(Media-Newswire.com) - A new mentoring scheme designed to give postdoctoral and PhD researchers an insight in to work outside of academia has just been launched by the Cambridge University Employer Forum for Researchers.
Nineteen mentors from five different companies have been matched with early career researchers from across the University. The pairs will meet at least twice over the course of the year-long programme, including a visit to the mentor’s office, with the possibility of setting up some work-shadowing.
The scheme is one of the first major projects to be undertaken by the Employer Forum, a group bringing together heads of industry with senior Cambridge academics, which met for the first time in May. The idea was suggested by the companies at the Forum as a way to help PhDs and postdocs understand how research is conducted in a commercial environment - something they felt our researchers didn’t have enough exposure to.
David Sargan, Director of the Graduate School of Life Sciences, said: “It’s a good sign of how much these companies value our researchers and their relationship with the University that they are willing to devote company time to this project even though they are under enormous financial pressures themselves.”
For the researchers, who all have ambition to use their knowledge and skills outside of the University, it’s an invaluable opportunity to broaden their knowledge of a company and sector for which they one day hope to work.
Roger Coulston, a postdoc in chemistry who will be mentored by AstraZeneca, said: “I’m hoping to learn from their experiences and develop a better and more realistic understanding of both the benefits and disadvantages of working within industry.”
For the companies taking part, it’s a great opportunity to meet researchers who could one day become potential employees.
Andy Leonard, Vice President BP Cambridge, who sits on the Employer Forum and also volunteered to be one of the first mentors, said: “This is a great chance for me, and the other mentors, to interact with people deeply involved in fundamental research. I’m sure we will benefit significantly from understanding the issues and challenges they face on a day to day basis as well as the longer term questions concerning their future careers.
Hopefully, we will be able to contribute towards answering these questions and help them on their paths to great careers.”
The other companies taking part are AstraZeneca, RedGate, Rolls-Royce, CellCentric and Nature Publishing Group. If the scheme is successful, there are plans to expand it to cater for many more researchers.
