Career and Personal Development
The University of Toronto supports the professional and personal development of U of T PDFs by providing access to many campus services that help you improve the skills necessary to become successful researchers. You also have access to many non-academic services and workshops that can be of great benefit to you during your stay at U of T.These services are included in the $200 annual administrative fee, which also supports your library access, the obtaining of a parchment following the completion of your fellowship, and registration with the Postdoctoral Office.
The following University offices provide resources, programs and workshops for professional development and other life skills. Please visit each website for more detailed descriptions and registration information. The Postdoctoral Office is happy to provide a parchment upon the completion of your postdoctoral engagement; details are below.
Gradlife
PDFs have full access to the Gradlife which provides specialized workshops, and online resources and programming covering both academic and non-academic issues. Please feel free to attend any workshop that interests you.
Leadership Development Program
PDFs have full access to the Leadership Skills for Graduate Students program which offers a special series of workshops in communication, facilitation and conflict resolution skills.
Family Care Office
The Family Care Office (FCO) supports the University of Toronto community with any family care issue by providing information, guidance, referrals and advocacy. U of T PDFs are eligible to attend the FCO workshops.
Career Centre
The Career Centre offers a comprehensive, personalized range of career education and employment services to support and empower participants in making informed decisions about their career and employment goals. All specialized workshops available to graduate students at the Career Centre are also available to U of T PDFs. Individual career consultations are also available. Please note that PDFs are eligible to receive a maximum of 5 individual consultations annually with a career counsellor.
Teaching in Higher Education (THE 500)
The objective of the THE500 course is to support Doctoral students and PDFs from all divisions at U of T in their professional preparation for academic careers by:
· introducing effective strategies in teaching in higher education
· providing an opportunity for the practice of teaching methods
· encouraging students to develop their own teaching philosophy and style
· providing information on the teaching and learning resources available at U of T and in current research and discussing some of the broader issues and concerns of members of the academy
Office of English Language & Writing Support
PDFs are welcome to attend the workshops offered by the Office of English Language and Writing Support (ELWS). Details on the date/location of each semester's workshops are available at: www.sgs.utoronto.ca/english/workshops.asp.
Parchments
PDFs who are nearing the end of their fellowship may request a parchment from the Postdoctoral Office. The Parchment will indicate your name, the unit in which you undertook your fellowship, and the start and end dates of the fellowship. The Parchment will be signed by the Dean of Graduate Studies, Vice-Provost Graduate Education, embossed with the School of Graduate Studies seal, and sent to your supervisor for his or her signature. Please contact the Postdoctoral Office by email to request a parchment; parchments may take up to two weeks to produce, so please request one in a timely manner.
MITACS
Mitacs is national research organization offering unique research and training programs to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in Canada. Their programs include: :
Mitacs Accelerate: Is Canada’s premiere research internship program. It connects graduate students and PDFs with companies through short-term research projects. Interns apply their specialized expertise to business research challenges and transfer their skills from theory to real-world application.
Mitacs Elevate: Provides a foundation of cutting-edge research, business, entrepreneurship and scientific management skills to newly-minted PhDs. Through Mitacs Elevate, new PhDs create and lead a major industrial research project while establishing vital connections within the local business community.
Mitacs Step: Provides business-ready skills to up-and-coming researchers. Step trains graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in essential interpersonal, project management and entrepreneurial skills required for them to succeed in their future career.