The “Mind the Gap” workshop in July 2019 in Boulder, Colorado brought together representatives from sectors of meteorology that usually function largely unaware of the goals, priorities, and complements of the other. Participants included members of various private sector organizations and academic institutions, as well as students.

The first day of the workshop consisted of defining the “gap”, the second day focused on filling  the gap, and the final day emphasized the development of short- and long-term recommendations. The five core workshop objectives were:

1. To identify curriculum gaps related to preparing students for careers in the private sector
2. To discuss these gaps, challenges, and creative solutions that can be scaled across the academic and private sectors
3. To create a set of recommendations that can be used by departments across the country to modify their curricula in order to address these gaps
4. To create a set of recommendations for the private sector to take a more active role in directly addressing skills gaps through internships, capstones, and partnerships with academic programs, and
5. To promote future venues for sparking mutual innovation between the private sector and academia, driven by students

This session will summarize workshop activities and provide updates on subsequent accomplishments to date. New initiatives, obstacles, and lessons learned will also be outlined. Representatives from each sector will lead the discussion, and audience participation is highly encouraged.