Keynote speech, by Christine Teelken

Post-PhD careers

The system of doctoral education, leading up to the PhD-degree, has been transformed substantially, specially the last twenty years. Several international changes, for example the Bologna Process, affected the academic profession and involved greater precariousness of working conditions, combined with the growing importance of doctoral education for the labour market, given current societal issues. This resulted in an expansion of doctoral graduates’ career paths beyond academia, including public, private, and non-profit sectors. About two-third of the PhD-graduates will find their employment outside Academia.

How prepared are you for such a career prospect? Whether you are in the first or last year of your PhD-trajectory, various questions may emerge, e.g. concerning transferable skills or networking. I will address these issues in my keynote speech.

Christine Teelken works as an associate professor at the VU Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.