PhD Employer Forum – Careers in Campaigning and Policy – 20th March 2012

Date/Time:  Tuesday 20th March, 5.30pm to 7.30pm
Venue: JBR, Wilkins Building

The aim of this event is to provide PhD and other research students with the opportunity to hear from and network with employers from the Campaigning and Policy sector. A panel of speakers who themselves are PhD holders and work in a range of organisations across local and national government, think tanks, NGOs, charities and development agencies have been invited to talk about their sector, their career progression and the best routes into these positions. They will also give tips on how PhD and research students can use their qualifications and experiences to enter these fields.

Companies/Panel Speakers:

• Jonathan Carr-West, Director, Policy, Local Government Information Unit 
• John Young, Director of impact Assessment, Partnerships and RAPID, Overseas Development Institute
• James Doeser, Senior Officer, Research & Knowledge, Arts Council England
• Michael O’Brien, Committee Specialist, Energy & Climate Change Select Committee, House of Commons
• Martin Walsh, Global Research Adviser, Policy Research Team, Oxfam
• Rory Yeomans, Senior International Research Analyst, International Directorate, Ministry of Justice
  

For full  information and to register for this event please go to the Graduate School Forum website page.

Professional Development Policy Seminar for Engineers by The Centre for Science and Policy

When:  Friday 9 December , 2011 (14:00 – 18.00)

Where: Hicks Room, University Centre, Cambridge

The deadline for receiving applications is Wednesday 30 November 2011

The Centre for Science and Policy  is working with Cambridge University Engineering Department (CUED) to deliver a Professional Development Policy Seminar for early career researchers – post docs, PhD students and early career lecturers. This half-day seminar, which takes place in Cambridge on 9 December, is designed to introduce you to the opportunities and the realities of engaging with policy and policy makers.

The purpose of the seminar is to bring together researchers and policy makers working on engineering issues, who wish to engage in discussion and debate and think longer term about career paths and goals. It promises to be a stimulating and thought provoking afternoon.

Participants

• Professor Brian Collins (former Chief Scientific Adviser for BIS and DfT)
• Professor Dame Ann Dowling (Head of the Department of Engineering, Cambridge)
• Professor Robert Mair (Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cambridge)
• Professor Sir Mike Gregory (Head of the Institute for Manufacturing, Cambridge)
• Dr Chris McFee (Head of Civil Contingencies Team, Government Office for Science)
• Professor Ian Poll (Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Cranfield University and Chairman of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC))
• Professor Jeremy Watson (CSA for the Department of Communities and Local Government)
• Dr Tony Whitehead (Director of Governance and Policy, IET)

If you would like to take part, please complete the application form and return to Jackie Ouchikh (email: jo225@cam.ac.uk) with a brief biography or CV and 200-300 words on what you hope to get out of the day.

Please note that places are limited so an early response is advised. Applications should be received by Wednesday 30 November 2011.

For further information, including the agenda, please go to http://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/events/PDS-early-career-engineers/

Are you interested in a secondment in policy making?

Are you considering a future career in the policy arena and would like to explore what this would entail, or are you committed to such a career path but would like concrete experience in this area to make your CV attractive? If so, you should be aware that UCL is actively engaging with professional bodies, such as the Royal Society, government departments and think tanks and policy organisations to create secondments and partnerships for UCL researchers. Secondment opportunities are on a flexible, part-time basis, usually for a short fixed-term period.  Applicants from all disciplines are encouraged. If you are interested in these, and partnership opportunities, then contact Sarah Chaytor in the Office of the Vice provost for Research.

A career in the public sector – How can doctoral students sell themselves?

Graduates seem to be undeterred by the public sector cuts programme according to the GuardianUK 300 survey which shows that almost a third of graduates have identified the public sector as their preferred place of work.

With this is mind what can doctoral students bring to the public sector that other graduates cannot?

According to the panel speakers at the recent UCL PhD Employer Forum on Careers in Government and Policy research students need to evidence their transferable skills when vying for jobs in these areas. Although technical and specialist research skills are very important for niche roles and will help you to specialise in an area of your interest it is the other skills that your doctorate studies give you that will demonstrate your employability. As a PhD student you may have had to work in or even lead a team; you will have had to communicate ideas; research, analyse and present data to non-specialists; organise your workload; meet deadlines and network within and outside of academia.  All of these skills will be important when working in public sector or policy roles as you may need to communicate about complicated research and policy issues to the public, you may need to work on multiple local or national projects with tight turnarounds and you may need to gather, digest and summarise large amounts of information quickly for ministers and other interested parties. It will be the transferable skills that you have gained that will help to get you into the sector and provide you with further opportunities if you need to widen your job search in order to become employed.

