This episode features an interview of Dr Manuela Moser, Festival Director for the Cúirt International Festival of Literature. Manuela discusses the wide range of tasks her role implies, and reflects on how she got where she is in her career.

#30. Eliza McKee: working at the National Archives

Jun 28th, 2023 25m 52s

This episode features an interview of Dr Eliza McKee, Principal Researcher Northern Ireland Records at The National Archives UK. Eliza discusses her transition from PhD to her current role, what she does, and how her experience at the National

#29. Mark Coughlan, Roy Bitrus and Rebecca Lutton: Careers for engineers

Jun 22nd, 2023 1h 26m

This episode is the recording of a panel discussion on career options for postdocs and PhDs outside academia, including entrepreneurship, focusing on individuals with a range of engineering backgrounds. it features Dr Mark Coughlan, R&D Physici

#28. Deborah Cox, Billy Hunter and Suha Dadou: research careers in the life sciences

Jun 14th, 2023 1h 12m

This episode is the recording of a panel discussion on career options for life sciences postdocs and PhDs outside of academia, focusing on research roles in the public sector, start-up companies and big pharma. it features Dr Deborah Cox, Manag

#27. Claire McCartan, Bethany Waterhouse-Bradley and Jade Berman: Careers in social sciences and policy

Jun 8th, 2023 1h 22m

This episode is the recording of a panel discussion on career options for postdocs and PhDs in the public sector or non-governmental organisations, focusing on policy-related roles in the health-, social- and environmental-sciences. It features

#26. Keziah Davison: Career opportunities beyond academia & how to navigate the transition

Jun 1st, 2023 43m 20s

In this episode, Dr Keziah Davison (Life Sciences Executive Search Consultant at Cranmore Executive Search) provides her insight as a clinical psychologist and biotech headhunter on navigating the identity shift that comes with making significa

#25. Kyle Matchett: teaching, leadership, and moving institution while becoming a lecturer

Jun 24th, 2022 30m 43s

In this episode, Dr Kyle Matchett (Lecturer, Ulster University) talks about his experience of becoming a lecturer, including how he got teaching experience, his approach to leadership, and his take on moving institution when becoming a Principa

#24. Sheila McCartan: data analytics for clinical trials

Jun 24th, 2022 23m 25s

In this episode, Dr Sheila McCartan (Data Strategy Team Lead, Exploristics) shares her experience transitioning from a lab-based postdoc to an industry role in clinical trials analytics and consultancy, including how she upskilled in coding and

#23. Elaine O'Reilly: becoming an academic in Ireland

May 27th, 2022 28m 28s

In this episode, Dr Elaine O'Reilly (Associate Professor of Chemical Biology at University College Dublin) reflects on how she became an academic in the UK and Ireland, including the impact of mobility and family life on her career and work-lif

#22. Delphine Wagner: from chemistry to regulatory affairs

May 27th, 2022 28m 13s

In this episode, Dr Delphine Wagner (Director Regulatory Affairs at Kinesys Consulting Ltd) talks about her experience working in pharmaceutical regulatory affairs and how individuals with a PhD can transition to similar careers.

#21. Caroline Barelle and Kat Maguire: exploring entrepreneurship as a postdoc

May 5th, 2022 52m 2s

In this episode, Dr Caroline Barelle (CEO and Founder of Elasmogen) talks about her career journey from postdoc to biotech entrepreneur, and Kat Maguire (Lean Startup Programme Manager, Queen's University Belfast) highlights some of the innovat

#20. Edel Hyland and Jocelyn Tillner: are academia and industry that different?

Mar 25th, 2022 52m 49s

This episode compares the experience of Edel Hyland (Senior Lecturer at Queen's University Belfast), an academic and previously postdoc in the USA, to the one of Jocelyn Tillner (Head of Research and Development in BarthHaas), group leader in a

#19. Cheryl McFarlane: applying, progressing and working in Almac Diagnostic Services

Nov 5th, 2021 48m 39s

In this episode, Cheryl McFarlane, Assay development and validation manager for Almac Diagnostics Services, shares her experience of moving to industry after her postdoc, focusing on hiring practices and opportunities for progression in the com

#18. Vijay Tiwari: strategic planning for an impactful academic career

Jun 25th, 2021 25m 9s

In this episode, Vijay Tiwari relates his experience of building an academic career, with specific emphasis on how great mentors, planning successive steps strategically and moving all over world enabled his succes.

#17. Janet Diffin: searching for roles and translating your skills to other sectors

May 28th, 2021 32m 23s

In this episode, Janet Diffin, Retail Analyst (Consumer Protection) for the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator, highlights her approach to looking for positions in the third sector as well as tips to translate your skills and experiences to rol

#16. Panchali Kanvatirth: a transition to big pharma

May 28th, 2021 23m 1s

This episode features Dr Panchali Kanvatirth, Research Scientist HTS at AstraZeneca. She talks about what it feels like to work in big pharma and how she transitioned from postdoc to her new role.

#15. Paul McCague: an insight into the education academic path

Apr 30th, 2021 25m 5s

In this episode, Dr Paul McCague introduces the ins and outs of the education-focused academic path and how his passion for teaching and getting out of his comfort zone led him to embrace it as his career.

#14 Mary Malamatari: a career in drug regulation

Apr 30th, 2021 27m 20s

In this episode, Dr Mary Malamatari describes her role as a Pharmaceutical Assessor in the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency as well as how her path led her to drug regulation.

#13. Helen Coleman: progressing as an academic while maintaining a healthy work-life balance

Mar 26th, 2021 26m 20s

In this episode, Prof Helen Coleman from the Centre for Public Health at Queen's reflects on her career as an academic, including the factors that helped her progress quickly and tips on how she maintained a healthy work-life balance while stil

#11. Sarah Dolan: an MSL path towards commercial management

Feb 26th, 2021 22m 9s

In this episode, Dr Sarah Dolan explains how a Medical Science Liaison role enabled her to transition from a postdoc in cancer research to her position as Commercial Manager in Medical Nutrition in Galen Ltd. In addition to details on her actua

#12. Donna Small: establishing her research niche and academic path with a fellowship

Feb 26th, 2021 24m 38s

This episode features Dr Donna Small, lecturer in the Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research. Donna notably discusses how she used a personal fellowship to turn her interests and experience into her own independent research niche fit to

#09. Brian Flatley: from biomarker discovery to start-up life

Dec 16th, 2020 24m 30s

In this episode, Dr Brian Flatley (Business Strategy and Engagement Director at S3 Connected Health) reflects on how a degree in forensics and a keen interest in commercialisation led him to a PhD in cancer biomarker discovery and a career in h

#10. Derek Brazil's academic career and the benefits of travelling for research

Dec 11th, 2020 21m 27s

In this episode, Dr Derek Brazil (senior lecturer at Queen's University Belfast) highlights the different steps in his career, including his experience of travelling the world for research, and shares some tips to succeed in academia.

#08. What recruitment agencies are looking for

Nov 24th, 2020 50m 27s

In this episode, two recruiters from agencies involved in health-, engineering- and data-related recruitment discuss their experience recruiting candidates with PhDs and postdoctoral experience, including the type of roles they can move to. The