GAIN24 Digital: Postdoctoral Industry Internship Programs and the Power of Informational Interviews
The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers has established 14 Career Centers to support Postdoctoral researchers. An innovative pilot Postdoc Internship Program (PIP) in ‘23-24 provided 3-month internships in industry to more than 50 Postdocs from 9 Helmholtz institutes in Germany. Postdoctoral researchers often had no exposure to non-academic settings and found it rewarding to fine-tune their career choice and having career discussions with their supervisors. The main win reported was the effect of networking and conducting informational interviews (IIs). At DKFZ applicants even conducted IIs to select a host company, and said they benefited a lot from these, with or without joining the PIP. In this workshop, we will elaborate on how to start, carry out and benefit from such IIs and networking in general. We will also offer a Q&A on the possibility to extend similar postdoc internship / hospitation initiatives to other institutes and universities.
- Dr. Mariana Schulte-Sasse, Postdoc Manager, DKFZ German Cancer Research Center
- Dr. Barbara Janssens, Career Manager, DKFZ German Cancer Research Center
- Marion Gürth, Deputy Head of DFKZ Career Service & Alumni Relations, DKFZ German Cancer Research Center