Aimed at: Early- and late- stage PhD students uncertain on whether (or how) to continue in research. This includes first stage (R1) and recognized (R2) researchers interested in pursuing a post-doctoral career with the aim of becoming an established researcher (R3) as well as those willing to transfer in industry.

Description and objectives: Securing a postdoctoral position is one of the main targets to those finishing a PhD and willing to continue along the academic path, or even to those that may end up working in industry. There is no unique answer on how to take this essential career step, nor any simple recipe on how to do it, but one should always strive to make an informed decision.

This course is dedicated to providing students with useful information about life as a postdoctoral research associate: from the first steps usually taken to secure a  position, resources and appropriate channels to find potential postdoctoral advisors and job offers, to those taken while on a postdoc to make the most of it and secure further funding. An overview of both national and international schemes is covered to provide some scope as to the different opportunities available and their specific schedules, aiming to help plan future applications, and a short session is set to encourage students to actively think about their career plan and lay out specific actions to make it happen.

Specific learning objectives:

• To understand EU research profiles descriptors (R1-R4).
• To acquire a better understanding of the steps to take to secure postdoctoral research contract.
• To obtain information on the most important channels to follow in order to find postdoctoral opportunities
• To learn to make the most of their own strengths within the career context in which they may be interested, and to be able to effectively communicate it
• To raise awareness of the different funding schemes available abroad for carrying out postdoctoral research, as well as their different deadlines
• To provide an outline on what standard academic and industrial careers look like, and identify the different steps to take for either of those career paths

• Unit 1: How to get your 1st postdoc.
• Unit 2: Making the most out of your postdoc.
• Unit 3: Postdoc opportunities across the world.

Unit 4: Return schemes and other opportunities elsewhere: drafting your own career plan.

By the end of the course, students are expected to:

• Engage effectively with scientists worldwide to successfully apply for research positions
• Identify pitfalls, challenges and opportunities before and during a postdoctoral stay
• Write competitive CVs and cover letters tailored for a given specific career step
• Be aware of the main funding opportunities available and what standard academic and industrial careers look like
• Actively think about your future career and identify and plan the next immediate steps to take to make it happen

To pass the course, students must complete and upload 100% of the tasks requested throughout and they need to fulfill the face-to-face percentage of assistance of 85%