Online career stories for (post)docs: DS Health & Life Sciences

"Received my doctoral degree. Where do I go from here? Why would I choose to do postdoctoral research? And, what to do after my postdoctoral position?”—are common questions for (post)doctoral researchers who are at this point of deciding whether to go ahead with academia or switch to a non-academic career! 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 (post)doctoral experience to take the next step in your existing one? 

Great news: On June 25 the doctoral schools organize an inspiring session with a specific focus on postdoctoral research and possible career paths. This event consists of 3 testimonials from speakers with a background in Health & Life Sciences, followed by a short 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, they will exchange opinions on specific statements. Both the audience and the panel of speakers get the opportunity to react and interact.

Testimonials: 

• Liesbet Peeters has a PhD in Bio-engineering sciences at KU Leuven and conducted postdoctoral research at Hasselt University at BIOMED.  She currently is assistant professor biomedical data sciences at Hasselt University. 
• Constantin van Outryve d'Ydewalle has a PhD in biomedical sciences at KU Leuven and conducted postdoctoral research at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine. He transitioned to the non-academic world and is currently Senior Scientific Manager, Neuroscience Drug Discovery at The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
• Sarah Mingels has worked as a physiotherapist before conducting research in rehabilitation sciences. She conducted postdoctoral research in Denmark and currently combines a postdoctoral position at KU Leuven with her professional activity as a physiotherapist. 
  
  

Programme: 

09:30-10:00    Words of welcome, followed by the first testimonial by Prof. dr. Liesbet Peeters
10:00-10:30    Testimonial by dr. Constantin van Outryve d'Ydewalle
10:30-10:45    Break
10:45-11:15    Testimonial by dr. Sarah Mingels
11:15-11:45    Panel session & discussion of statements
11:45-12:00    Final Q&A

For whom?

• Postdocs
• PhD students in the final years of their PhD trajectory
• This online event is specifically aimed at researchers from the Doctoral Schools of Health & Life Sciences, but researchers from other doctoral schools are more than welcome to join as well. In this way, they can learn from the experience of other postdocs, independent of their research field.**

When and where?

• June 25, 2025 - 09:30-12:00
• Online

Registration?

• Registration is possible from March 25 until June 9 via this link.
• Please cancel your registration at least one week in advance in case you cannot make it (cf. cancellation & no-show policy).

**In Fall and Winter, 2 more sessions will be organized with speakers from the DS of Behavioral Sciences & Humanities and from the DS of Sciences & Technology