The importance of selling the transferable skills you have gained  is borne out by some of the case studies that UCL have carried out with PhD alumni (see Career Histories of UCL Graduate Research Students). For example, a student with a PhD from the Institute of Child Health completed an internship at Green Alliance and then worked as the Committee Specialist for the Science and Technology Select Committee for the House of Lords. Her current
role is working for Defra as a Higher Scientific Officer. Although her PhD is essential for her role she does not use her technical skills, rather there is more of a focus on her transferable skills in communication, team work, decision making, planning and organisation and independent research.

If you want to make sure that you are keeping your transferable skills up to date keep an eye on the different skills development workshops run by the Careers Service and Graduate School, and don’t forget the Careers Service can help you identify these skills in a quick query session.

Careers in Government & Policy – Civil Service Fast Streams

 

 

UCL Careers Service held a well attended Forum on Careers in Government & Policy yesterday for PhD students.

In addition to the information given out at the Forum you might be interested in finding out more about the specialist Civil Service Fast Stream programmes such as the Graduate Fast Stream – Science and Engineering, the Analytical Fast Stream and the Technology in Business Fast Stream.

If you are interested in the European Fast Stream you may be want to read the European Fast Stream Brochure.

PhD Employers Forum – Government and Policy

The aim of this event is to provide PhD and other research students with the opportunity to hear from and network with employers from the Government and Policy arena. A panel of speakers from local and national Government departments, charities and think tanks have been invited to talk about their sector, their career progression and the best routes into government and policy positions. They will also give tips on how PhD and research students can use their qualifications and experiences to enter this field. As there will be an opportunity to ask the speakers about careers in government and policy sectors at this event please research the organisations represented and come prepared to ask questions.

Confirmed speakers:

• Introduction and Panel Chair, Karen Barnard, Head of UCL Careers Service
• Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, RSA
• Philip Wilson, Chief Psychologist, Cabinet Office
• Alistair Paton, European Policy Adviser, Department of Transport (European Fast Stream)
• David Joyce, Head of Placeshaping, London Borough of Camden
• Varun Sitaram, Healthy Places Co-ordinator, National Management Trainee, London Borough of Enfield (National Graduate Deveopment Programme )
• Kirsty Hughes, Head of Public Policy and Advocacy, Oxfam

This event will be held from 1.15pm on Tuesday 8 March 2011. Registration is required so go to http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=1221 and register if you want to come along to this event.

Using research to ensure the security of the world’s food

A number of UK Research councils are working together through a new UK and international multidisciplinary research collaboration called   ‘Global Food Security’ that aims to;

meet the challenge of providing the world’s growing population with a sustainable, secure supply of good quality food from less land and with lower inputs.

The Global Food Security website ( www.foodsecurity.ac.uk) provides further background on this issue as well as defining the aims of the programme. If you are interested in establishing, or further pursuing, research in this area then the site is particularly useful for identifying the issues, plans and policies for future research, the institutes, universities and centres carrying out UK food security research as well as international and commercial organisations working in this area.

Posted by Calum Leckie, UCL Careers Service

Science Policy Internships

Recent posting on the Queen Mary Researchers Careers blog by Tracy Bussoli, careers adviser:

Q: Are you thinking about what to do after your PhD?

Q: Have you thought about working in Science Policy but are not exactly sure what it is?

Q: Can you afford to take 2 to 3 months out of your PhD? (No way, I hear you cry!)

Q: Can you afford to have a period with no income after your PhD?

If you answered yes to some of the above questions then read on.

I recently noticed that the Society for Biology offers Policy Internships for recent graduates and scientists on career breaks or considering a move into science policy. They offer a structured programme of unpaid work experience, for periods of 8-12 weeks (full-time, or the part-time equivalent), with hands-on experience of delivering a policy project.

Past interns have secured science policy jobs at the RSPB, Wellcome Trust and Academy of Medical Sciences, or have gone on to research or training posts.

Click here for more information.

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