Jump to the programme!
Why?
The aim of National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW) is to raise awareness and celebrate the incredible achievements of postdoctoral researchers!
Who?
Postdocs are early career researchers having already obtained a PhD. They work on short-term contracts to aquire additional training and experience in order to become the future leaders in academic research, private research, governmental institutions or any other successful career they can apply their skills to!
Postdocs plan and conduct research, analyse data and disseminate their results by publishing in scientific journals, interacting with policy makers or with private companies. They are also involved in teaching at the University, supervising students and junior staff and taking part in public engagement activities.
Postdocs are at the forefront of scientific discoveries, building a better future for all of us, and deserve our gratitude for their hard work!
What?
Events vary with the year but could include research showcases, public events (in example a movie + Q&A), recognition (Prizes or awards), social events (usually with food!), social media campains etc.
When?
The week of the 3rd Monday of September.
Where?
NPAW was created by the National Postdoc Association (NPA) in the USA, where it has been celebrated since 2009. In 2018, Queen's was the only UK University to put a programme together and we intend to keep organising NPAW in Belfast every year!
Programme 2020 (21 - 25 Sept)
E-cards
Means to say thank you!
PIs, students, peers and colleagues can thank postdocs and wish them a happy National Postdoc Appreciation Week by downloading one of the many available E-cards and send it by email or on social media!
Expand for more information and to download cards.
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Profiles
Meet our postdocs!
Learn about some of our postdocs, their research and contributions to our three Faculties by watching our series of postdoc videos
Online Pub Quiz
Trivia fun!
The PDC will host an online Pub Quiz for postdocs, who can play as teams or individually and test their (random) general knowledge!
The quiz will take place on Friday 25 September 2020 from 3:30 pm (expected length 1.5 h).
Recognition
Postdoc prizes
Prizes to celebrate the achievements of Queen's postdocs will be awarded during National Postdoc Appreciation Week.
Nominations closed on 10 July 2020.
Due to social distancing, we will not hand out the prizes at an event this year, but will announce the winners on the PDC Twitter account, @QUBPostdoc, on Thursday 24 Sep (MHLS from 1 pm, AHSS from 3 pm, EPS from 4 pm). Be sure to tune in and like, share and comment to congratulate the winners!
UK-wide event
#Recognition of Research Talents
A consortium of UK Universities, including Queen's, are organising two nation-wide online events for Postdoc Appreciation Week (see website).
This first event, on Monday 21 Sep (1 pm), is designed to be positive and fun! Introduced by Sara Shinton (University of Edinburgh), we will learn all about the highly valuable transferable skills of postdocs with Chris Humphrey (Jobs on toast), followed by Emer Maguire (Science communicator, Musical comedian), illustrating how to excel at communication... and singing a bit!
UK-wide event
#PostdocChat - Careers in Academia and Beyond
A consortium of UK Universities, including Queen's, are organising two nation-wide online events for Postdoc Appreciation Week (see website).
This second event, on Tuesday 22 Sep (10 am), is an interactive panel discussion aiming at providing information to researchers regarding their career options, available resources and opportunities to help them explore their career, and insights to navigating various career options. It will provide highlights on different pilot programmes that are currently being developed to promote researcher career development (such as the Prosper project and Wellcome's Broadening Horizons mentoring programme), insights to implementation of the new Concordat, available resources, and data on what potential employers value in a candidate from a research background (notably from Vitae).
Other initiatives open to QUB postdocs (places limited):
- NPAW 2020 – The Positive ApproachTM (Monday 21st September 10:00am – 11:30am)
Wellbeing session to learn about Positive Approach™, and how this can help you lead more contented, fulfilling and satisfying lives (Provided by the University of Liverpool).
- My Escape from the Lab: Scientific Publishing (Wednesday 23rd September 3:00pm – 4:00pm)
Dr Matteo Cavalleri, a publisher at Wiley will share his experience going from a chemistry postdoctoral position to his current career on the “other side” of Scientific publishing (Provided by the University of Liverpool).
- The use of responsible metrics: The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) (Friday 25th September 1:00pm – 2:00pm)
This workshop will introduce the responsible use of metrics and how to embed DORA recommendations in research (Provided by the University of Liverpool).
- A Giant Virtual Coffee (Friday 25th September 2:45pm – 3:30pm)
This event is open to postdocs across the all partner Universities and therefore a nice informal way to round off NPAW 2020 and chat with other postdocs and researchers from the University and others within the UK (Provided by the University of Liverpool).
- Being LGBTQ+ in Academia (Wednesday 23rd Sept 1-2pm)
This session is open to all and will provide information on how to be a part in building a better workplace for LGBTQ+ staff and students (Provided by the University of Liverpool).
Programme 2019 (Archive)
Research night at QFT: GATTACA + Q&A
Film
Dates: 19/09/2019 - 19/08/2019
Time: 6:00PM - 8:30PM
Location: Queen's Film Theatre
20 University Square
Belfast BT7 1PA
Postdoc Showcase
Date: 18/09/2019
Time: 9:30AM - 5:00PM
Location: Ulster Museum (Botanic Ct, Belfast BT9 5AB)
Postdoc recognition: wear it and say it!
Dates: 16/09/2019 - 20/09/2019
Time: 9:00AM - 12:00PM
Location: Everywhere at QUB!
Recognition
Postdoc prizes
Prizes to celebrate the achievements of Queen's postdocs will be awarded during National Postdoc Appreciation Week, at the end of the Postdoc Showcase.
Information on how to nominate postdocs and prizes' categories can be found here. Nominations for all Queen's Faculties close on 16 August 2019.
EPS Postdoc Society launch: Pizza night!
Date: 19/09/2019
Time: 3:30PM - 7:00PM
Location: TBD on QUB campus