The 4^th edition of Crossborder Postdoctoriales took place in Luxembourg city from 4to 7 December 2018. This seminar is designed for researchers from all fields employed on temporary contract in the public sector or seeking employment.

It is organized since 2015 jointly by ABG and its partners:

Why a crossborder event?

"To meet with people working in different environments allows you to move out of your 'bubble' and truly assess your current position."

"It is interesting to learn about the experiences of others,
how they adapt to a country, to codes, etc.
And It is more enriching to interact with people from everywhere."

"It makes you learn about how things work in other settings,
especially for a group of people that is already highly mobile and international."

These are some of the answers of this 2018 edition's participants. But they are not the only ones.

In 2015, the French Postdoctoriales was adapted to a cross-border format, including participants from France, Germany and Luxembourg, because the questions that researchers on temporary contract have on mind, the increasing scarcity of permanent posts in academia and the regulations limiting the number of fixed-term contracts in public research are common to most European countries.

In addition, since participants have extensive experience of international mobility, it is important to prepare them for recruitment norms in the countries to which they are planning to return. This is also why this seminar is an asset.

Programme

In order for participants to better assimilate the concepts presented in the plenary sessions, role-playing and other exercises were integrated into the programme. These triggered a soul-searching and self-assessment process that should continue after the end of the workshop.

Throughout the event, participants also had the opportunity to exchange ideas with professionals from different sectors and organisations (industry, consulting, public and European institutions) that recruit doctors and researchers. The speakers provided valuable insight on the skills and qualities which recruiters look for and provided key advice to help candidates develop their network and communicate effectively.

ABG warmly thanks the speakers who took the time to come and share their experiences with the group, whether as recruiters or as PHDs who have successfully switched into careers outside academia:

Dr. Régis Quélavoine (EPO)
Stéphane Lamy (Bassetti)
Méri Réale (Ellyx)
Dr. Sarah Oddoux (Dielen)
Dr. Marjorie Meunier (Alterna R&D)
Dr. Stefano Portolan (Deloitte)
Dr. Anastasiya Zelenina (Avancis GmbH)
Dr. Petra Wahlbring (GoodYear)
Dr. Isabelle Naegelen (Environment Agency of Luxembourg)
Dr. Adam Caluch (StemCell)
Dr. Isabelle Hanifi (EthnoData)

Pictures and testimonials

On our social media

The Facebook photo album The key moments on Twitter

Bonus track : mashup video clip (click to watch)

More thoughts and feedbacks about this seminar

"This seminar helped me put the key steps of job searching into the right order."

"I have learnt what I want, and how to get it
by working on my confidence, my networking and my CV."

"We all know something and we can translate it to industry..."

"Know yourself to be able to "sell" accordingly;
understand what's behind the recruiters' questions !"

"Employers want to know what skills you have acquired and used,
not all the scientific details of your work."

"Networking is a key to apprehend the job market, and is different from socializing;
there is a structured and objective way of networking."

"There are loads of options (outside of academia), we just need to find them.
Network, network, network!"

CONTACT

Are you interested in organizing a cross-border or European version of this workshop which aims to support researchers on temporary work contracts? Contact us for more information!

Dr. Melike Riollet – Training and International Cooperation Officer

melike.riollet@abg.asso.fr