Ghent University

Ghent University supports postdocs in their professional development in order to strengthen their employability through the Career Development Office and its Postdoc Talent Management programme, including:

Online resources: A collection of tools and resources for PhD and postdoctoral researchers, offering information and practical advice and leads on all aspects of making career decisions is available online: HR policy, staff regulations, Postdoctoral funding and mobility opportunities, Jobs, Information about the labour market, advice on how to write a good CV/cover letter, preparation for job interviews, Blogs - articles – books, E-tools and guides on career planning, and postdoc role models and career stories.

Career development and guidance: training to boost transferable skills, mentoring to prepare future career options, career coaching based self-assesment, exploring labour market and selling one-self.

Ghent University Postdoc Community: the inclusive community for all postdoctoral researchers at Ghent University. Its aims are to create awareness and provide support for proactively developing postdocs’ career path and to connect postdocs in order to build useful network within and outside academia. In addition, the Postdoc Community acts as a resonance group on career issues and perspectives of postdoctoral researchers.

Engagement activities

Mentoring

The aim of this mentoring programme is to assist postdoctoral researchers preparing and planning their future career options. It includes 2 mentoring 'tracks': MenZa which is academic mentoring (aiming towards a professorship), and MenTa which mentoring beyond academy (exploring careers on the external labour market).

Its main features are:

Development approach: encourage people to think more carefully about their personal ambitions and professional goals
Person-centered: one-to-one supportive relationship
Confidential: based on mutual trust (all information shared is kept confidential) and respect
Mentee-driven: the mentee takes the initiative and sets the agenda

The primary focus is on building relationships, sharing experiences, boosting the competencies and confidence of the mentee and finding network opportunities.

Alumni Networks

Networking plays a central role in the context of career development, therefore the Ghent University Postdoc Community offers great opportunities for postdocs.

This network is supportive with its members, promotes networking among them through the organization of different events and organizes speeches and debates that respond to its members interests such as: International Mobility: WHY and HOW (5-12-2017), Failure in Academia? (6 March 2018) or a Workshop on Science Communication at the Job Market for Young Researchers (28 March 2017).

Commercialisation of R&D

Ghent University also has Industrial Liaison Scheme which is a first step toward the commercialization of R&D results. Under this scheme, various research teams and departments having a particular expertise join forces to hire a business developer with industry experience to lead the consortium or to scout for development potential. Quite often, these developers are PhD graduates from the same university who have acquired a number of years’ work experience in industry, and are recruited back into academia at R3 or R4 level.

Stakeholders involved

Researchers and highly skilled professionals
Management personnel at the institution

What can EURAXESS/your institution learn from this?

Only making an effort to keep in touch with researchers and their needs would help stablishing an Alumni Network or possible opportunities for mentoring or coaching. It will also help to detect educational/training needs and to be able to prepare career days’ programmes.

EURAXESS centres personnel could also help with logistics of the events and other managerial issues of this kind of activities.

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