Demonstrated Value of Individual Development Plans to Participating Academic Trainees and Their Mentors

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a personal action plan. IDPs can be used to set academic goals, explore career opportunities, and develop skills. During the 2022-23 academic year, we implemented IDPs with two groups in university settings: (1) graduate students and post-docs in the NASA-funded ICE-Five-O project; and (2) undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Hawai‘i. Twenty-four participants and their mentors rated various aspects of the IDP program on a scale of 1 (negative) to 5 (positive). Results were strongly positive, with means ranging from 4.1 to 4.8 for participants and from 4.2 to 4.6 for mentors. Overall, 92% of participants reported that they would recommend IDPs to their peers, and 94% of mentors reported that they would recommend IDPs as a mentoring tool. Although relatively few people (15%, or 31 of 207 eligible trainees) opted to participate, results of the pilot clearly show that those who created an IDP found the experience valuable. Future efforts will focus on maximizing participation.