Etiquette when dealing with your previous supervisor/ department (postdoc)

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rwooduk
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I have recently moved into a new University for a postdoc position.

A couple of questions if I may:

1. My previous supervisor was expert in my field. On occasion I would like to email them for guidance in my new project. Would this be acceptable considering I have now completed my work with them?

2. For my new project there is a piece of equipment that would be useful in my old department. It has not been used for the past 2 years and just sits in a cupboard. Would it be out of line to ask to borrow it?

Really just trying to judge the amount of disconnect after moving on. I am curious as to the amount of contact / request that would be acceptable.

When you first moved to a postdoc position did you seek continued (limited) guidance, or did you accept that you are no longer part of your previous institution and go out on your own?
 
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I don't see a problem with the occasional email to your previous supervisor if you think he or she might have some insight into something you're working on. Just make sure that your current PI is okay with you discussing your project with someone who isn't part of it. And keep in mind that at some point there's a threshold between friendly discussion and collaboration. It's not that you can't cross that, it's just important to make sure that everyone is on the same page. You don't want to reach a point where your prior supervisor feels as if he or she is putting a lot of time and energy into a project that he or she did not sign up for and then gets nothing out of it.

Also, I think it's fine to ask to borrow equipment, but this, depending on the specific details, does tend to approach that collaboration threshold.

In general, it's fine to keep the lines of communication open with previous supervisors or people that you've worked with. They're part of your network. Speaking for myself, I like knowing what my previous students are up to.
 
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Choppy said:
I don't see a problem with the occasional email to your previous supervisor if you think he or she might have some insight into something you're working on. Just make sure that your current PI is okay with you discussing your project with someone who isn't part of it. And keep in mind that at some point there's a threshold between friendly discussion and collaboration. It's not that you can't cross that, it's just important to make sure that everyone is on the same page. You don't want to reach a point where your prior supervisor feels as if he or she is putting a lot of time and energy into a project that he or she did not sign up for and then gets nothing out of it.

Also, I think it's fine to ask to borrow equipment, but this, depending on the specific details, does tend to approach that collaboration threshold.

In general, it's fine to keep the lines of communication open with previous supervisors or people that you've worked with. They're part of your network. Speaking for myself, I like knowing what my previous students are up to.

Thank you for this advice Choppy! I See what you are saying about the difference between discussion and collaboration. I also don’t want to be seen as taking advantage of my ex-supervisors good nature. I will air on the side of caution and be careful not to cross the line. Extremely helpful, thanks again.