Postdoc Academy is a comprehensive program built on the National Postdoctoral Association core competencies to support skill development throughout postdoc training. This is a free program supported by the National Institutes of Health that includes two courses, an optional complimentary local component, and multiple online resources specifically tailored to address foundational skills and professional habits postdocs need to succeed in their training and strategically prepare for their career.
The first course is called "Succeeding as a Postdoc" and it addresses foundational skills and career planning, establishing the professional habits postdocs will need to strategically prepare for their career and succeed in their postdoc. This course comprises 4 core modules: finding success as a postdoc, building an actionable career plan, developing resilience, and working effectively in an intercultural environment. This course lasts 6 weeks and is offered 1-2 times a year on the edX platform. The next start date will be in September 2022.
The second Postdoc Academy course is titled “Building Skills for a Successful Career." This follow-up course will focus on building advanced skills to enable postdocs to transition to independence. It will explore: project management, managing through team-building, career preparation, applying teaching skills beyond the classroom, leadership and networking, and rigor and reproducibility. Registration is not open yet.
The Postdoc Academy's website is full of free resources related to the course units that you can access even if you don't enroll in the courses. To find more information, you may visit the link provided above or check their informational brochure.
Postdoc Academy Local Session (PALS)
Besides accessing the free courses, you also have the option to join a local learning community. These communities are meant to support online learning by connecting content directly to your local context and community, and also promote deeper learning of the course materials. PALS are small groups of postdocs who meet in-person (or virtually) once a week for 7 weeks while either taking the online course, or utilizing Postdoc Academy content. Each PALS is guided by a volunteer facilitator (a postdoc or anyone who supports postdocs) in your institution. Once you have been paired with a facilitator, they will provide specific dates, times, and locations for the PALS to meet virtually. If there is not a PALS group available in your area, you can join a virtual PALS with the Postdoc Academy team. The next session is scheduled for winter 2022. Click here for more information.