# Sarahrp - Bioinformatics Pathway

**URL:** <https://stemaway.com/t/sarahrp-bioinformatics-pathway/6476>\
**Category:** Bioinformatics Workflow Self-Assessments\
**Created:** [August 28, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://stemaway.com/t/sarahrp-bioinformatics-pathway/6476 "2020-08-28T15:33:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sarahrp](https://d2nat51eddc6b4.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/stemaway.com/sarahrp/32/615_2.png) [@Sarahrp](https://stemaway.com/u/Sarahrp)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://stemaway.com/t/sarahrp-bioinformatics-pathway/6476/1 "2020-08-28T15:33:05Z")

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**Why I joined the Bioinformatics Pathway:** I was delighted to take on the role of Project Manager in the Bioinformatics Pathway as it afforded me the opportunity to build on my leadership experience from the June session - further developing my management and organisational skills - while simultaneously learning more about the field of Bioinformatics from the interns’ work.

**Tasks completed:**

In preparation:

- Organised 1-1 meetings with BI Leads from the June session to gather feedback and advice
- Created a [Lead Guidance](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZWITcrCeb8VtRV7VIBcQseY8n0OaER51kx9w9kuTd6w/edit?usp=sharing)document with recommendations for July Leads based on my conversations with June Leads
- Created a document detailing [Lead Roles](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y8xRsaUe5VT8RUT7TzKhP3jyKpV97wIBDqQRnPQxLAI/edit?usp=sharing) to help incoming Leads to choose a position that best suited them
- Compiled [Icebreaker Questions](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p88mcqC9EySBATJ9XKFu9imNNaw0tmrfAgFM0UBu6cQ/edit?usp=sharing) which I used at the beginning/end of every meeting as a team-building activity to encourage engagement and communication among team members.

During the BI internship:

- Scheduled regular team meetings for BI Teams 1&3
- Created agendas and meeting notes for BI Teams 1&3
- Prepared, scheduled and co-hosted informational webinars for all interns in the BI Pathway
  - [Bioinformatics Introductory Webinar](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1G-GaOEvibi5iZ_caEMgMV9K8ksEoU6FSk50-tOzLAB4/edit?usp=sharing)
  - [How to Make a Professional Presentation Webinar](https://nova.zoom.us/rec/share/5OFRP53v7m1JY53Vq330AKg4HaLsX6a81XUbr_oOz013aqhygCKOYJfxKuK79uAX?startTime=1597764888000%202)

- Lead team discussions on the importance of networking
- Facilitated communication between Leads and mentors with bi-weekly meetings
- Scheduled, hosted and created agendas for weekly Lead meetings
- Attended weekly Pathway Leads meetings with Isha and conveyed the information discussed to Leads in the BI Pathway
- Coordinated our final presentation sessions with Observers, Participants, Leads and Mentors.
- Created topics regularly and issued various reminders in the BI-Summer2020 category and in team categories to ensure the smooth running of the internship
- Facilitated feedback discussions among Leads and mentors and created a [BI Lead/Mentor Feedback](https://docs.google.com/document/d/11MSB7pPLY4d7aW9_CHkV1H0XEMtlQNSPcKP-H7fjmYc/edit?usp=sharing) document.

**The biggest challenge I faced during the internship:**

- Scheduling final presentation sessions so that there was a minimum of one Lead and one mentor at every intern’s presentation. This was particularly challenging as both interns and mentors span over a range of time zones across the globe. Some mentors had limited availability and many interns had school commitments for large portions of the day.

**How this challenge was overcome:**

- I scheduled two presentation rooms to take place simultaneously via Google Meet, with two sessions in each room.
- Interns who were unable to present on Friday August 21st presented instead at a catch-up presentation session on Wednesday August 26th.

Another challenge I faced was responding to queries from mentors, Leads, Participants and Observers. These queries required problem-solving and spanned a range of topics from meeting schedules to concerns regarding deliverables to communication difficulties and inactive participants.

**Further reflections:** This was an invaluable and unique leadership and project management experience. I was managing interns up to twenty years older than myself and not once did I feel inferior or judged based on my age. I look forward to sharing my experiences with prospective Leads of future sessions and to using such experiences to further contribute to the STEM-Away community through mentorship and advanced program management.