Career development on the agenda: an important opportunity for early career researchers

The Career Ambassador Program at the Faculty of Health launched earlier this year as part of the faculty's overarching career development plan. Each department has appointed one or more ambassadors who offer impartial career advice to early career researchers. In total, 12 ambassadors have been appointed at Health.

The program aims to help early career researchers navigate their careers and provide insights into the many career opportunities that exist both inside and outside academia.

The ambassadors serve as an additional support, complementing the guidance researchers receive from their immediate supervisors, often providing a broader perspective on career possibilities.

With this new initiative, the Junior Researcher Association at Health seeks to strengthen the connection between postdocs and career ambassadors.

Postdoc Appreciation Day: focus on networking and career development

The first Postdoc Appreciation Day will take place on November 11. The goal is to highlight the work of the career ambassadors and connect relevant ambassadors with early career researchers.

The event also marks a milestone for the ambassador program, as the ambassadors will, for the first time, present their work and experiences following the first phase of the initiative.

Postdoc Appreciation Day is a unique opportunity for early-career researchers. It is a day focused on networking, reflection, and concrete advice that can help early career researchers take the next step in their careers.

The event will take place from 13:00 to 17:00 in Mogens Zieler Stuen (1422/125) at Fredrik Nielsens Vej 2, 8000 Aarhus C. Participation is free and open to all postdocs and assistant professors at Health, but registration is required via the university's website.

“A postdoc position is a stepping stone to many different opportunities”

The day will start with a welcome address by Vice Dean for Research Per Höllsberg, followed by a keynote presentation from Professor Christine Parsons on the importance of taking responsibility for one’s own career development.

Following this, career ambassadors such as Professor Anette De Thurah (Department of Clinical Medicine), Professor and Deputy Head of Research Lene Baad-Hansen (Department of Dentistry and Oral Health), Senior Consultant Kim Henningsen (Department of Biomedicine), and Department Head Christian Lindholst (Department of Forensic Medicine) will share their experiences and advice.

The day will conclude with a panel discussion, where the ambassadors will reflect on their role and the challenges and opportunities they see in guiding early career researchers.

One of the participants, Senior Consultant and Lab Director Kim Henningsen, shared his thoughts as a new career ambassador at the Department of Biomedicine:

“I hope that my experiences can help bring a sense of calm and security to young researchers so that they see their position as a stepping stone to many different opportunities.”

Kim Henningsen, who has had a different career path than many of the other ambassadors, sees his background as an advantage, as it allows him to offer a broader perspective on career development both inside and outside academia.

“I believe that as career ambassadors, we can make a big difference for the well-being of early career researchers. I want to help reduce the uncertainty about the future that I personally felt when I was new to the university environment,” says Kim Henningsen.

An association for early career researchers

The Junior Researcher Association, which is hosting Postdoc Appreciation Day, works closely with the leadership of Aarhus University.

The association is dedicated to improving conditions for postdocs and assistant professors, and they see this event as a unique opportunity to strengthen networking and share experiences between early-career researchers and experienced career ambassadors.

The Junior Researcher Association encourages researchers to submit questions anonymously ahead of the event, but there will also be an opportunity to ask questions directly during the session.

You can find your local career ambassador on Aarhus University's website.

If you are a postdoc or assistant professor at Health, there is every reason to sign up. The event is free but requires registration via the university's website.

Contact

Chair of the Junior Researcher Association Anne Birkeholm Jensen
Aarhus University, Department of Dentistry and Oral Health
Phone: +45 87 15 30 68
Email: abj@dent.au.dk