| Participating in the online community | 4 | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Gathering, analyzing, and managing data | 0 | 1 | 5 | 15 |
| Problem solving | 0 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
Q14. Please indicate how often you have interacted with the following types of people in the past year.
| Never | Once a year or less | Once every three months or less | Once a month or less | Once a week or less | More than once a week | |
| Other undergraduates at my institution | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Students in my lab | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Other graduate students at my institution | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Students from other institutions in the US | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Students from minority serving institutions | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Students from institutions outside the US | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| My advisor | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 14 |
| Researchers at my institution | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| Researchers from minority serving institutions | 7 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Researchers from other institutions in the US | 5 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Researchers outside of the US | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Researchers from businesses and/or private companies | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Q15. Please indicate what was the most prevalent topic of your interactions with your contemporaries?
| Class assignments/ classes in general | Trouble shooting research | Collaborations (i.e. working on a research project) | Social | Mentoring/ being mentored | Interpreting research results | Theory of genetics or breeding | Job prospects and professional networking | Other | |
| My mentee | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Students in my lab | 3 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other graduate students at my institution | 7 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Students from other institutions in the US | 0 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Students from minority serving institutions | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Students from institutions outside the US | 0 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| My advisor | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Researchers at my institution | 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Researchers from minority serving institutions | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Researchers from other institutions in the US | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Researchers outside of the US | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Researchers from businesses and/or private companies | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
Q16. What is your gender?
| Male | 10 |
| Female | 10 |
| Prefer Not To Answer | 1 |
Q17. Are you a US citizen?
| Yes | 14 |
| No | 7 |
Q18. Is English your primary language?
| Yes | 14 |
| No | 7 |
Q19. How many years have you been funded as a graduate student by the WheatCAP grant?
- Less than 1 year: 7
- 1 year: 9
- 2 years: 2
- 3 years: 1
- 4 years: 0
- 5 years: 1
Q20. How can we improve the WheatCAP education program?
- Continue to offer online resources and workshops to help students better understand their field as well as learn how to solve problems that may arise in their research projects.
- Collaborative activities outside of our research. Not a project but maybe fun prompts like “Where do you see food security in 100 years and the role of plant breeding”.
- By interacting with other students and sharing the knowledge i know to them and how we work to solve a problem.
- Keep pushing advisors/researchers to mentor and teach graduate students!
- I am excited for opportunities to meet other graduate students
- Greater focus on utilizing whole genome assembly resources
- Train students to apply for grants.
- I may answer it accurately later.
- Providing more workshops
- More training sessions
Q21. Suggestions for future education activities?
- Bring in reps of CIMMYT, other companies/organizations that are potential employers so we can be set up for future job opportunities!
- Workshops on different topics such as writing grant proposals, GS, HTP, breeding methods, and so one.
- Inviting speakers from CIMMYT, John Innes, CSIRO or others could give new perspective to students.
- Fun prompts in breakout rooms almost like a panel so we can hear from different students.
- Seminar every week where one student give a presentation about his research work
- Wheat quality, and the different market classes across the US
- once a month journal club
- More training workshop.
- not now
- see Q20