Life Sciences PhD & Postdoc Career Days 2023
Ever thought about life after PhD? Do you want to stay in research? Or do you want to enter a different career path that also matches your talents?
To find out what’s there for you behind the PhD-horizon, the Graduate School of Life Sciences organises the Life Sciences PhD & Postdoc Career Days on May 22-26th. With workshops, a career fair and speed dates with alumni. If you don't have a clue what the added value is of a PhD degree (a lot!) in jobs other than academic researcher, then this is your opportunity to find out.
We offer a full week of workshops, speed dates, talks and discussions.
Check out the programme and start (working on) your career. You can register for the free workshops via the registration form.
Workshop: Self analysis for career orientation - FULLY BOOKED
10:00 - 12:00, Bolognalaan 101, room 1.125
It can be quite hard to know exactly what kind of job will suit you, what you are passionate about, or where your strengths lie. Perhaps you have some ideas, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a better understanding. In this workshop, we will help you find out what is in your wheelhouse. And hopefully you will find out what it is you really want and what you find most important.
In this workshop we will encourage you to look at different aspects of yourself and your life. Based on that information, you can explore your future. By mapping your interests, capabilities, motives and career values, you will determine what is (most) important to you. After that, you will be better able to consider the jobs, organisations and occupations that fit your preferences.
Rutger-Jan Scholtens works as a career coach and soft skills trainer at Career Services, Utrecht University. He has a background in Business Administration and Cultural Anthropology. Ever since his university teaching days, he has emphasized the importance of personal reflection and the development of soft skills for students and PhDs. As a trainer/coach, his mission is to inspire and activate young professionals by challenging them to explore their motivations, qualities and opportunities.
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Workshop: Career opportunities after your PhD - FULLY BOOKED
10:30 - 12:00, Bolognalaan 101, room 1.152
Did you ever consider life beyond your PhD or postdoc in terms of career perspective? If not, do you know that about 70% of all PhD’s and 80% of all postdocs find their next career step outside of academia?
Where do you start your search? And even if you find organisations or sectors that offer research positions, how can you tell if you fit in or meet the criteria? How do you get in touch with these organisations or sectors? To answer these questions AcademicTransfer developed three tools for young researchers who want or need to explore their next career step. During this workshop we will show you how AcademicTransfer’s toolbox can support you on your career journey in research in the Netherlands.
Simone Cremers is working at AcademicTransfer, the Netherlands' top career platform for academics, researchers and scientists. Dutch research universities, university medical centers and top research institutes are members of the cooperative association AcademicTransfer. In her job Simone helps these organisations with their recruitment and employer branding needs, ultimately to establish long-term connections between candidates and organisations. Besides, she organises workshops and Q&As for academics and scientists to help them explore next career steps in the Netherlands.
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Workshop: Exploring the job market
14:00 - 16:00, Bolognalaan 101, room 1.125
The job market offers innumerable possibilities. But how do you keep in mind your own preferences, qualities, and motivations when you explore it? And how do you find organisations and jobs that suit your profile? How do you use and improve your network to end up with the perfect match?
In this workshop you will learn how to explore the job market and search for vacancies by making use of your own network. We will look at the ways employers select employees and how to anticipate their needs as you look for a job. You will also learn how to present yourself in the best possible way to prospective employers by preparing a professional pitch. You will gain a better understanding of how to approach the job market and will be more aware of the potential of your own network. As a result, you will approach prospective employers with greater confidence.
Rutger-Jan Scholtens works as a career coach and soft skills trainer at Career Services, Utrecht University. He has a background in Business Administration and Cultural Anthropology. Ever since his university teaching days, he has emphasized the importance of personal reflection and the development of soft skills for students and PhDs. As a trainer/coach, his mission is to inspire and activate young professionals by challenging them to explore their motivations, qualities and opportunities.
Workshop: Exploring the job market - FULLY BOOKED
10:00 - 12:00, Bolognalaan 101, room 3.130
The job market offers innumerable possibilities. But how do you keep in mind your own preferences, qualities, and motivations when you explore it? And how do you find organisations and jobs that suit your profile? How do you use and improve your network to end up with the perfect match?
In this workshop you will learn how to explore the job market and search for vacancies by making use of your own network. We will look at the ways employers select employees and how to anticipate their needs as you look for a job. You will also learn how to present yourself in the best possible way to prospective employers by preparing a professional pitch.
You will gain a better understanding of how to approach the job market and will be more aware of the potential of your own network. As a result, you will approach prospective employers with greater confidence.
As an organizational psychologist Tirsa de Vries has a passion for the (personal) development of people. During her career she gained a lot of experience in the field of education and training. As a career coach at UU Career Services, Tirsa derives great satisfaction from providing workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions around the career orientation process. She finds it important to create an environment where people can open up, develop themselves and share their stories.
