The IMISCOE PhD Academy addresses key themes to support the PhD journeys and career trajectories of our current cohort of members. In building on our previous events which have addressed publishing and imposter syndrome, our April event focused on tips towards building networks and developing postdoctoral funding applications.
Doing a PhD is a marathon, not a sprint. While doing a PhD gives candidates the space and time to immerse themselves deeply into their research, the competitiveness of the academic job market means there is a need to plan the journey beyond a PhD. Many funding call are now looking for global networks to find solutions to global challenges, and migration is no exception to this. However, particularly for Early Career Researchers, securing funding and postdoctoral positions, and building strong research collaborations can be intimidating.
Our session started with an interactive Mentimeter, to gauge our attendees’ views on what challenges or barriers they foresaw in securing funding post-PhD. Overwhelmingly, our participants identified forging new networks and developing their own research teams as a challenge for reaching out for further funding opportunities. To address this, our five panellists shared their personal experiences of building connections and reaching for opportunities beyond their immediate PhD community and supervision team. We were joined by Ms Paddy Siyanga Knudsen, the Vice President of Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT) and coordinator of African No-State Actors Platform; Dr Godfrey Tawodzera from the University of the Western Cape; Professor Binod Khadria- from the Jawaharlal Nehru University; Professor Mary Setrana from the University of Ghana and Professor Martin Bak Jørgensen from the Aalborg University. Our panellists had a wealth of knowledge from working with international organisations and from collaborating and leading research teams to address key questions of today around international development, migration governance, social inclusion as well as skilled and forced migration.
Our panellists shared their journeys of going from an Early Career Researcher to becoming influential scholars in their field. These personal reflections illuminated established scholars’ journeys to success, demystifying and inspiring our cohort to think strategically about their trajectories beyond their PhD. Our panellists shared their strategic insights on how our members can best pursue developing their research beyond their PhD through postdoctoral positions. Our members were encouraged to think strategically about how to explore new research topics and directions through theoretical alignments, conceptual connections, and by building on their methodological expertise.
It comes as no surprise that PhD supervisors featured strongly in our panellists’ reflections. Supervisors not only offer guidance for new scholarly minds but are also influential in signposting Early Career Researchers towards new opportunities and opening doors for building further connections. Beyond this, the event provided an opportunity to reflect fruitful online and offline spaces which are conducive to building new professional networks, and recommended funding schemes for Early Career Researchers. In addition to the annual conference, the Training Committee is keen to forge further links between our members and IMISCOE Standing Committees.
In addition to practical advice, our panellists candidly reflected their experiences of dealing with disappointment, imposter syndrome and trajectories of building their own independent research paths post-PhD. Our members found it helpful to hear our panellists’ experiences, which showed that even successful academics experience rejections amidst their successes.
Our next event will take place in June. We also look forward to welcoming new members to the PhD Academy in the next few months!