What comes after life as a juniorVIP?
How should your career after you have completed your PhD or postdoc take shape? And how do you achieve your goal? These were some of the questions that were treated at the juniorVIP meeting in Foulum.
What is there to do after a completed PhD or postdoc? This is the big question, which a range of specialists spoke about at AGRO’s juniorVIP meeting on 5 October 2018 in Foulum, where the second half of the meeting focused on how PhD students and postdocs can prepare for the future.
The key word is prepare. Several of the speakers emphasised that it is wise to ensure that you develop the skills, including language, which are necessary for becoming an attractive applicant.
Director Jens Elbæk from Seges was the first speaker in this part of the juniorVIP meeting. He spoke about the possibilities of employment within the consultancy services. He drew attention to the fact that it is important to be able to work across disciplines with experts from other fields, to be able to understand digital solutions, and to be able to speak Danish.
The next speaker was Rikke Märcher Rochart, who is our contact person in Research Support and Collaboration. She gave many good tips about how to write a research application, including writing a ”killer abstract” that clearly and concisely explains what the project you are applying for is about. Another important aspect of the application is to explain the perspectives of the project, i.e. who will benefit from its results and how. You can view Rikke’s presentation here.
Career consultant Vibeke Broe from AU Career PhD & JR emphasised that you should use your time as a PhD student or postdoc to prepare for your future career. You should thus learn Danish, develop skills, network, work across disciplines, and find out what job options there are. You can view Vibeke’s presentation here.
Site manager Jacob Mogensen from Agro Business Park (ABP) stated that ABP also has locations in Agro Food Park and at the Technical University of Denmark. He encouraged the juniorVIP to drop by in order to network and hear about the possibilities for finding jobs in the Viborg area, and referred to the activities in the PhD Hub in Foulum.