CRA-I Blog

The CRA-I Blog frequently shares news, timely information about the computing research industry community, and items of interest to the general community. Subscribe to blog emails here to stay connected.

Establishing Partnerships with Industry at CRA-WP’s Career Mentoring Workshop 2023

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People sitting at tables watching the panelists present. In November, CRA-Industry (CRA-I) had the honor of delivering a plenary talk at CRA-WP’s 2023 Early & Mid Career Mentoring Workshop in Chicago, IL. The speakers, CRA-I’s Co-Chair Vivek Sarkar (Georgia Tech) and Cynthia Bennett (Google), presented on “Establishing Partnerships with Industry at CRA-WP’s Career Mentoring” and sparked vibrant discussions with the audience.

The speakers underscored the immense value of informal interactions like coffee chats at conferences and workshops. Emphasizing the impact of organic conversations, Cynthia shared an inspiring academia-industry collaboration that originated from a casual chat and evolved into a joint publication. Such partnerships not only facilitate resource-sharing and funding but also encourage exploration of broader research questions.

The conversation delved into the significance of virtual mentoring sessions, particularly for first-generation students. Teaching students effective interaction with industry, these sessions create a bridge, providing students access to industry insights and vice versa. The potential for enhancing the computer science curriculum through industry collaborations was also highlighted.

While building trust among stakeholders demands time and commitment, the result is a collaborative culture that propels the computing research community forward. The discussion echoed a shared recognition within the community for more collaborations between academia and industry.

CRA-I and CRA stand ready to support and promote these collaborations. For suggestions or questions, reach out to industryinfo@cra.org. Together, let’s advance the synergy between academia and industry in computing research.

CCC and CRA-I Respond to NIH RFI on Developing Consent Language for Research Using Digital Health Technologies

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The following post was originally posted on the CCC Blog, by CCC Program Associate Haley Griffin. 

Yesterday, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC), in collaboration with CRA-Industry (CRA-I), responded to a Request for Information released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Developing Consent Language for Research Using Digital Health Technologies. The following CCC Council Members and CCC staff authored the response: David Danks (University of California, San Diego), Haley Griffin (Computing Community Consortium), Katie A. Siek (Indiana University), and Pamela Wisniewski (Vanderbilt University). CRA-I Council Member Tammy Toscos (Parkview Health) is also a co-author of the report.

NIH provided informed consent sample language that they plan to release as a voluntary guide for researchers that use digital health technologies, and sought feedback from the community not only on gaps or additional concepts that should be included or clarified in the language itself, but also on any barriers the community could identify that would inhibit its widespread use.

CCC and CRA-I’s response proposed several improvements to their recommended language, including:

  • Identifying who is responsible for paying for cellular data/internet connection.
  • Explaining what constitutes a “medical device” versus what does not.
  • Providing more specificity and/or customization for each item, as technology should not be voted as a monolith.
  • Describing in more detail on how AI is used in the system, and how inferences from the data may be used/shared.
  • Creating a brief training for establishing baseline competencies.
  • Explaining how their data is going to be tracked, transformed, cleaned, and processed.
  • Differentiate between treatment/intervention versus data tracking/monitoring.
  • Handling with care the different consent and procedures for children.
  • Addressing “dark patterns” (e.g., Opt Out, nudges to consent) for obtaining consent for research as a prerequisite to receiving medical treatment.
  • Clarifying whether and how the data is protected by HIPAA.
  • Noting explicitly what data participants can ask to be removed and what data they can not (and what data the researchers own vs. a 3rd party).
  • Explaining risks related to child mandated reporting status of the reseachers (e.g., child abuse, sexual abuse, imminent risk of harm).
  • Providing an external and unbiased point of contact in case of harm.
  • Clarifying that the research team may withdraw them from the study if the participant no longer qualifies.
  • Explaining that withdrawal will not adversely impact their standard medical care as provided prior to entry into the study.

The authors of the CRA response also noted that sometimes template language like this can manifest into required protocol without care being put into making sure it works for the study, and it is important to not require it as a blanket statement if it does not apply directly to the research.

Read the full CCC/CRA-I response here.

DEADLINE APPROACHING: Applications for CRA’s Career Mentoring Workshops due 12/11 (Industry Welcome!)

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The Computing Research Association (CRA) is now accepting applications for its biennial CRA Career Mentoring Workshops (CMWs). The workshops provide valuable career advice and mentoring activities to people just beginning or in the early stages of their computing research careers. Building on the success of more than two decades of workshops for starting a tenure-track position in academia, this year’s program is expanded to include a workshop on teaching and a track on launching a computing research career in industry.

Taking place in Washington, D.C., participants have the option to join one or both workshops.

CMW: Teaching will be held February 20-21, offering participants the opportunity to hear from seasoned computing educators about the nuts and bolts of teaching large upper-division classes and graduate student seminars. The goal of this highly-interactive and engaging workshop is to help reduce the time you spend on teaching, reduce your frustration with teaching, and improve your teaching evaluations. Specifically, attendees will gain insight into how to write and edit course syllabi, be introduced to high-quality materials and master teacher models, go through a bootcamp on evidence-based practices such as active learning, and gain guidance on how to manage TAs and other administrative tasks.

CMW: Research will be held February 22-23, with two track options:

  • The Academic Track will provide advice and mentoring activities for those starting academic computing research careers. Session topics will include planning your research career, networking strategies, mentoring and managing students, preparing a tenure dossier, time management and work-life balance, among others.
  • The Industry Track will offer attendees advice and mentoring for launching a computing research career in industry. It will be led by experienced industry professionals and be focused on providing practical, actionable career advice, such as sessions on preparing a promotion application. Participants of the Industry Track will join the Academic Track as it makes sense, for session topics such as networking strategies and work-life balance.

The workshops, consisting of a series of panels, are interspersed with opportunities to network with senior researchers and representatives from government agencies.

Apply by December 11, 2023

Please submit your application no later than December 11, 2023. You will receive an email notification no later than December 20, 2023 on the status of your application and, if selected, next steps.