Postdocs of Cambridge (PdOC)

Careers and Continuing Professional Development

There are many courses designed for postdocs allowing them to develop new skills or to polish old ones. A summary of available courses and more information is provided by the CPPD website. They provide a variety of courses ranging from introductions to the University to personal and professional development. Details of how to register for courses can be found on the above website.

Careers

The careers service also provides advice targeted at postdocs, including specific careers programmes for research staff in the Schools of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology and Arts and Humanities and Humanities and Social Sciences. More details can be found at their portal for postdocs.

Commercial and Entrepreneurial Opportunities.

In addition there are many opportunities to commercialise ideas, which can be a good thing, for both the innovator and society at large. Cambridge has been changing rapidly over the past 5 years, and there are now many support mechanisms to help entrepreneurs set up new initiatives. The University of Cambridge’s Centre for Entrepreneurial learning (CfEL) , part of Judge Business School, offers a range of educational programmes, resources and activities that inspire and build skills in the practice of entrepreneurship. There are a number of open programmes which may be of interest to those looking to develop practical skills, evaluate the potential applications of innovations, build networks and transform ideas into reality. The flagship programmes include Enterprise Tuesday, Ignite , Enterprisers and the Advanced Diploma in Entrepreneurship. CfEL has developed a number of resources and tools aimed at delegates of our entrepreneurship programmes including videos and podcasts, advice on networking and sources of start-up support. CfEL also works closely with student societies such as the Cambridge University Entrepreneurs (CUE), which runs a business creation competition and training and the Cambridge University Technology and Enterprise Club (CUTEC), which runs the annual Technology Ventures Conference.

At the business community level, there is the Cambridge Network, which has over 1500 member firms and even more individual members. The Great Eastern Investment Forum runs events where pre-seed funding can be obtained from high net worth individuals. If you would like to find out more about the above networks, please contact Justin Hayward.