Media Fellowships for Scientists

Applications are now open (closing date March 11th) for the British Science Association Media Fellowships Scheme. Around 10 of these are awarded each year and are designed to bridge the gap between career scientists and the media. Some details of the scheme from the official website:

Media Fellows spend 3-8 weeks working with a national press, broadcast or internet journalist to gain a greater awareness and understanding of the workings of the media and produce accurate and well-informed news pieces and work in the Press Centre at the British Science Festival.

Note, however, that the scheme is not intended for those who are changing career and wish to move into media and broadcasting – application criteria state that you must have a full time research position to go back to. In addition, you must also have at least two years of postgraduate experience in your field. Full details can be found on the Media Fellowship Website.

Posted by Calum Leckie, UCL Careers Service

 

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/

Science Week is next week – Sign up now for events

UCL’s get in to Science Week is next week.  As part of the week UCL Careers Service have organised 2 very exciting events on Monday 31 October.

Science Careers Explained – this is a lunchtime session (1-2pm) where Diana Garnham, Chief Executive, The Science Council will be giving an overview of the science sector labour market and will be telling you where the jobs are in the current climate.

Careers in Science Forum and Networking Event (5.30-7.30pm) – this event will enable you to hear from science sector companies and discuss career opportunities with representatives from over 20 organisations including: Akzonobel; Biomed Central; Carpmaels & Ransford; CGG Veritas; GlaxoSmithKline; KnowledgePoint360; L’Oreal; Nucleus Central; Unilever; United Biosource Corporation; Withers & Rogers and more….

For full details of these events and others across Careers in Science Week go to http://www.ucl.ac.uk/silva/careers/students/events/getinto/science

PhD Employers Forum – Careers in Science

Date/Time: 9 June 2011, from 11am
Venue: North Cloisters, Wilkins Building

This event gives PhD students the opportunity to meet potential future employers who specialise in science and related sectors face to face. You will have the opportunity to find out about options available beyond your PhD and practice some of your employability skills. The day will be of interest not only to students nearing the end of their research, but also to research students at any point their career wishing to gain an insight into the PhD labour market in sectors including Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Natural Resources, Environmental Consultancy, Patents and Intellectual Property, Knowlege Transfer, Medical Writing, Scientific Publishing, Defence Technology and Clinical Trials.

Companies confirmed for 2010/11 include:  Biotronics 3D, Carpmaels & Ransford, CGG Veritas, Defence Science & Technology Laboratory, Dianthus Medical, GSK, Institute of Clinical Research, Institute of Physics Publishing, Matchtech, Oakdene Hollis, PRN Clinical Services, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Unilever, UCL Advances – HELO Programme and UCL Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.

This one-day event takes place in two sections:

* Information Fair – From 11am until 1pm there will be a table top Information Fair with a selection of exhibitors who regularly recruit PhD students – this will give you the opportunity to find out about a range of employers and discuss with them any opportunities they have on offer.

* One-to-One Sessions – During the Information Fair you will be able to sign up for 15 minute informal one-to-one sessions with employers (with the agreement of you and the employer). These sessions will take place in the afternoon and are intended to allow you the chance to use the skills you have developed during the research student skills development programme in a one-to-one situation.

To take a look at the career histories of some previous UCL science research students – go to http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/current-students/phd/careeroptions#phdstoriesucl.

To help you get the most from the Forum, UCL Careers Service will be holding a session titled ‘How to use the PhD Employers Forum’ on Tuesday 31 May 2011 in the Seminar Room, UCL Careers Service, 4th floor, ULU Building, Malet St. This session will be held from  11.00am to 12.00pm. It will provide you with a run down of the various different techniques and strategies you can adopt to make the most of the event. Please note that places are limited to 45 and there is no formal registration for this information session.

For more information and to register for the Forum please go to http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=2165

From academic to medical writer – a guide in getting started in medical communications

The UK is home to numerous leading medical communications agencies that serve the global pharmaceutical industry. If you would like to be a successful medical writer working in one of these agencies you would need:

• ideally a doctorate in a bioscience subject
• ideally post-doctoral research experience
• genuine enthusiasm for science and its application to medicine
• flair for writing about science and medicine
• the ability to work independently within a small-team environment

Medical writing can literally take you all over the world and provides attractive long-term career pathways.

To find out more about medical writing go to Medcommsnetworking where there is also a guide to getting started in medical communications (3rd Edition, published March 2011, written by Dr Annick Moon, published by NetworkPharma).

The guide focuses primarily on the role of the Medical Writer in medical communications agencies. The Medical Writer’s role is to use science and language to deliver education and communication programmes for the pharmaceutical industry, while working to the highest ethical standards and adhering to industry regulations and guidelines. The aim of this guide is to give the industry information you need to decide if you are suited to the role of Medical Writer, and to provide the insider knowledge you need to excel at interview.

Do you want to be a Science Journalist?

Do you like the idea of learning how to work within the conditions and constraints of the media to produce accurate and well informed pieces about developments in science? The British Science Association have just launched their 2011 Media Fellowship scheme where postgraduate researchers who are interested in a career as a science journalist can spend 3 to 8 weeks working with a national press, broadcast or internet journalist.  See http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/web/scienceinsociety/MediaFellowships/ for more information.

If you are interested in a media career keep an eye on the Careers Service website and this blog site for information about the forthcoming “Get Into Media” week at UCL.

Becoming a Science Writer

An interesting Blog article has been posted on the ScienceCareers.org website regarding careers in science writing. As the article states, this is often an option considered by many who feel a need to move away from basic research, but who still enjoy the process of communicating scientific developments. However the article, which consists of contributions from a variety of current science writers, makes it clear that you have to have a passion for writing science and have a very clear idea of what you are getting yourself into. To access the article, click here.

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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The UK Research Staff Association

The UK Research Staff Association have been very active on their twitter account the last day or so.

Things that caught my eye:

• Career versus Family Life http://ow.ly/1P9Gb via @womenintech
• Who is pondering applying for Vitae Innovate funding? http://tinyurl.com/36fbp57 via @tennievideler
• A Day in the Life of a Management Consultant http://ow.ly/1S1Fm interesting for those who’d like a career in consulting RT @Bio_Careers

Each is worth a few minutes of your time today.

Also you can get a snapshot of what the people we follow on twitter are saying here: http://paper.li/uclcareersblog

James Weaver

Employer Services & Events Officer

Using Science Knowledge in the Financial Sector

LBN Careers Track Event  Seminar Report

For many scientific researchers the idea of working in the financial sector may not appeal as they probably think it would entail abandoning all the expert knowledge gained over the course of a PhD and / or a postdoctoral research project. However, this does not have to be the case as we found out from a talk given by Fraser Campbell at the LBN Careers Track Event in March. Fraser currently works in a multi-national accountancy firm in corporate finance and he talked about the fact that scientists are required in this area because  ‘Brokers’ need sector expertise to make decisions on where to invest and the Analyst, in Fraser’s case ‘Life Science Equity Analyst’, provides this expertise. For more information please read the seminar report: Science & City Talk

Calum Leckie

UCL Careers Service