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The Postdoc Action Pilot Project

The Research Committee initiated the strategic initiative «The Postdoc Action», and a Postdoc Action pilot project was launched in autumn 2017. The project involved postdocs selected from all faculties at NTNU. The project ran for two years and ended in 2020

Postdoc Action Pilot project goals

  • Identify, develop, offer and evaluate a range of career development instruments for postdocs.
  • Develop a new policy applying to all postdoctoral researchers at NTNU to provide postdocs with optimal career development support, and to further increase the attractiveness of NTNU as an employer, which will be an asset for national and international recruitment of talented researchers.

Postdoc Action Pilot Final and Mid-way report

Participants in the Postdoc Action Pilot

Brita Fladvad Nielsen  |  Gunnar D. Hatlehol  |  Ruth Woods  |  Mattias Solli  |  Ingrid Hallsteinsen  |  Özlem Özgöbek  |  Edgar Alonso Lopez Rojas  |  Anyuan Chen  |  Paula Bastos Garcia Rosa  |  Tymofii Tereshchenko  |  Marilia Abilio Ramos  |  Przemyslaw B. Kowalczuk  |  Carole Beck  |  Mara Martin Alonso  |  Marlen Toch-Marquardt  |  Rajesh Shigdel  |  Lars Morten Rimol  |  Guro Birgitte Stene  |  Anita Das  |  Aditya Kumar Sharma  |  Maria Ranner  |  Donald M. Evans  |  Tomás Mánik  |  Janna Cropotova  |  Marta Katarzyna Irla  |  Mathias Winkler  |  Martin Rasmussen  |  Vera Skalicka  |  Arne Stormo  |  Kam Sripada  |  Carmen Cuenca-Garcia  |  Pedro Crespo del Granado

Postdoc Action Pilot Projects Participants, September 2018

September 2018: Postdoc Action Pilot participants, along with coordinators Ragnhild Lofthus and Katrien De Moor. Some participants were not present.

Career development instruments

The project currently offers these career development instruments to the postdocs involved:

Mentoring 

All participants have been matched with a mentor (from NTNU). Topics that can be discussed with the mentor include e.g., one’s career plan and career options, establishing independence as a researcher, setting work priorities, dealing with difficult situations at work.

Training and courses

Tailored courses and training sessions addressing a range of topics are offered to the pilot project participants, e.g., PhD supervision, research leadership, science communication, grant writing.

Internationalization support

Participants can seek support for activities linked to the internationalization dimension of their career plan. Both research stays at an institution abroad (long or short) and incoming researcher mobility are supported.

Networking events

Every semester, participants are invited to 1-2 networking events, focusing on a (or several) specific topics, e.g., mentoring, grant writing, creating value from research.

Postdoc employee dialogue

The dialogue is an annual employee interview with a close leader. It should serve as a foundation for career strategy, employee development and mapping of the working environment. The template that was developed as part of the pilot project may be used by all postdocs at NTNU and can freely be adjusted by and tailored to the situation of the individual postdoc.

Career plan for postdocs

A career plan is an awareness process and documentation that clarifies one’s career goals. It will be followed up regularly in annual employee interviews. A template was developed and all participants in the pilot project have developed a written career plan. The career plan should contain:

  • Short- and longer-term goals in terms of research, education and innovation, as well as concrete action points and measures
  • Plan for internationalization, mobility and networking
  • Project work and application writing
  • Clarification of areas of competence development
  • Career possibilities outside of academia/research
  • Identification of potential obstacles and risk factors

Postdocs on speed dating 29 November 2017, small group

Postdocs on speed dating 29 November 2017

Postdocs on speed dating 29 November 2017

Postdocs at research speed dating event, Hotel Augustin 29 November 2017

Photos at Flickr: Postdocs at the Research Leadership Course, Hell 28-29 November 2018

Committee

The Postdoc Action Committee planned and monitored the pilot project and consisted of: