An interview with your mentor- ask your expert what changing from academia to business environment is like

REBECA is about exploring professional opportunities that researchers have outside of the academic world. Participants of the REBECA mentoring programme Public Sector Career Event asked?the mentor questions to find out what working as ‘Project Officer’, or a ‘Programme Coordinator’ etc.. ?really means? ??

See ?What advice ?our experts from Spain and UK: Vid Nukala, Lorena Tomás Laudo, Eduardo Troche, Fernando Gomollón Bel??would give to academic researchers wishing ?to follow a similar career path ?

Vid Nukala. Senior Community Engagement Officer at EMBO, Germany.

The first step before changing current course is self-reflection.?This requires one to pause and take stock of their career trajectory thus far, to identify one's interests and match them with their strengths or seek opportunities for additional knowledge and skills.?One has to be curious and willing to move out of their comfort zone and take calculated risks.?Honing how to communicate in a clear and simple way to a diverse audience is critically important.?So is networking --?seek out individuals who are (emerging) leaders in one’s field who can inspire, and to whom one can be a resource and a potential collaborator.??Straying?away from the default can be an unsettling process but also exciting to learn of the possibilities ahead.??After all, the world is large enough to carve and make a mark for oneself!?-

?

Lorena Tomás Laudo. Research Project and Grant Manager at ICIQ, Spain

If you are a very dynamic and flexible person with lots of different interests, you enjoy innovative research, you have a strategic mindset, tons of emotional intelligence and you are good at writing, do not hesitate and do it! This is a very beautiful and enriching career that allows you to be part of the research ecosystem while supporting and helping researchers develop their research ideas.

?Eduardo Troche Head of the Technology Transfer and Innovation Office at the IMDEA Materials Institute, Spain.

Do some research about what was the career path of people that currently have tech transfer roles and specially, research your own institution. Most likely you have people with those roles closer than you think, so reach out to them to find out which skills you should cultivate to end up in a similar position.

?Fernando Gomollón Bel Public Relations and Communication at the EU Graphene Flagship, Cambridge University, UK

I know I come from a position of privilege, so usually I had options to choose from, and wonderful opportunities to learn, travel, and network. That said, I would just advise you to connect with your peers – use the Internet to find people with similar interests and similar career paths. Apply for internships within the topic you like, they give you a little “taste” of a real-world job in a short time. If, by any chance, you don’t like it, there’s no shame in leaving (the internship ends anyways) and you haven’t wasted too much of your life. It’s also interesting to enrol in mentoring programmes. This is something that I hadn’t done myself until this very year, and it's been a fantastic experience to grow, and learn more about the next steps in my career.

Public Sector Career Event By REBECA, 26th of May 2022