Trainee Resources

External Grant and Award Opportunities

Career Search and Other Professional Development

myIDP – my Individual Development Plan is a self-assessment tool for science PhDs to identify your skills, interests and values; then find career matches.

Centre for Student Involvement and Careers – career resources, workshops on resume writing and LinkedIn, and career advising

Career Planning Worksheet – find your definition of success, and identify places for growth.

PhD Career Ladder Program – the idea of the Ladder Program is to provide graduate students with a step-by-step approach to career development, and to encourage a peer support network as they go on this journey of career exploration.

Mitacs Training are 1-2 day workshops for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows on “translational” skills: project management, technical writing, networking, public speaking and many more. They have excellent instructors and it’s a great opportunity to network with students in diverse disciplines.

Mitacs Accelerate Program – internship programs partnering graduate students with industry partners. They offer up to $15,000 support funding to cover the costs of a 4 months or longer internship.

Mitacs Elevate Program – internship program sponsoring post-docs to complete a two-year industry research project and receive $57,500 in funding per year.

Graduate Pathways for Success (GPS) offer webinars and workshops on topics around career development, self management, stress management, thesis writing and much more.

Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) – provide workshops, seminars and other learning opportunities to support graduate students and TAs in teaching and learning theories and methods.

GPS PDF Office – UBC postdoctoral office, offers professional development workshops specifically for postdocs.

Online Research Co-Op – a program recruiting scientists to mentor a high achieving high school student through a science project

InterSECT Job Simulations – Interactive Simulation Exercises for Career Transitions

Organizations and Groups

PDA – UBC Postdoctoral Association, postdoc-run organization running the PDA research day and socials for postdocs. Get on their mailing list or join their governing board.

Biotech Network – the place to get connected with the Biotech industry professionals. Sign up to their newsletter or join their board.

Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) – Workshops, networking and mentoring events for people in Science and Technology. Many members are professors, graduate students and postdocs in science and technology. Many outreach and leadership opportunities. Sign up to their newsletter.

VanBUG – an association of researchers, professionals and students with an interest in bioinformatics. Hold monthly seminars.

Coding Group – programming/coding workshops and “study group” sessions for people interested in coding, or working on coding projects in collaborative environments.

Job Search Tools

UBC Student Services – how to write cover letters, resumes and CVs. Show off your skills!

Sample CV  – for teaching, academic, research administration, and industry commented on by the relevant employers.

Goinglobal – looking for jobs in a different country? This website offers specific advice on how to format your resume, what to submit, what employers are looking for, as well as industry trends globally.

JobHero – the most comprehensive library of resume and cover letter sections for all positions and levels.

Leadership and Outreach

UBC Community Leadership Program (CLP) – an innovative leadership program for UBC staff and graduate students/postdocs. The program takes off with 4 interactive facilitated workshops on leadership. Afterwards, participant leaders apply and practice new skills and knowledge by leading a group of UBC undergraduate students through a three-day community-service learning project in a school or non-profit organization during the UBC Reading Week break in February. In addition to learning about leadership, project leaders assist UBC students to cultivate their own leadership capacity and reflect on some of the real issues in community. Applications start in early September.

Let’s Talk Science – Share your knowledge and passion with kids. Inspire and engage them. Help them discover the relevance of science to their lives.

Ms Infinity – introduce girls to exciting career options and positive female role models in science and technology.

Join boards and executive teams: PDA, SBN, SCWIST, VanBug

Ask your department director or coordinator for other opportunities within your department

Academic Social Media

LinkedIn – a “must-have” networking tool for academia, industry and beyond.

ResearchGate – network of researchers across the world – connects researchers to make it easy for them to share and access scientific output, knowledge, and expertise.

Academia.edu – share your research papers and follow other scientists here.

Online Learning Tools

American Physiological Society – offers a broad range of online courses that focus on skills useful in academia.

Vancouver Coastal Health -online learning resources to support research process.

Knowledge Translation Tools – tools for writing science articles for the general public.

BioRender – tool for create professional science figures and posters

Blogs and Publications

Nature – 4 steps to reinvent your future after a PhD or a postdoc

Molecular Cell Forum – how to organize your graduate degree for a successful career in and out of academia

CheekyScientist – everything you need to know about getting a job in the life sciences industry.

JamesHaytonPhD.com – a blog covering various aspects of research, writing, and PhD life from a PhD turned consultant.

The Grad Student Way – a graduate student resource for academia and career.

PhD Career Guide – US-centric blog with career information.

List of Mental Health Resources (click here)