Professional Development
The Academic Platform of PlanetS is responsible for providing professional development opportunities to PhD students and postdocs:
(For reimbursements for travels to and from Academic Platform workshops, please use the following form (you must be logged in to view/download it): http://nccr-planets.ch/reimbursement-for-travels-to-and-from-academic-platform-workshops)
- April 2023 – Workshop at the General Assembly 2023: Grant proposals from the panel’s perspective! With two NCCR PlanetS Professors
- March/April 2023 – Webinar series with https://desireedickerson.com/, Dr. Desiree Dickerson (Neuroscience/Psychology) and Dr. Vicent Botella-Soler (Physics/Neuroscience):
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- Thursday, 2. March, 10.30-12: Parenting in Academia
- Monday, 13. March, 10.30-12: Leading a team
- Tuesday, 14. March, 10.30-12: Transitioning away from academia
- Tuesday, 21. March: 9.00-17.00: Resilience & Well-being (full day), only open to PhD students and Postdocs
- Tuesday, 4. April, 14-15.30: Multiple roles of a supervisor
- Thursday, 2. March, 10.30-12: Parenting in Academia
- February 2023: Workshop about ‘Storytelling and Presentation Design’ with https://www.explainables.org/
- April 2022: Workshops during the General Assembly about ‘Manoeuvring the academic job market/fellowship applications’ with Prof. Monika Lendl, Prof. Xavier Dumusque (you must be logged in to view the slides).
- February 2022: Workshop about ‘Leadership skills’ with Dr. Silvie Klein-Franke
- December 2021: Workshop about ‘Poster presentations/design/branding’ with https://www.explainables.org/
- October 2021: Workshop with NCCR Alumni on the transition away from Academia
- June 2021: Webinar with ‘The Professor is in’ Dr. Karen Kelsky, on ‘Hacking the Academic Job Market (in a Pandemic)’ and ‘How to write an Academic Job Application’. You can view the recorded webinar here (you must be logged on).
- January 2021: Webinar ‘How to present online’ with https://thefloorisyours.be/en/
- September 2020: Workshop with NCCR PlanetS Alumni on the transition from Academia to Industry
Program:
13.00 Introduction (Nadine Afram)
13.05 Sebastian Daemgen’s experience
13.45 Thibault Kuntzer’s experience
14.25 Exercise
14.40 Discussion with questions from the audience
14.50 Presentation of Technology Platform on externship program (Piero Pontelandolfo)
- March 2019: Workshop on Time management
- January 2019 General Assembly workshop: ‘Speak4Impact’
On the second day of the GA, Cécile Bastien Remy presented a very inspiring workshop for PlanetS members about how to present well and with an impact. In various demonstrations and exercises, the group was encouraged to develop their confidence and presentation skills.
- January 2017 General Assembly workshops
On the last day of the GA, Dr. Monika Clausen presented a workshop for PlanetS members on ‘Networking in Academia’. The slides are available here.
Olga Vinogradova presented a workshop for PlanetS members on ‘Stereotypes’. The slides are available here.
Fall 2016 Professional Development Workshop
Fifteen NCCR PlanetS PhD students and Postdocs attended the professional development workshop held at the University of Bern on 4 October 2016.
The first session covered the subject of confidently attending conferences and giving high-impact poster presentations. In a 10 minutes activity, attendees experiemented with the low/high status in their body language. After looking at what makes a good or a bad poster, the participants met in pairs to give each other a short feedback on their scientific poster, and practised a 1-minute elevator speech about said poster.
The slides of the first session are available here and include the survey results about ‘What makes a good job application’ with answers from 10 NCCR PlanetS professors.
After lunch, the external coach Susanne Matuschek talked about writing a successful CV for inside and outside academia. She provided individual hands-on feedback on previously submitted CV’s.
- Fall 2015 Professional Development Workshop
The workshop was held on September 9th, 2015, in Bern. Junior scientists from Zurich (both UZH and ETHZ), Bern and Geneva attended. The first activity of the day was speed networking – participants met in pairs for 4 minutes to introduce themselves and their work to each other.
After a coffee break, the topic moved on to giving good science presentations, in terms of basic rules for putting together a talk and practicing, as well as looking at some psychological and sociological components influencing speaker confidence in an academic setting. The slides are linked below.
After lunch, Prof. Michael Meyer facilitated a discussion with participants about what it means to get good mentoring, and how to be a good mentee.
Next, came a visit to the lab spaces of Nicholas Thomas (and a look at a camera that will soon travel to Mars).
The day ended with an activity about privilege and the collection of feedback from participants about the workshop itself.
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January 2016 General Assembly workshop on Careers
On Monday afternoon of the GA, Peter Nielsen, Sascha Quanz and Sophie Saesen presented a workshop for PlanetS members on careers – be it leaving or staying within academia. The discussions in each of the sessions were lively and thought provoking. The slides and supplementary materials are available here.
