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The student section achieves its mission through activities designed to facilitate interaction among students and junior scholars of social aspects of science and technology, as well as by facilitating contacts among these groups and more senior scholars.

Examples of current and prospective activities include:

  • Maintaining the email (STSGRAD-L) listserv, a widely-used means of exchanging news on conferences, workshop, jobs, fellowships, and related information.
  • Maintaining the Facebook group, which is open to all who are interested in 4S activities.
  • Develop an online forum for the 6S section of the 4S website to facilitate 6s business planning as well as possible accommodation- and ride-sharing boards for the 4S annual meeting.
  • Updating the student section website, which includes an archive of e-mails from the STSGRAD listserv, a link to other relevant STS discussion lists, contact details, and other relevant information, as well as a database of students’ research interests.
  • Organizing student interest panels at 4S conferences, including such topics as job searches and publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
  • Organizing social gatherings at 4S conferences to enable greater cohesion among student and junior scholar communities.
  • Holding yearly regional or online student mini-conferences on breaking trends in research, usually 6-8 months before the annual meeting.
  • Holding bi-yearly online video chat sessions with student members to help students discuss (or make contacts with those who can answer) questions on a variety of topics (including among others, 4S, careers, funding, and research practicalities) which are not covered by their advisers or university program officers.
  • Conducting a mentoring program to help guide new students not only through the PhD but also through the career development process. The program links new students with more experienced scholars, particularly upper-level students and postdocs.
  • When available, facilitating student access to 4S travel grants to attend the 4S annual conference.
  • Helping to organize accommodation or ride sharing to lessen the costs of attending the 4S annual meeting. Seeking additional ways to help students defray the costs of participating in 4S and attending the annual meeting.
  • Being open to answering additional questions or comments on a variety of issues related to the study of the social aspects of technology.