In January, Dr. Gábor Kismihók, on behalf of the MCAA and TIB, presented at the European University Association – Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE) workshop on Academic Career Development at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in Georgia. Dr. Kismihók introduced the OEduverse Project and shared the findings of a recently published joint paper by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Alumni Association and Eurodoc, “Declaration on Sustainable Researcher Careers” . The attendees of the session and Dr. Kismihók discussed the structural challenges for developing sustainable careers how to overcome them.
The presentation touched on what different stakeholders can do to create sustainable career prospects for researchers; highlighting the need for long-term, predictable and sustainable sources of funding and the early involvement of potential, non-academic employers. Dr. Kismihók also shared with attendees what career services can do for students in the early phases of their doctoral programs in terms of career guidance and articulating individual skills sets.
As an introduction to the OEduverse Project to the attendees, Dr. Kismihók stressed the importance of transferable skills among academics, which are increasingly crucial for the employability of researchers. In this day and age, researchers must have the ability to effectively communicate their research to non-academic audiences as well as manage their research alongside other responsibilities that are required of an ambitious researcher.
One such responsibility is being active in the research community and to share knowledge and findings within academic and non-academic networks. However, the recently published paper by the MCAA and Eurodoc found that researchers, particularly non-EU researchers based within the EU, face challenges in building and developing their professional network. The solution brought forward is to support bridging cultural differences and change organizational systems to be more supportive. These topics a others will be addressed during the OEduverse summer schools. To learn more, sign up for updates here!
To view the presentation that Dr. Kismihók delivered, please follow this link.