A postdoctoral position: what next?

"Received my postdoctoral degree. Where do I go from here? What to do after my postdoctoral position?”—are common questions for postdoctoral researchers who have graduated. So if you’re at this point of deciding whether to go ahead with academia or switch to a non-academic career, you’re not alone! How do you plan on taking what you have learned in your research and capitalize on it? How do you start your new career or use your postdoc to take the next step in your existing one?

Great news: On December 13 the doctoral schools organize an inspiring session with a specific focus on postdoctoral research and possible career paths. This event consists of 4 testimonials, followed by a panel session. Listening to the testimonials is a great way to gain knowledge from the experience of others and to get answers to possible questions. The programme is varied in the sense that both postdoc holders who pursued a non-academic career and an academic career will take the floor. They will tell you their personal story: Why did they do a postdoctoral position? How does this fit into their current career? Which obstacles did they encounter? What would they do differently now? Are they still happy with their choices?

After the testimonials, we will exchange opinions on specific statements. Both the audience and the panel of speakers get the opportunity to react and interact. Finally, a sandwich lunch will be provided at 13:00 during which you can network and further converse with the participants and speakers.

Testimonials: 

• Marie DeCock has a PhD in administrative law and conducted postdoctoral research at the Free University of Amsterdam and at Yale University before earning a professorship in public law at Hasselt university. She is currently also an assistant professor at Maastricht University and partially conducts postdoctoral research for the FWO.
• Roy Heusschen has a PhD in biomedical sciences at Hasselt university and conducted postdoctoral research in molecular biology at the university of Liège. He is medical director of AstraZeneca at the moment.
• Fanny Bardé has a PhD degree in material science from Picardie Jules Verne University in Amiens, France.  Her postdoctoral work was at Duracell in Boston USA where she researched the development of Ni-Zn batteries. In 2022, Dr Bardé co-founded the battery technology company, SOLiTHOR.
• Bert Brône obtained a PhD in biomedical sciences and conducted postdoctoral research at KULeuven and the pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson before become a fulltime professor at Hasselt university.
  
  

Programme: 

10:00-10:30    Words of welcome, followed by the first testimonial by Marie Decock
10:30-11:00    Testimonial by Roy Heusschen
11:00-11:15    Break
11:15-11:45    Testimonial by Fanny Bardé
11:45-12:15    Testimonial by Bert Brône
12:15-12:45    Panel session & discussion of statements
12:45-13:00    Final Q&A
13:00-13:30    Networking during lunch

For whom?

• Postdocs
• PhD students in the final years of their PhD trajectory

When and where?

• December 13, 2024 - 10:00-13:30
• Campus Diepenbeek, B103

Registration?

• Register here from September 12, 2024 until November 24, 2024.
• Please cancel your registration at least one week in advance in case you cannot make it (cf. cancellation & no-show policy).

Acknowledged as?

DS BSH: career management & personal development: session aimed at career management
DS ST: career & Personal Development: course/session about career or personal development