Starting a new XML lab is a big undertaking, but can also be extremely rewarding. Each lab starts with a faculty member at a PIMS member university who is willing to take responsibility for coordinating the new lab. That person will make calls for new XML projects and participants, select new projects, assign participants, and connect those participants to the resources the will need. If you are interested in coordinating a new XML, please fill out the form below to start the process.
XML Coordinator Responsibilities
As an XML lab coordinator, you will be responsible for soliciting and selecting new XML projects from postdocs at your site each year. This is typically done in the weeks before the start of the fall term, so that you can start advertising the selected projects to undergraduate students at the beginning of term.
Once students start applying, you will need to assign them to projects, matching their skills and attributes with the needs of the project to build effective teams. Next you will need to arrange a kick off meeting three or four weeks into the term, to set expectations for all participants and to connect the groups with any resources you can offer them (e.g. computational resources).
Throughout the term, you should stay in close contact with the project mentors to help them address any challenges they are facing and to make sure they have realistic goals and a good chance of achieving them. You may wish to organize periodic check-in meetings to stay on top of this.
Two or three months before the end of the academic year, you should contact all of the project members to arrange a wrap-up meeting. This meeting is typically held at the end of the term, and can be tricky to schedule with the exams and other responsibilities the students have. At the wrap up meeting, students should present their work to all of the XML members for feedback. Finally, a written report should be prepared by the students a few weeks after the end of term.