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In any given year, the Doherty Institute is home to approximately 120 PhD students, but while many continue to travel the research career path, others have different career aspirations.

In recognition of this, the Doherty Institute PhD Program was established in 2017 to provide students with the opportunity to supplement their research training in their primary discipline with extracurricular professional development.

Since then, more than 140 graduate research students (MSc and PhD) have been enrolled and 30 workshops have been delivered. The workshops span topics such as science communication, bioinformatics, computer programming, curriculum vitae and interview preparation, and poster and abstract writing. Career events also help students explore different employment sectors. “The PhD Program trains candidates in a broader sense than their chosen research project and we try to equip them with skills for various employment sectors,” says Program Co-Leader, University of Melbourne Professor Dick Strugnell.

The Program is the only PhD Program across the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct that benefits from access to an Industry Advisory Committee made up of key partners working in biopharmaceutical-linked industries such as CSL Limited and GlaxoSmithKline Australia.

“The Advisory Committee expertise helps tailor the content of workshops to ultimately assist with employment beyond the pure research environment,” says Program Co-Leader, University of Melbourne Professor Tim Stinear.

The Program closely engages and plans activities with the student representative group, SPASIM, and has collaborative relationships with Women in Science Parkville Precinct (WiSPP) and other PhD Programs across the Precinct, including at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

“Joining forces with the different PhD Programs and other professional development initiatives adds different layers of expertise that enable us to implement a wide range of program offerings, and to provide an inclusive and open learning environment where graduate researchers can network with others from similar disciplines,” says University of Melbourne Dr Marie Greyer, PhD Program Officer.

Providing resources towards better mental health for graduate researchers, an issue for many PhD candidates, has been a key initiative of the Program.

POSSIM (formerly SPASIM) President and University of Melbourne PhD candidate, Ashley Hirons, notes that, “Support with mental health is immensely important, helping students to survive and thrive throughout their PhD.”

This article was first published in the Celebrating Five Years of the Doherty Institute Impact Report.