On September 7, the JHI hosted a professional development day for graduate students in the humanities and social sciences. This full-day event was organized into two sessions – the morning session covered applying for postdoctoral funding as well as advertised postdoc positions. Joanne Lieu, Career Educator at the Career Experience and Education Office and Jonathan Turner, Manager of Program Completion and Postdoctoral Services at the School of Graduate Studies, discussed some of the resources available through the university’s support networks.
Their presentation was followed by a roundtable discussion moderated by JHI Research Officer Amy Ratelle, with Professor Seth Bernard (Department of Classics and a 12-month JHI faculty fellow, Isabelle Gapp (SSHRC-funded PDF), Jackie Rohel (JHI New Media Public Humanities PDF) and Danielle Taschereau Mamers (Managing Director of the Critical Digital Humanities Initiative), to discuss some of the differences between being a PhD candidate and a PDF, how to find postings and structure your application, and how to make the best of your postdoc experience, among other topics.
The afternoon session focused on building a career outside of academia, with a special presentation by Jennifer Polk, From PhD to Life. Joanne and Jonathan joined us again, to provide career development resources and some stats on the types of careers our PhDs have gone on to.
The session concluded with a roundtable moderated by JHI Associate Director Kimberley Yates, with Stephanie Fisher (Research Partnerships Officer, Faculty of Arts & Science), Laura Godsoe, Director (Executive Recruitment and Employment Equity at Dalhousie University) and Ira Wells (Academic Programs Director at Victoria College), who graciously shared their career paths and experiences.
The sessions were recorded and will be available in the Centre for Research & Innovation Support video library (UTORid required) from September 22, 2022.