Postdoc Academy

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Postdoc Academy

We are pleased to announce this amazing opportunity for postdocs! 

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 6-week courses, an optional complementary 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 they are launching 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 will last 6 weeks and they plan to offer it three times a year on the edX platform.  Enrollment starts on Friday, June 19, 2020, and classes begin on Monday, June 22, 2020. You can Register here.

The second Postdoc Academy course is titled “Preparing for a Successful Career” and is scheduled to launch in April 2021. 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 first session begins on the week of June 22. Click here to register.