Office of Postdoctoral Affairs Training 2015-2016

Postdoctoral Researchers are typically employed on relatively short-term contracts, and are funded by so-called 'soft money' to carry out a specific project for a PI. This creates an immediate tension. The specific project will have research objectives and deliverables that must be met to satisfy whoever is funding the work, and the PI will be assessed on whether these goals have been met. However, a postdoctoral researcher will often have their own research interests and also career objectives. A really successful postdoctoral project is one in which everyone's goals are met. The talk will cover a little about Dr Flewitt's own experience of this process from the perspective of both sides and try and draw out some general thoughts for discussion.