A study by the University of Texas at Austin showed that only 13% of postdocs felt that they were flourishing in their roles1. This is not a situation specific to Texas academic institutions. It is specific to academia in general. And it is not acceptable.

Regardless of the next steps the postdoc chooses to take post completion of his/her project – whether in academia or out of it – the absence of career development support manifests in various ways. Examples range from successful junior PIs complaining that they have not had any experience in running labs and managing people, to postdocs struggling to land competitive jobs out of academia as they are unable to demonstrate sufficient technical knowledge out of the nuanced scientific question they investigated, or appropriate levels of maturity in managerial skills. These can result in situations such as junior PIs losing time and resources and possibly derailing the path of talented potential scientists due to poor management, or highly trained postdoctoral researchers being forced to take up jobs that are well beneath the level where they should be hired as employers are unconvinced that their training has appropriately prepared them for roles that may require demonstrable leadership qualities among other skills.

The goal of this initiative is to develop a network formed with the aim of ensuring career development of postdoctoral trainees across London.