4.5 Professional Development and Career Opportunities

As a PDF at UBC, there are resources available to you to enrich your experience and allow you to get the most from your postdoctoral appointment.

The College of Graduate Studies at UBC Okanagan offers workshops throughout the year that are open to both PDFs and graduate students. View workshops at https://gradstudies.ok.ubc.ca/student-life/events-workshops/. 

As a PDF at UBC Okanagan, you have access to some professional development workshops and resources hosted by the Postdoctoral Fellows Office (PDFO) at UBC Vancouver. The PDFO hosts workshops to assist you in gaining skills and perspective on issues relevant to a PDF’s career.

Professional development courses and workshops are also regularly offered through both the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and through UBC Human Resources including programs on leadership, supervising graduate students, and peer coaching. Postdoctoral fellows may also have access to online learning modules through LinkedIn Learning. Professional development in grant proposal writing is offered periodically through the Office of Research Services.

Links to an external site.
Foundations of Career Planning Program
The Foundations of Career Planning Program is the PDFO’s flagship professional development program. This three-part workshop program is designed to provide postdocs with the support and resources required to establish the foundations of a post-PDF career, whether in academia or in industry. By the end of the program, participants will have developed through self-reflection the foundations needed to structure a development plan, put together a professional portfolio, and navigate the interview and negotiation process. The Foundations program is offered twice annually.

CIRTL Postdoc Teaching Internship
In collaboration with the Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), the CIRTL Postdoc Teaching Internship sees participants partner with a faculty mentor and work with their mentor to develop teaching philosophies, create individual teaching statements, and develop and deliver guest lectures over an academic term. The program is comprised of a three-day Instructional Skills Development teaching intensive course and a Teaching Internship.

PDFO-SPARC Internal Review Training Program
In line with CIHR's Postdoctoral Peer Review Training Pilot Program to train and support PDFs as reviewers, the PDFO-SPARC Internal Review Training Program was co-developed between the PDFO and SPARC to integrate emerging scholars into SPARC’s Internal Review process in order to enrich the PDF training experience and strengthen the competitiveness UBC grant proposals. Over a series of 5 sessions, participants learn about the principles and policies guiding CIHR peer review, undertake a mock review and proposal evaluation, and participate in a peer review committee meeting and applicant discussion groups.

Coaching @ UBC
Depending on your appointment, you may be eligible to access the Coaching @ UBC program. This program offers free 1-on-1 coaching services for up to six coaching sessions for the purpose of assisting coaching participants with their personal and professional development. For more information and to check your eligibility for this program, you can contact Coaching @ UBC directly via email at coaching@hr.ubc.ca or by phone at 604-822-3351.