In May 2020, soon after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit many countries in the world, the OMT Division launched the OMT Meetup initiative aimed at supporting doctoral students and junior faculty to build their professional networks and receive feedback and mentorship.
At a time when most conferences and external speaker visits were being cancelled because of COVID-19, the OMT Meetup initiative offered the opportunity to meet for a one-on-one virtual conversation with a senior OMT scholar.
A first, six-weeks-long edition of the OMT Meetups facilitated 308 virtual meetups' conversations between 102 senior mentors and 121 students and/or junior faculty. It was an extraordinary success. While the OMT Meetup initiative was initially designed as a one-time event to provide support to students and junior faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic, given the positive feedback received, the OMT division decided to continue with new ongoing editions of the OMT Meetups from December 2020 that have involved 454 conversations from February through June between 108 students/JF and 98 senior mentors. Both mentees and mentors showed their appreciation and support through numerous messages on social media, such as:
“Best thing I wake up to! OMT Online Meetup Allocations! I cannot thank the committee enough for both the idea and their efforts. Being paired with senior OMT scholars is not only motivating but also humbling opportunity! @AOM_OMT”
“Had a great discussion about emerging technologies and the future of work this morning as part of the OMT Meetups. As the mentor, I even got feedback.”
“Finished my second OMT online meetup. Both meetings have been incredibly valuable to gaining insight into the field (hearing personal stories of success, failure, and luck) and academically energizing. Thank you, OMT”
“Just had the first conversation as part of OMT Online Meetups & came away more enthused about research & academia! So grateful for this initiative that connects junior scholars with senior scholars for inspiration & advice. Can't wait for more conversations over the summer!”
OMT Meetups reflect our deep commitment to our members, and we’re always looking for ways to increase their opportunities to converse, collaborate, and connect. After all, one of our core values at OMT is to promote a safe, caring, and inclusive environment by sparking more conversations and fostering deeper relationships between our members.
With that in mind, we’re planning a new series of OMT Meetups to launch in the summer of 2021! The new rounds of OMT Meetups will be announced soon. We hope more of our members will take advantage of this opportunity and help us build our community one Meetup at a time.
Stay tuned for more details in a few short weeks. If you have any questions or suggestions in the meantime, please reach out to Shelby Gai.
We hope to see you at OMT Meetups and the AOM 2021 Annual Meeting. And remember, OMT is the Place to be!