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Workshop: Self analysis for career orientation
14:00 - 16:00, Bolognalaan 101, room 3.100
It can be quite hard to know exactly what kind of job will suit you, what you are passionate about, or where your strengths lie. Perhaps you have some ideas, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a better understanding. In this workshop, we will help you find out what is in your wheelhouse. And hopefully you will find out what it is you really want and what you find most important.
In this workshop we will encourage you to look at different aspects of yourself and your life. Based on that information, you can explore your future. By mapping your interests, capabilities, motives and career values, you will determine what is (most) important to you. After that, you will be better able to consider the jobs, organisations and occupations that fit your preferences.
Jacky Limvers has been working as a career coach and trainer for students and PhD’s for more than three decades. She has an academic background in art history and religious studies and is also educated in mindfulness and transactional analysis. She likes to facilitate people to find their own way in life and career. Personal development, wellbeing, autonomy, insight and humor are the backbone of her workshops that are all, predominantly, experience-based.
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Workshop: Transferable Skills
14:00 - 16:00, Bolognalaan 101, room 3.130
Do you know what skills you’ve acquired during your life as a student? People tend not to think much about these things. Transferable skills are useful in all kinds of professional contexts and you carry them with you from one job to the next.
If you want to convince an employer that you’re the right person for a job or an internship, you need the ability to present your skills with clarity and conviction. This workshop will make you aware of the transferable skills you’ve developed in your studies, at your (temporary) jobs and in your extracurricular activities.
Furthermore, you’ll analyse a job offering and try to assess, as accurately as you can, what the employer is looking for. You’ll learn to distinguish between specialist and generic (though job-specific) skills. You will then catalog your transferable skills and practice by providing examples that show what skills you possess.
As an organizational psychologist Tirsa de Vries has a passion for the (personal) development of people. During her career she gained a lot of experience in the field of education and training. As a career coach at UU Career Services, Tirsa derives great satisfaction from providing workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions around the career orientation process. She finds it important to create an environment where people can open up, develop themselves and share their stories.
BCF Career Event
10:00 - 16:00, Jaarbeurs Utrecht
(Re)energize your career with BCF.
The BCF Career Event for Life Sciences will be taking place on 24 May in Jaarbeurs Utrecht. It's the perfect opportunity to discover (new) job opportunities and meet potential employers from the field. Learn from first-hand experiences about career pathways and gain insight into specific roles and organisations. Network with employers and make connections that could help unlock your dream career. A variety of talks and panel discussions will be held to provide you with the skill set and knowledge you need to succeed in your career.
So, regardless of your age, education level, position, or work experience, join us in Utrecht and see where your future could take you! Sign up now and it's free.
This day is all about the PhD programmes. Please check your programme coordinator for more information !
The following PhD programmes have activities planned on Thursday, May 25 (or in some cases on other days during the week):
- Biomembranes - Esther de Graaff - E.deGraaff@uu.nl
- Cancer, Stam Cells & Development Biology - Eric Kalkhoven - E.Kalkhoven@umcutrecht.nl
- Cardiovascular Research – Marti Bierhuizen - M.F.A.Bierhuizen@umcutrecht.nl
- Computational Life Sciences – Sam von der Dunk – s.h.a.vonderdunk@uu.nl
- Environmental Biology - Hao Zhang – h.zhang3@uu.nl
- Epidemiology - Aswin Yau / Maud Verhoef - MSC-Epidemiology@umcutrecht.nl
- Life Sciences Education Research - Renske de Kleijn – R.A.M.deKleijn-3@umcutrecht.nl
- Molecular Life Sciences- Reinout Raijmakers – R.Raijmakers@uu.nl
- Toxicology and Environmental Health - Mieke Lumens – m.lumens@uu.nl
Workshop: What to expect when you take your research to market: starting a science based company
10:00 - 11:00, Online session
Could you start a business based on your research? Could you combine an academic career with entrepreneurship? And what would that be like? In this session these questions get answered by Stefan Braam, incubation lead at UtrechtInc. UtrechtInc is the startup incubator of the UU and UMCU and has helped many PhD-ers to start their own company.
Stefan will talk about what happens at the startup incubator. He will focus on what to consider and what to expect when you start your own company. But also, if you decide to start as an entrepreneur, what steps to take. At the end of the talk you can ask all your questions about the skills you need to start a successful business.
Please note that this workshop is also a teaser for the more in-depth training Ready to Start.
Stefan Braam is the startup incubation lead at UtrechtInc. He co-founded a startup himself, worked in all kinds of digital businesses before moving to UtrechtInc five years ago. Over the past 13 years UtrechtInc has brought more than 300 startups to market of which 70% still exist after 5 years. These startups had a combined revenue over 300 mln euro last year and created over 3700 jobs. UtrechtInc is a #10 university-linked startup incubator worldwide.
- Start date and time
- End date and time
- Location
- Utrecht (various locations)
- Entrance fee
- All PhD candidates & Postdocs of the Graduate School of Life Sciences are welcome to join the Life Sciences Career Days. Attendance is free of charge, registration is required.
- Registration
You can register for the workshops via the registration form.