Introducing Postdoc Career Success
Postdoc Career Success is for institutions and individuals looking for practical training
and mentoring support for the career development of their postdocs.
Postdoc Career Success introduces essential skills and tools that early stage researchers can apply immediately in their daily work.
The program's practical, step-by-step approach is designed to help researchers settle quickly in their roles, build their confidence and develop the abilities they need to tackle the challenges of the postdoc phase.
The program motivates researchers to structure their own careers and equips them to maximise their contributions, accelerate their progress and fulfil their potential, wherever their career choices take them.
The approach
The program's core of online eclasses offers greater flexibiiity than a workshop series or residential course can provide. Its online format allows for simultaneous delivery to large groups of researchers, offering consistency of quality and accessibility of training irrespective of researchers' diverse work schedules.
The pacing of the core content - one new eclass presented each fortnight throughout the program - is designed to suit researchers working full time. The timing and on-demand format help make sure participants stay engaged and give them ample opportunity to explore and apply all the course material, tools and resources.
The average time commitment to complete all the program's elements thoroughly is no more than 2 hours per fortnight.
Postdoc Career Success retains the advantages of interactive training by combining online components with live group webinar sessions and individual mentoring, so participants also get the benefit of engaging directly with us and their own colleagues taking part in the program.
Program components and options for institutions
| description | Core & options |
|---|---|---|
Eclasses |
15 eclasses delivered fortnightly online over 7 months, in text and audio versions to suit researchers' preferences | CORE INCLUSION - lifelong access for all participants to program material |
Personal mentoring |
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Participants have access to one-on-one mentoring on matters of their choice with experienced PostdocTraining mentors via Skype or phone, providing personalised career coaching and professional development advice. | CORE INCLUSION - with options for institutions to increase, reduce or pool mentor hours |
Email career advice | Individual postdocs can seek advice on career-related matters and issues throughout the program, via PostdocTraining's email support service. | CORE INCLUSION |
Career database | Ongoing access to the Career Options Masterlist, PostdocTraining's database covering dozens of career paths in academia and beyond for research-active staff, including case studies. | CORE INCLUSION - lifelong access for all participants |
News service | A monthly news service distilled from international journals, print media and the internet to give participants the most current material on research-related career issues and pathways. | CORE INCLUSION - ongoing subscription for all participants |
Branded portal |
PostdocTraining can create a dedicated access portal carrying a host institution's branding, messages and information links, if required, to ensure a familiar local 'feel' for participants. |
OPTION |
Live webinars |
Live online discussions facilitated by PostdocTraining on issues of shared interest to an institution's participants (such as grant application processes and local grant-winning models, building research teams, dealing with autonomy, transferrable skills, etc.). Institutions' own staff can be involved as panel members for these webinars, at their discretion. |
OPTION - with the number, frequency and topics for these webinars decided by agreement with the host institution |
Mastermind groups |
PostdocTraining can support a host institution's participants in setting up these self-guided peer-mentoring groups, including via a survey and matching of members, and guidance on establishing and operating a group. | OPTION |
A note on pricing
The cost of Postdoc Career Success for institutions depends on factors including the numbers of participants to be enrolled and options such as the webinars and the number of mentoring hours required for each researcher.
By way of a guide, however, we guarantee that any program drawn from the components described here and involving no more than 3 hours of mentoring time per participant, will cost substantially less per capita than the regular price for researchers signing up independently (US$697). In addition, webinars and peer-mentoring are options offered only to institutions.
Additional program benefits
Training benefits without added burdens on staff
Postdoc Career Success is a fully outsourced service. Institutions can choose their preferred level of involvement, from opting for a branded program access portal to ensure a local 'flavour', to becoming involved in webinars and organising peer-mentoring 'Mastermind' groups for program participants.
Supporting staff, institute policy and practices
The program can help address the isolation that may be felt by early career researchers and helps promote greater cohesion amongst researchers across institutions, through the shared training process and material, and the webinars and Mastermind mentoring groups if these options are selected.
In addition, the program's mentoring and webinar components in particular can uncover issues common to many researchers across an institution that may be dealt with through centrally-driven solutions. Examples might be more structured support for overseas arrivals or assistance with preparing funding applications. PostdocTraining's facilitation role enables it to identify and pass on information about recurring issues so institutions can consider whether these need to be addressed.
Postdoc Career Success is a useful complement to regular supervision arrangements and to any mentoring relationships that may be in place. The program drives participants to develop a thorough knowledge of their career options and personal development priorities, so discussions with mentors have clear structure and definition.
A competitive edge
The program can also be a strong point of difference for an institution competing to recruit and retain high quality research staff. Its structure means institutions can even enrol new staff to start the training before their arrival, as part of their induction.
Keen to know more? Please contact us direct
We will be delighted to discuss directly your institution's specific needs and potential training options drawn from the Postdoc Career Success menu of components.
Please introduce yourself using the contact form below, including your location and your preferred timing and contact method in the comments section, and we will respond as soon as possible in line with your preferences.