New website about Academic Careers

The University of Manchester Careers Service have just launched a new site which is intended to help PhD students and early career researchers to get a better understanding of what an academic career entails, how to get one and how to succeed in one.

The website is open to all researchers from any university or discipline. It answers many questions about how to make it as an academic.

The site contains plenty of video clips of academics and early career researchers, as well as information about the different stages of an academic career and tips for finding jobs, applying for them and succeeding in interviews.

Visit the site here.

National GRADschools 2011

The dates for the Vitae National GRADschools 2011 have just been announced. They are:

GRADschool 1: Windermere, 1 - 4 March

GRADschool 2: Bournemouth, 14 - 17 June

GRADschool 3: Windermere, 11 - 14 October

More information on GRADschools can be found here, but basically they are residential courses for PhD students, that aim to do the following:

'Our vision is to create an inspirational, challenging and experiential learning environment in which all participants will learn something new about themselves and take away skills, tools or information which will motivate them to complete their studies, further realise their potential, and enable them to make more informed choices about their future careers.'

The courses are aimed at PhD students in their second year or above. If you are research council funded you will be eligible for a funded place on a GRADschool subject to availability. If you are a non-research council funded researcher you may apply for a national GRADschool but you or your department/school will need to cover the cost of your place and you will need to provide invoice details.

More details about the 2011 courses, and how to book, can be found here.

Having been on one of these courses myself during my PhD, I can't recommend them highly enough and I would strongly urge anyone to attend one. If you are interested, you should book as soon as possible, as the places are open to any PhD students in the country and they will get taken fast!

Improve your teaching skills and earn £18 an hour at Queen Mary!

The Queen Mary Careers Team is looking to recruit a PhD student to help manage the seasonal demand (Autumn Term in the first instance) for CV feedback from undergraduate students at Queen Mary.

This is a great opportunity to develop your teaching and facilitation skills, earn some cash, and improve your CV writing skills at the same time!

If you are interested, see the QM Careers blog for further information.

Managing your Research Career - useful videos

On the University Affairs website (a Canadian site) there is a set of videos in which Jo Van Every, a PhD in sociology from the University of Essex and former program officer with the Standard Research Grants program at SSHRC, gives tips on prioritizing research tasks, planning a long-term program of research, developing a publication strategy, building a support network for research, and carving out time to do research in a busy, multi-focused position.

Graduate Entry Medicine - a chance to find out more

You may well be looking at this thinking "I've already got a degree and am halfway to getting a PhD. Why on earth would I want to spend even more time in education?!", but I do have a few friends who decided, post-PhD, to take on a medical degree, so I thought I'd draw your attention to this event in case it's something you were thinking about!

The University of London Careers Group are running a day called "Exploring Graduate Entry into Medicine" on 19th Feb next year. During the day you can find out about:

• Specific degrees, by talking to admissions staff, course organisers and medical students
• The major differences between the courses offered
• How to fund your medical degree
• Writing a successful application form and support statement
• The various entrance exams schools use.

The course is open for booking now, and more details can be found here.

Opportunities for Science & Engineering PhD students

Two exciting new opportunities for PhD students have recently been posted on the EPSRC website.

Firstly, a 3 month secondment opportunity to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, to work on a policy topic grounded in science and technology. This position is only open to EPSRC-funded students. More details can be found here, and the closing date for applications is 16th October.

The other opportunity is a chance to work in a Toshiba R&D lab in Japan for 2 years. This is open to PhD level researchers of EU nationality currently working in a UK academic institution. More details can be found on the Toshiba website, and the closing date for this one is 11th December.

Get ready for Impact!

Queen Mary are launching an exciting new project - ImpactQM - that is designed to create a new generation of scientists and engineers who are equally at home in both academia and in industry.

This scheme will link PhD students and postdoctoral researchers with selected partners in industry, allowing them to work within that industry for a period of time. The idea is that this will benefit the individual researcher, the university and the industry/company.

So, what exactly do you get out of it? Well - links to and contacts within an industry relevant to your research; the chance to work for a while within a different environment and to learn the skills necessary for success in that sector; mentoring and support within and outside the university; access to relevant training and development activities to further enhance your career development.....the list goes on!

For further details, eligibility criteria and application forms, visit the website.

But be quick! The closing date for applications for this year is 30th September.

Researcher careers and recession

Vitae have just launched an on-line space for articles, comments and discussion on the subject of research careers during the recession. There are some interesting articles so far, and more should be added soon. As this a topic which is probably of interest and/or concern to a lot of people, this is a useful resource which is definitely worth looking at, and even joining in the discussions if you feel so inclined!

Careers in Academia - Vitae Event

On Monday 8th June Vitae are holding a one-day conference for postgraduate researchers focusing on Careers in Academia. The event is in Birmingham, and will be repeated later in the year in Bristol.

Participants will have the opportunity to:

* meet with current academics from a range of disciplines to hear about their experiences of an academic careers and ask the questions you’ve always wanted to, but weren’t sure who to ask

* explore how to market yourself for a career in academia, both within your department, and at interview

* look at how to write effective grant/paper applications

*discover what life is like as a postdoctoral researcher

*work with fellow researchers and share experiences with other participants


Further details can be found here.

Career Pathways day for final year PhDs and post-docs

Wednesday 18/03/09 (12.00 – 6.00 pm)

Garrod Building (Old Anatomy Lecture Theatre), Whitechapel Campus

Register for this event on www.esdcourses.org.uk

The purpose of this event is to provide an overview of some career paths available to both final year PhDs and postdoctoral researchers.

Confirmed speakers:

Working in a Research Institute / Industry vs Academia Dr Greg Elgar (QMUL)
Science Writing & Publishing Simon Frantz (Noble Foundation)
Patent Attorney Dr. Howard Sands (Boult Wade Tennant)
Head of Research Operations Dr Karen Sergiou (Imperial College)
Teaching Dr. David Vine (Sutton Grammar School)

Ever thought about teaching? Great opportunities for Chemistry/Physics/Engineering PhDs

CAN YOU INSPIRE A FUTURE GENERATION OF CHEMISTS AND PHYSICISTS?

A number of highly competitive Foyle Science Scholarships available for PhD Graduates and Post-Doctoral Researchers

● Do you have, or are you soon to have, a PhD in Physical Sciences or Engineering?

● Are you interested in playing a pivotal role in an innovative project aimed at raising aspiration of school pupils to study physics and chemistry in state secondary schools?

● Are you keen to combine your creative ideas gained through research with teacher training to communicate the excitement of Physics or Chemistry to school pupils?

● Would you like to gain a teacher training qualification (PGCE)?

If yes, then the INSPIRE project will be of interest to you

Applicants from EEA (European Economic Area) or with resident status are invited for a nine months PGCE studentship of £15,000 (equivalent to approx £25k per/annum) and payment of home student fees. For TDA requirements, please see www.tda.gov.uk

Download an application form and find out more: here

E-mail the completed applications with a copy of CV to: s.alizadeh@imperial.ac.uk

Closing date: 9th March 2009
Interviews will be held on 25th and 26th March 2009
Starting date of the PGCE course 1st September 2009