Below you can see an overview of the program of 2013.
You can find the 2015 program here
DAY 1
Theme 1: Valuable Skills of PhDs
PhD training cultivates many skills within a candidate. However, the skills that endure and stand out to employers are often not the technical abilities relating to each particular thesis topic. An opening lecture will provide insight into which transferable skills of PhDs are valuable to certain employers and why. Students will then be able to choose 2 out of 6 key skill workshops: conflict mediation, data mining, how to handle and give feedback, critical appraisal of self, how to compare yourself to the top and self-promotion. The workshops will show how to acquire and identify these transferable skills during your PhD and how to articulate them for career planning and the future. Later on, a discussion panel from all the days’ speakers will allow for an open question forum. The day will be closed by a keynote speaker, who will share his unique stepwise approach on ‘how to enhance your skills to develop a talent for science’ or anything for that matter. In addition, included in the Conference Book will be a validated skills/personality questionnaire that all participants can fill out to gain insight on their own current transferable skills. Combined with drinks and dinner attendees will have the opportunity to sign up next day’s events.
DAY 2
Theme 2: Mechanics of Career Planning
The idea of strategic career planning during the PhD trajectory is at the core concept of this conference. The day will open with a keynote talk on, ‘where PhDs end up… why they end up where they do… what they can do about it, etc. Then representatives from academia, industry, government, alternative careers, HR, and non-profit organizations will interact with the PhD students during rotating lecture sessions. They will provide information about job and application requirements, what type of candidates their industries look for, the recruitment processes, and how to prepare and market your PhD degree for a job interview. Not only will seasoned employees speak, but also recent PhD graduates will share their career journeys. A career market during the entire conference will showcase all types of current vacancies/opportunities for PhD graduates, including industry and academic positions. In addition, all PhD conference attendees will have the opportunity to have their CV critiqued and to have a professional photograph taken for their future job applications and social medium promotion. A career market during the entire conference will showcase all types of current vacancies/opportunities for PhD graduates, including industry and academic positions. In addition, all PhD conference attendees will have the opportunity to have their CV critiqued and to have a professional photograph taken for their future job applications and social medium promotion.
Theme 3: Getting Your Message Across
Interacting with information is at the very heart of research and informed researchers are both consumers and producers of information. This theme will explore the communication and transfer of scientific information from the PhD student to others. More specifically, it will focus on how to create a clear and understandable message for broad disciplined audiences, both scientific and non-academic, through various mediums. A lecture will address why it is so crucial to be able to have a clear message, then another lecture will discuss ‘lost in [science] translation’ moments, why things went wrong and how to avoid them. Finally, we will close the day with ‘Advice to young scientists: how to help people spot your talent’.