Prosper Postdoc Career Development Pilot – applications now open

01 Sep 2021

This week sees the launch of applications for Prosper’s first postdoc career development pilot cohort at the University

Prosper is seeking to recruit a broad range of up to 90 postdocs from across its three partner institutions, the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester and Lancaster University, to undertake a period of intensive development activity and co-create the final Prosper approach with the team. 

This second cohort expands on the first cohort currently underway with 50+ University of Liverpool postdocs and participating postdocs will benefit from the learnings and insights from the ongoing first cohort. 

Applications are from Wednesday, 1 September until midday Friday, 17 September 2021 via an online application form.

More information is available on the Prosper webpages. The Prosper team will also holding four information drop-in sessions during the application window for postdocs from all three institutions to come and ask their questions about the pilot. 

Successful applicants will join the cohort in February 2022 and undertake development activity designed to enable them to explore multiple career pathways. Participants will gain direct access to Prosper’s 80+ employer partners, as well as career coaching, to explore their skills and aspirations and how these align with the range of roles and sectors open to them as postdocs. 

The pilot’s development activities have been carefully co-created with a range of employers including multinationals, SMEs, science and technology companies, arts organisations and charities including: 

Unilever, IBM, SciTech Daresbury, Alderley Park, Notch Communications, National Museums Liverpool, Tate, The Reader, Good Things Foundation, Creative Industries Federation, Bristol Myers Squibb, Elanco, Pets at Home and Ashfield Health. 

Prosper is aimed at creating a new approach to postdoc career development that addresses traditional barriers to access. A diverse pilot cohort that represents the breadth of experiences and backgrounds in the postdoc community is key to ensuring that the final approach we develop is flexible, accessible and appealing to all postdocs. 

To achieve this, applications will be particularly welcomed from postdocs with protected characteristics and/or circumstances that may have impacted their access to development previously. 

Prosper is a partnership between the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester and Lancaster University. The three partner institutions have been working collaboratively to co-create this new approach to postdoc career development since early 2020.  

For more information about Prosper, visit the project webpages, get in touch with the team or follow them on Twitter.