Interactive Training for Professionals Supporting Researcher Careers
Researchers increasingly bring complex professional and personal challenges into career conversations: uncertainty, pressure, conflict, mental load, difficult supervisory relationships, mobility concerns, identity questions, and career transitions.
Professionals working in doctoral education and researcher career development are often expected to “help solve” these situations. Yet effective support does not mean taking ownership of the problem.
This highly interactive international training invites participants to explore what meaningful, professional and sustainable career support can look like beyond problem-solving.
Designed for professionals working with doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers and early-career researchers, the workshop focuses on strengthening coaching-like conversation skills, reflective practice and professional boundaries in individual career conversations.
Across 2,5 intensive workshop days, participants will work with real-life scenarios, case studies, peer exchange and practical exercises to explore:
The training emphasises practice, international exchange and collaborative learning within the PRIDE community spirit. Participants will leave with concrete tools, increased confidence for complex conversations, and a stronger understanding of their own professional role: not as problem solvers, but as skilled facilitators of reflection, direction and support.
We will enjoy an Italian dinner togeher
Interactive exercises & reflection
Stretch your legs and enjoy Italian coffee.
Scenario work & small-group discussion
Join us for lunch and get re-energised for the afternoon! Chat with the trainer and network with new PRIDE friends while enjoying a meal.
Time for a short break and a coffee.
Role plays & feedback
Role plays & feedback
Reflection exercises & peer exchange
Coffee again
Join us for lunch and get re-energised for the afternoon! Chat with the trainer and network with new PRIDE friends while enjoying a meal.
Dr Liz Elvidge is the Director of Development and Engagement for the Early Career Researcher Institute at Imperial College London. She has spent all her career in Higher Education and is passionate about supporting early career researchers. She co-authored the book- What every postdoc needs to know.(2024) second edition, Elvidge, Spencely and Williams and has other publications on Academic Development in Higher Education and Leadership and Management Practice in Higher Education. Outside the day job Liz sits as a magistrate on the Cambridgeshire bench. The Early Career Researcher Institute (ECRI) was created in October 2024 bringing together the Graduate School and the Postdoc and Fellows Development Centre. Our mission is to attract, develop, empower, and advocate for the next generation of outstanding STEMB talent through learning and development opportunities, events, support, and resources for early career researchers.
Madeleine Harbich is a researcher development professional, certified coach, and communication expert with more than fifteen years of experience at the intersection of academia, strategic communication, and career development.
As Project Lead for Postdoc Career Development at the University of Vienna, she has built and established new structures, programmes, and initiatives supporting postdoctoral researchers in shaping impactful and sustainable careers.
Drawing on a professional background spanning journalism, radio, public relations, marketing, and strategic communications, Madeleine brings a distinctive perspective to researcher development. She specializes in helping researchers communicate their work with clarity and impact, identify career opportunities beyond traditional academic pathways, and navigate complex professional transitions.
She is a certified Systemic, Business, and Mental Coach, a Member of the Board of the PRIDE Network, and lead coordinator of both the Vienna Postdoc Career Days and PAW Austria. Her workshops combine evidence-based approaches, practical tools, and extensive experience in communication and career strategy to support researchers in turning expertise into opportunity.
Founded in 1640, the University of Helsinki is Finland’s oldest and largest university, known for world-class research. Located in the capital, it is a leading European institution in sustainability, innovation, and open science.
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Applications will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis. The application is only completed when you have received the final confirmation by email after your payment.