The Office of University Postdoctoral Affairs (OUPA) is here to support you as you pursue your professional goals at Brown. Our office can help connect you to campus resources and partners with other University offices to develop programming for postdocs. You also can access one-on-one advising from the Director of OUPA.
Please review the resources below to learn more about professional development as a postdoc at Brown.
At Brown, postdocs and PIs are encouraged to form strong mentoring relationships drawing on resources provided by your academic departments, schools, and the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning.
All postdocs in the Division of Biology and Medicine are required to fill out an Individual Development Plan (IDP). Postdocs in other science disciplines are encouraged to use this framework to discuss their goals with mentors at Brown.
All postdocs also have access to additional training modules through Workday Learning. To access it, click on “Learning” on your Workday menu.
For additional training and funding opportunities, check the THE NEXT LEVEL: Funding Opportunities for Graduate Students & Postdocs maintained by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) and the Office of Foundation Relations at Brown.
Versatile PhD is a web-based community that demystifies nonacademic careers and provides peer and professional support for individuals interested in careers beyond the academy. Supported by subscriptions from member institutions, Versatile PhD allows you to network with "Versatile PhDs" in and out of the academy through web chat, career panel discussions, and related events. Learn how others have leveraged their PhD for professional success! Access to Versatile PhD is password-protected for members of the Brown University community.
The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) has partnered with SciPhD to provide a free, permanent license for all NPA members to their online web application tool – Flamingo™.
Flamingo™ is SciPhD’s web application that guides you in finding jobs, importing those job descriptions, analyzing the job descriptions to identify the critical technical, business, and social skills, relating those skills to your own experiences and accomplishments, and generating a targeted resume for that job. In addition, Flamingo™ has an extensive resources section with crash courses in project management, leadership, communications, interviewing skills, negotiations, and much more.
To get your free license, you should 1) fill out the brief form on the NPA's website, and 2) sign up for one of SciPhD’s free one-hour Flamingo™ orientation and training sessions, which will be provided via Zoom every month. Upon completing the above two steps, postdocs will receive instructions on obtaining their permanent license.
Please note, OUPA supports an institutional sustaining membership to the NPA. All Brown postdocs can register for free individual membership to the NPA. Visit the NPA website, select "Affiliate Individual Member, Postdoc," and sign up with your Brown email address.
Brown University is a member of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) Network. To prepare the future faculty, CIRTL aims to influence graduate-through-faculty preparation in teaching and learning at a significant number of research universities. You can see the upcoming CIRTL events here.
More details about how to attend CIRTL events is available here. CIRTL courses and workshops, which often have limited seats available, are open for registration on a first-come, first-serve basis; CIRTL members (which includes Brown University postdocs) and alumni receive priority over unaffiliated registrants. CIRTL staff refer to the institution and alumni status listed in your registration to determine your eligibility. Contact registration@cirtl.net with questions about their policy and process.