PaleoConnect is a PS student member lead initiative aimed at strengthening the global paleontological society through communication and collaboration. PaleoConnect comprises two components: Peer Mentorship and Coffee Hour. Please read below for more information.

PaleoConnect: Peer Mentorship

The goal of the program is to strengthen the global paleontological community by connecting graduate students with similar interests. This is an opportunity to build career-long, professional relationships with people from around the world. This program was created to encourage discussions between students with different academic experiences as well as to share international resources such as: courses, workshops, data sources, and funding opportunities.

 Participants will be asked to complete a google form which will help the program organizers to connect students based on similar scientific interests and academic goals. Emphasis will be placed on connecting students from different countries to promote international communication. Each participant will receive an email with the name, contact information and a short description of the student they have been paired with. In addition, an email template will be sent out to help initiate communication between the two participants. How frequently participants converse over email is up to them but we hope that they connect at least once a month.

 If you are interested please fill out the google form. There will be a rolling deadline for signing up for this program: April 1st, August 1st, and December 1st,


PaleoConnect: Coffee Hour

The goal of the coffee hour is to strengthen the paleontological community by giving students a space to invent, discuss, and be heard. With direct access to PS committee members students have the opportunity to mold PS incentives to meet their needs. In addition, students can host their own discussions regarding topics of their choice. Each month PaleoConnect will host a zoom coffee hour with a minimum of three break-out rooms.  

1) Paleontological Society Student Representative Office Hour:

This break-out room will be hosted by a PS student representative with the purpose of giving students the ability to communicate with their PS representative. This is a space to share ideas, feedback, or concerns. 

2) Diversity and Inclusion Committee Webinar Series:

The PS Diversity and Inclusion Committee organizes a monthly webinar series tackling important topics in academia. This break-out room will be hosted by a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and will focus on the discussion topic for the next webinar. This is a space where students can directly communicate with the committee about the content that they wish to see in the next webinar. This is a way to ensure that webinars are adaptive to the needs of the students. This is also an opportunity to connect with the D&I committee members.     

3) Student Led Break-Out room:

This break-out room will be hosted by a student(s) who will facilitate a discussion around a topic of their choice. Discussion Leaders DO NOT need to be experts in the topic they propose, rather they should ask questions and open up a dialogue with other student members. This is an opportunity for discussion leaders to reach out to the scientific community to explore ideas, strategies, concepts, etc. Discussion leaders will be expected to host the break-out room and facilitate the discussion. However, the PaleoConnect organizers are here to help throughout the process. We have put together some resources that will help the discussion leader prepare. That being said, students have creative freedom on the topic and format of the discussion.

Benefits of volunteering as a discussion leader:

Upon hosting a PaleoConnect discussion you will receive a certificate for being an official Paleontological Society Student Volunteer. There is also the option for you to be featured on the Paleontological Society social media. Furthermore, discussion leaders can choose to enter the discussion leader competition. At the end of May 2021 the PaleoConnect committee will choose the best student led break-out room. The winner of the competition will get a free year membership to the Paleontological Society. Lastly, every discussion leader will receive constructive feedback regarding the execution of their break-out room.

If you are interested in being a discussion leader please fill out the google form.