Month: October 2020

GA Employment Outside the U.S. Spring 2021 Update

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Dear Graduate Students,

COVID-19 has placed enormous stress on all graduate students, and the travel restrictions associated with it have placed an especially large burden on international graduate students. Most international graduate students have remained here since the pandemic began, and may be isolated from not only your University communities, but also your friends and families in your home countries. We know these past seven months have been very difficult, and we want you to know that we are here to support you in the months ahead. Many of you are wondering about whether you should travel over the winter holidays and whether you can hold a graduate assistantship and perform the duties associated with it while you are outside the U.S. I am writing to you with information that I hope you will find useful as you make your plans.

GAs provide vital teaching and research service to the University, and some of this work might be possible remotely. GAs who are here in the U.S. are able to work remotely, provided they have supervisor approval and that the responsibilities of the position can be completed from the remote location. GAs who are outside the United States, however are subject to the employment, labor, and tax obligations of the country from which they are working, even if they are working on behalf of an employer like UConn that is located in the U.S. In some cases, accepting a paycheck from UConn could expose an individual to personal liability and other significant consequences in the country where they reside.

We continue to try to balance the University’s commitment to supporting our graduate students with our concern that some well-intentioned efforts could place students at risk in their home country. Therefore, GAs are expected to be in the U.S. by the start date of their Spring semester appointment and remain in the U.S. for the duration of that appointment. Remote employment taking place outside the United States must be approved in advance by The Graduate School, and will only be approved under extremely limited circumstances described in the following guidelines. These guidelines were developed in conjunction with the Office of the Provost, the Office of the General Counsel, and the Office of Global Affairs.

  • Graduate students who leave for winter break and who expect to hold graduate assistantships in Spring 2021 are expected to make every effort to arrive in the U.S. to begin the responsibilities of their Spring semester appointment (and no later than the semester start date of January 19, 2021). International students are advised to consult with ISSS about the likelihood of being able to return to the U.S. in time for Spring 2021 before making travel plans.
  • GAs will only be considered to work from abroad for Spring 2021 in the event that new travel restrictions or travel related circumstances that were not in place at the time of departure prevent them from returning to the U.S. Students may review current U.S. entry restrictions, and current global travel restrictions. The Graduate School will also consider changes to local travel conditions (i.e. flight cancellations, local lockdowns) when considering your emergent circumstances.
    • In the case of a GA who chooses to leave the country and is unable to return because of travel restrictions that prevent return, the department may request approval for work abroad, but approval will be subject to export control and grant restrictions. Approval will take at least several days and could take several weeks. You should understand that you may be placed on unpaid leave while the request is reviewed.
  • Prior approval to work remotely while abroad for Fall 2020 does not guarantee approval to work remotely while abroad in Spring 2021. A new request for each student must be submitted by the department and each request will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Please be sure to consult your ISSS advisor with any questions you have about your visa status and for updates on travel restrictions to and from the U.S.

If you have any questions, please send them to graduatedean@uconn.edu, and we will respond as quickly as possible.

Postdoc Appreciation Week Highlights

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Monday, September 21st to Friday, September 25th marked the Postdoc Appreciation Week at UConn in partnership with The Graduate School, UConn Health, and The Center for Career Development. Even though all events happened virtually, we hope our Postdocs know that you aren’t only important to us this week, but year-round. To recapitulate, here are some highlights from this past Postdoc Appreciation Week:

Thank you to all who attended Postdoc Appreciation Week
Thank you to all who attended Postdoc Appreciation Week

On Tuesday, September 22nd, The Graduate School hosted a panel discussion, Next Steps on the Academic Ladder: Reflections from Former Postdocs, regarding the challenges and opportunities of Postdocs moving forward. We had a diverse panel that included former UConn Postdocs who are now at new faculty positions across the US or who stayed at UConn, and Postdocs who competed their Postdoc at other universities who are now faculty at UConn as we were also excited to see some familiar faces at the event. The panelists shared tips and tricks for navigating the job market, what challenges they had encountered, and how their takes on balancing work with job search looked like. The panelists also shared their advices for current Postdocs looking to secure a faculty position: it is important to be intentional about institution and position while navigating the job search, as process and opportunities would look different and depend on the field. Panelists had different opinions regarding when to apply to jobs, some agreed to apply as fast as possible while others suggesting being more intentional of what’s the right fit. It is important to check in with your advisor or mentor to get their opinions and support as the job search process can vary within the field and institution.

On Wednesday, September 23rd, Dean Holsinger from The Graduate School hosted AMA (Ask Me Anything) session where Postdocs had the chance to ask Dean Holsinger about anything they wanted, whether it’s about postdoc life at UConn, life after a postdoc, or fountain pens. During the event, Dean Holsinger answered questions on being a Postdoc at UConn and looked for ways The Graduate School can better serve the Postdoc community. Many Postdocs asked questions focused on work-life balance, while Dean Holsinger shared that when it comes to career and finding a position, Postdocs should keep their eyes open on a broad range of careers. Their PhD work can be applied to many different areas and a faculty position doesn’t have to be the fallback. When asked about working on research versus finding funding for research projects, Dean Holsinger shared that it is difficult to answer as this might vary by individual cases. It is tough to find a balance between the two, yet prioritization is always an important skill that has to be developed over time.

A final thank you to all the postdocs for everything you do! We will continue to support you during your journey here at UConn!