Non-academic career paths

• Tutor: Caroline Broad - Independent Consultant
• Usually scheduled: February
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled courses

Overview

Are you working on projects in collaboration with industry? Would you like to improve your creative thinking skills and the tools to manage the projects they create?

This workshop is for you if you are looking to develop your understanding of the priorities of industry when working in a collaboration with academia, if you are looking for a move into industry (including not for profit) or you want to improve your basic project management skills. The aim is to develop project management skills in the context of industry academia collaborations (IAC).

In this workshop we explore a formal project development process from idea inception through to project implementation.  You will practice project management tools and techniques and discuss cognitive and behavioural skills needed to implement them. We will discuss current UK industry, government (BIS) and research council expectations of IAC and the existing funding opportunities. The skills learned will support your effective interactions and well-managed projects with industry.

Key areas

• Industry expectations of academia in collaborations
• An introduction to creative thinking and problem solving
• Effective project planning and implementation – team, task, individual
• Core project management tools

What have past participants found most useful?

"I liked the way the trainer made you think deeply about a few of the topics (Postdoc, Materials)"

"Combination of innovation, project management, people - great focus! (Postdoc, Public Health)"

"The application of business theory to academic research (Postdoc, Health, Social Care and Education)"

• Tutor: Dr Madelaine Chapman, Careers Service
• Usually scheduled: November, May
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled courses

Overview

Interviews outside academia are often quite different to academic job interviews. In this session, you will learn what to expect and how to prepare for these types of interview. Whatever job you are applying for, this session will give you the tools to prepare well and go into the interview confidently to perform at your best.

• Tutor: Dr Ines Perpetuo & Dr Anna Seabourne - Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: May
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled courses

Overview

This course is designed to equip you with the skills and resources you need to achieve success as a postdoc and launch your career as a researcher. It is a three-day online course for postdocs in their first two years.

In a structured and supportive environment facilitated by experienced trainers, you will gain a thorough understanding of your career options and develop tools and techniques to help you set and reach a series of short, medium, and long-term goals to maximise your success as a postdoc and plan for your next step.

Key areas

• Examine what makes a successful postdoc
• Develop strategies to move toward research independence
• Learn techniques for working successfully with your PI
• Research your career options
• Build a toolkit to plan your career
• Set clear and robust goals to ensure success for you and your work

• Tutor: Caroline Broad - Independent Consultant
• Usually scheduled: December
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled courses

Overview

Meetings are so often unproductive, with unclear objectives.  In this interactive workshop, you will develop a more effective approach to meetings.

Key Areas

We will explore best practice on how to:

• Not have meetings!
• Develop buy-in of key meeting stakeholders
• Create positive communication pre and post-meeting
• Facilitate the engagement of all attendees

We will develop your key skills in:

• Meeting facilitation
• Decision making
• Listening
• Questioning

• Tutor: Dr Madelaine Chapman, Careers Service
• Usually scheduled: February, June
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled courses

Overview

Are you interested in moving out of academia and into a different career? In this course, you will learn how to approach a career change in a positive way.

This includes how to research your options, network, and approach making decisions.

The course will cover some of the typical careers that postdocs move into and give information on how to work out what would suit you best.

• Tutor: Dr Anna Seabourne - Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: June
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled courses

Overview

Planning for success beyond your postdoc is designed to help experienced postdocs (usually with two to four years of postdoc experience) to take their next career step, academic or otherwise.

During the course, you will be encouraged to explore your career options and develop an action plan to achieve the next step whilst enhancing your job application and interview skills.

Key areas

• Reflect on the career choices you have made to date
• Review the skills and expertise you have acquired as a postdoc and identify gaps
• Develop strategies to move towards research independence
• Set clear and robust goals to achieve career progression
• Build a toolkit to search for jobs
• Prepare your CV for academic and non-academic jobs
• Construct an effective job application
• Refine your interview skills

Further Information: Please note that attendance is mandatory on both days of this two-day course.

• Tutor: Caroline Broad – Independent Consultant
• Usually scheduled: November, January
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled courses

Overview

Effective project management (PM) is about creating a balance between task, team and individual.  In this course, we will complete a project initiation document, which will introduce you to the PM language and concepts.  We will practice core project management tools, including SWOT analysis and work breakdown schedules and discuss stakeholder communication and people management skills.

It is a practical rather than theoretical course and you will be encouraged to apply the skills and knowledge developed. The course is delivered by a professional skills trainer and project manager who continues to deliver projects in both a commercial and academic setting.

Key areas

• Develop your organisational skills
• Gain insight into commercial project management techniques and applications
   

• Tutor: Dr Tracy Bussoli and Stefanie Edler-Wollstein – Imperial College London
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled courses

Overview

Making the move from working with others on research projects to managing and directing your own independently funded programme requires more than an excellent research record. Our research has shown that new Principal Investigators are concerned with management issues: time, staff and funding being the major hurdles.

