Katy Dickinson

Just Before Deadline - SEED mentoring application update

Today at midnight (in just over an hour) is the deadline for all 2008-2009 SEED application materials. I am still getting a steady flow of emails from applicants, managers, and recommenders with final submissions. I have been surprised to get several dozen new applications today - usually, the last day of the 20-day-long application period is dedicated to revisions and additional recommendations (polishing the apples rather than planting new trees). I received the most recent new application just over an hour ago.

The SEED mentoring program is accepting applications from Sun Engineering staff worldwide for its Recent Hire and Established Staff mentoring terms which will start in September 2008. (The next PreSEED term does not start until January 2009.) To date, we have received 169 SEED applications, 122 of which are complete. This total includes:

• Recent Hires: 45 applications, 28 complete
• Established Staff: 124 applications, 94 complete

More information on the SEED worldwide Engineering mentoring program is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

Posted at 10:44PM Jun 09, 2008 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  | 

More cactus and other blooms

A few days ago, I wrote about our first big cactus bloom of the season. Here are some of its current competitors, big and small, for loveliest flower this week in my garden:

Crown of thorns Euphorbia

Pink Comb Cactus

White Climbing Rose

Scarlet trumpet vine

Prickly Pears and Flowers

Pleiospilos nelli

Cactus and Caboose

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 10:18PM Jun 09, 2008 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

SEED mentoring application update

Today at midnight is the deadline for the 2008-2009 SEED applications. Until then, the SEED program is accepting applications from Sun Engineering staff worldwide for its Recent Hire and Established Staff mentoring terms which will start in September 2008. (The next PreSEED term does not start until January 2009.) To date, we have received 155 SEED applications, 84 of which are complete. This total includes:

• Recent Hires: 42 applications, 17 complete
• Established Staff: 113 applications, 67 complete

All materials are due today. In most terms, more SEED applications are disqualified because materials are submitted late or are incomplete than for any other reasons. SEED's application process is intended to collect information and also to provide an opportunity for applicants to demonstrate that they are good communicators, well thought of, organized, and can meet deadlines.

SEED has applications in so far from Sun Engineering staff working in Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, P.R. China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, and the USA. They work for Sun Labs, Microelectronics, Global Sales and Services, Software, Storage, Systems, and Worldwide Operations.

Tanya Jankot and I are exchanging many emails with applicants, managers, and recommenders. My SEED email file for June has 759 emails in it already! Extensive materials are available on our SEED web pages inside the Sun network. We have process documents (including flow charts, of course), FAQs for applicants, participants, and managers, best practices and how-to documents, and lists of participants and mentors since 2001. Tanya recently automated the web pages which list who has been a SEED or PreSEED participant from some of Sun's biggest non-US Engineering sites: 76 for Beijing and China, 120 for Bangalore and India, 37 for Prague Czech Republic, and 50 in St. Petersburg Russia. One of the best parts of managing this program is working with people from all over the world who share a passion for Engineering and Computer Science.

More information on the SEED worldwide Engineering mentoring program is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

Posted at 11:24AM Jun 09, 2008 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  |