Individual Development Plan

What is an IDP?

An Individual Development Plan, IDP, provides students with the opportunity to think about their training objectives, progress towards them, and to set and/or refine goals for the future. The IDP also includes a self-assessment section designed to help students and their IDP advisor think constructively about skills and professional competencies: what are current areas of strength and the areas that will benefit from further professional development as they progress with training. 

Read what fellow students have to say about it here.

Benefits of an IDP

Just as the process of writing a research article or proposal focuses the work at the bench, the IDP helps students develop an efficient training plan tailored to support specific career ambitions. The act of completing the IDP Process will stimulate students to define goals in more specific terms for both the short and long term, and will motivate students to identify resources which can help meet them.

The IDP Mentor

The role of the IDP Mentor is to help with goal setting, career advice, and the implementation of the IDP.  At the end of the G1 year, students can select any faculty member of their choosing to serve as their IDP Mentor.

To gain the most benefit from the IDP, students must think deeply about the questions and answer them frankly. Sharing is therefore not a program requirement, nor will the IDP be kept on file by BBS. Students are free to share as much or as little of the plan as they feel comfortable. However, the IDP process will be most effective if used to guide candid discussions with the IDP Mentor.

Program Requirements

The completion of the IDP –privately or with the mentor– along with a corresponding yearly training/career-planning meeting with the IDP Mentor is a requirement of the BBS program. Because the beginning of a new academic year is an ideal time for self-reflection and planning, we ask that students complete the IDP in April, and have the yearly planning meeting before the end of May each year.  For G2 and above students, documentation that the IDP has been completed and planning meeting held must be submitted to the BBS office before May 31st.

Instructions