This one-day course for aspiring Principal Investigators will enable you to explore some of these issues by working through a series of real-life examples to develop a personal plan for managing your first research group. At the end of the course day, participants are invited to a drinks reception followed by a celebratory dinner (finish time 20.30).

Key areas

• Identify your personal strengths, weaknesses, values, and motivations
• Examine a variety of leadership and management approaches
• Explore recruitment methods to attract and recruit the right people
• Learn practical techniques to prioritise and manage your time successfully
• Define and create a research profile for your laboratory or group

• Tutor: Bernie Babel, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: April, October
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

The aim of this pop-up is to give you a better understanding of what assertiveness is and identify those situations where assertiveness skills are required. We will also explore how to behave assertively in appropriate situations.

You will get to try out being assertive using case studies as examples.

• Tutor: Dr Inês Perpétuo, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: January, May, September
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

Unlock your potential - explore career goal setting - an essential tool for time management, personal and professional progression.

During this session, you will reflect on your career and set individual career goals while looking at ideas to use for your 10 Development Days.

• Tutor: former Researchers from Imperial
• Usually scheduled: monthly
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

ECRI invites former Imperial Postdocs and Fellows to talk about their new roles, their motivations and transition period and to share their experience of applying and interviewing for a role other than research in academia.

• Tutor: Dr Inês Perpétuo, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: April, October
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

You know who you are and what are your achievements and successes, but how do you communicate them to others?

This workshop aims to strengthen your ability to promote yourself and your research in interviews and funding applications, for jobs through the CV, as well as on social media.

There will be time to cover interview pitches and the use of social media beyond science communication. We are going to cover the why and how to increase your visibility and some strategies to overcome perceived or real barriers, both online and offline.

This workshop will have some interactive aspects as we will work on short pitches with the aim of getting people to the stage of wanting to know more about you.

• Tutor: ECRI team, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: September, March
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

One-to-one CV evaluation – Updating your CV? Receive specific feedback on it from a member of the ECRI team in these 30 min sessions. 

• Tutor: Robert Scott, Data Protection Officer, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: October
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

This session will be an introduction to GDPR and how the College has been implementing the required changes with a particular focus on research activities. It will explain the law in brief, the relevance to postdocs and fellows, and what the College is doing to assist staff to ensure their compliance. 

• Tutor: Societal Engagement Team, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: January
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

Come along to this pop-up session to discover more about what public engagement is, why it is important and how it can benefit you and your work. We will focus on how engaging with members of the public, schools, patients, and community groups can help you to achieve research impact.

Find out tips on how to plan for impact through engagement, as well as achieve it and evidence it. Ideal if you are thinking about research proposals or fellowship applications, we will look at what the big funders think about engagement and impact, as well as having some time to consider what it all means for your own areas of research.

• Tutor: Dr Inês Perpétuo, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: May, November
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that can be used to increase your online visibility. A professional online presence is important as 64% of employers check future employees' LinkedIn profile during the recruitment process. 

During this workshop we will: 

• discuss the sections of a LinkedIn profile, top tips on creating an effective profile, and what makes LinkedIn a great platform to showcase your career goals and achievements. 
• practise writing some sections of your own profile and thinking about what to include in others. 
• receive hints and tips on how to network with potential employers and how to take advantage of job adverts that you can find on LinkedIn. 

You don’t need to have a LinkedIn profile already, but it would be helpful if you set up an account in advance.

• Tutor: Dr Inês Perpétuo, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: February, August
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

Your research is very important to you, but how do you make sure others look at it and understand its importance?

Can you clearly articulate the different types of impact you are making? How do you maximise your chances of really having an influence in your areas of interest?

In this session, we will look at what research impact is and why it matters and how you can create and maximise impact.

• Tutor: Dr Inês Perpétuo, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: March, September
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

What is networking? Why is it important in your career? How can you network effectively?

The aim of this pop-up workshop is to help you understand how to network effectively and make you confident and happy about going out and networking to advance your career!

• Tutor: Dr Inês Perpétuo, Imperial College London
• Usually scheduled: June, December
• Visit our online calendar to find out about scheduled workshops

Are you considering a different career? Have you ever wondered how to translate your current postdoc skills to fit a job description? 

During this session, you will: 

• Look at how to write non-academic CVs and Cover Letters
• Learn how your research skills can be translated to non-academic roles
• Learn how to interpret a job description and how to draw on your current skills to give evidence of your expertise

You should have with you a copy of your own CV and any non-academic job descriptions that you have seen and that may be of interest.