Announcing AGU Connect: A Dynamic New Networking and Collaboration Platform

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For several years now, one of the most common themes we have seen in response to surveys of AGU members, data from web and social media analytics, and even ad hoc conversations in the hallways or beer lines at meetings is our community’s need for more effective, efficient, and robust networking and collaborative opportunities.

Whether it’s a space to turn the kind of connections that happen at Fall Meeting into year-round opportunities; a method to support career advancement across a wide array of disciplines, career stages, industries, and geographic regions; or technology to help identify and work with potential collaborators in a targeted area of scientific research, we consistently hear that one of the best things AGU can do for the advancement of science is to facilitate networking amongst our various audiences. We recognize that such “bottom up” collaboration is a core value—and a core strength—of AGU’s. As a result, we have been working to find flexible, inclusive, and sustainable ways to enable these important interactions.

I’m excited to announce that AGU is taking an important step forward in meeting this critical need for our community. We have created a networking and collaboration platform called AGU Connect, where you can connect with colleagues in your field; meet potential new collaborators; and participate in discussions about research questions, timely issues in Earth and space science and related current events, and opportunities for career advancement.

We will launch the beta version of AGU Connect to groups of our members and select others in the broader Earth and space science community during the next few months. While all AGU members will have access to AGU Connect by the end of the summer, we will be inviting participants in batches to ensure a consistent user experience and support. However, if you are interested in being a beta tester for the site, please send an email to [email protected] with the subject line: Beta Tester, and we will ensure that you are given early access to the platform.

During the beta phase, we encourage you to test AGU Connect’s functionality and let us know if it is meeting your needs, and how we could make it even more useful. At launch, the platform will consist of:

  • An Open Forum, where users can gather to have discussions, share valuable resources and information, problem solve, and gain valuable knowledge from colleagues; and
  • A Support and Feedback Forum, where users are encouraged to share thoughts on the platform’s current functionality (user profiles, posting and responding to discussions, managing privacy and preference settings, etc.).

We intend to grow and evolve the AGU Connect platform in the coming weeks, months, and years. To support that process, we will regularly introduce new features to enhance your experience, as well as support the formation of additional groups to help you make better and more meaningful connections and work together to advance your science.

This summer you will receive an email from Lizzie Urban, who is working with our staff—many of whom you will get to know better through AGU Connect—to support our new AGU Connect community. Lizzie comes to AGU from Higher Logic, the technology company that powers the AGU Connect platform, and she will assist us in the coming months to ensure that this new service is meeting our community’s needs. She will share all the details about how you can log into the community, manage your preferences and create your profile.

We hope that this platform and its many features and communities will help you communicate and engage more dynamically with each other, and we look forward to your feedback and suggestions on how we can make the platform even better.



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