OPA, PDA and Other UGA Events

Calendar

Click here to view the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) group list of all posted OPA events on the UGA Master Calendar.  You may also subscribe to the OPA calendar group on this page.

Click here for the UGA Postdoc Newsletter Archive.

Regular Events:

Monthly Postdoc Social Hour: On every last Friday of the month. We usually start at 6 p.m. but we change the venue from month to month and also do special events every now and then so please check your UGA email for updates from the Postdoctoral Association and the postdoc listserv.

PDA Board Meetings: The PDA board meets once a month to discuss topics important to the UGA Postdoctoral community. PDA board meetings are open to all PDA members. These meetings will take place on the last Thursday of every month from 1-2 PM via Zoom (Passcode: 728783) . If you have any comments, suggestions or important topics, you would like us to include in the agenda, please let us know and we will do so. If you would like to join one of the meetings to present an idea yourself, please get in touch with us and we will let you know the exact date, time and venue of our next meeting.  You can email the Postdoc Association at pdassoc@uga.edu.

Upcoming Events:

  • Coffee & Conversations: Join us for monthly informal meetings with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. All postdocs are welcome each month, with a focus on special topics or communities each month. Last Tuesday of each month, from 8:30-9:30 AM. Locations in Coverdell are provided below. Postdocs at distant campuses may request a Zoom link to join.
    • March 26th – Postdocs on Distant Campuses – Zoom
    • April 30th – Teaching Resources & Opportunities – Coverdell 340
    • May 28th – Postdocs with Young Children – Coverdell 340
  • Professional Development Programming: The Spring 2024 Professional Development Calendar can be accessed through this link. Registration links for these events are sent via email on the UGA Postdoc Listserv.  Check your inbox or email opa@uga.edu to inquire about registration.
  • Leading and Managing Your First Project with Confidence: Project management can be difficult. Don’t worry we’re here to help! Join the Offices of Research and Postdoctoral Affairs on May 8th, 2024 at 9 AM for a webinar about valued project management skills that you can use beyond academia! This webinar will be held on Zoom and facilitated by Larry Hornak and Alex Aspley. To access the Zoom link, click this link.

Past Professional Development Event Resources

2024

  • Postdoc Industry Career Day: The offices of Postdoctoral Affairs and Business Engagement hosted a Postdoc Industry Career Webinar on March 20th, 2024, from 3-5 PM EST. Presentations and a panel discussion focused on what industry employers actually want, and an insiders’ view of the job search process.
  • International Postdocs: Visas & Beyond: The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Office of Global Engagement hosted an international postdoc presentation that focused on topics such as visas and permanent resident status for international academics. This webinar was facilitated by Robin Catmur-Smith, Director of Immigration Services. This webinar was held on March 12th, 2024, at 1 PM.
  • Academic Job Searching with Career Services: The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Career Center hosted an in-person seminar that focused on the academic job search. Drs. Megan Brock and Shelley Hooks were the facilitators for this workshop. This was a two-part series. Part one was held on February 13th at 1 PM in Clark Howell Hall in the Career Center Large Basement Conference Room and focused on CV building. Participants were asked to bring a current copy of their CV to this session. Part two was held on February 22nd at 1 PM in Clark Howell Hall in the Career Center Large Basement Conference Room and focused on interviewing in academia.
  • Innovation & Entrepreneurship for Postdocs Virtual Seminar: The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and Innovation Gateway cohosted a virtual discussion on innovation and entrepreneurship for postdocs on January 16th at 2 PM via Zoom featuring facilitator, Ian Biggs.

2023

  • Pedagogy Resources & Teaching Opportunities at UGA: The Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs hosted a virtual seminar on pedagogy resources and teaching opportunities at UGA. This seminar was facilitated by the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Megan Mittelstadt. This seminar was on Zoom, November 3rd, 2023 from 9 – 10 AM.
  • Lunch & Learn: Mentoring & Collaboration: Throughout the month of October, we hosted a lunch and learn series on developing good mentoring relationships with advisors and trainees hosted by Dr. Shelley Hooks. This series was held every Wednesday in October from 12-2 PM. Due to the interactive nature of these sessions, this event was solely in-person.
  • Grant Writing Workshop: The offices of Proposal Enhancement and Postdoctoral Affairs hosted a virtual Grant Writing workshop. This workshop was hosted on Zoom on September 14th, 2023 from 2-3:30 PM. This event was hosted by Jake Maas.
  • Industry Job Search Sessions: In these interactive sessions, we addressed preparing for the industry job search(s) by continuing our conversation on resumes and written documents as well as interview skills. This was a two part series. This sessions were located in the multipurpose room in the Career Center (Located on the 2nd floor) in Clark Howell Hall on September 11th, from 9-10 AM on August 30th and September 11th, 2023. Due to the interactive nature of these sessions, this event was solely in-person. Both sessions were in collaboration with the Assistant Director of Graduate Student Services and Faculty Engagement, Dr. Megan Brock.
  • Postdoc Academy: Building Success for a Successful Career: This series was a 7-week course that allowed postdocs to follow along with materials at their own pace while learning information to boost success in their field and chosen career path. In addition to the self-guided course, Dr. Shelley Hooks, director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, lead a virtual community discussion group to allow more in-depth discussion of these topics with other UGA postdocs taking the course. The discussion group met Tuesdays at 9:00 AM.
  • 3/24/2023 – UGA Life Sciences Career Day: UGA Life Sciences Career Day was an all-day event full agenda that featured 30 participants from a wide range of companies, government agencies and non-profit organizations. In addition to the speakers, panels and workshops were held for informal networking and connecting with professionals from the life sciences sector. This event was located at the Vet Med Teaching Hospital. 
  • 2/1 thru 3/15, 2023 – Postdoc Academy: Succeeding as a Postdoc (online/virtual) and OPA’s Postdoc Academy Discussion Group (in-person): The Postdoc Academy is a comprehensive online and in-person program built on the National Postdoctoral Association core competencies to support skill development throughout postdoc training, from orientation to next career step. This program consists of FREE online courses built specifically for postdocs. The content uses inclusive, active-learning approaches to serve as a resource for the postdoc audience directly, as well as postdoc offices and associations. The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs hosted a discussion group called “Postdoc Academy Discussion Group”. This series meet weekly on Wednesdays beginning on 2/1/2023 through 3/15/2023 from 9-10 AM in Coverdell Room 339. This was a professional development series. 

2022

  • Virtual Coffee with the Pros: NIH K01 (Mentored Research Scientist Development) Awards (12/15/22, 9am – 10:15am): Three K01 awardees shared their insights into the process of developing a K01 application and their experience carrying out their proposed research, followed by a free-form discussion/Q&A. Our panelists were Dr. Danielle Lambert, Epidemiology & Biostatistics; Dr. Jarrod Mousa, Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Emily Noble, Nutritional Sciences. 
  • Series III: CV Development Strategies for Potential Permanent Resident Applications: Sponsored by PDA, Facilitated by Robin Catmur-Smith on November 18, 2022, from 11 AM-12PM, Vet Med in room 1070 0311. Slides from this presentation can be found here. 
  • Tuesdays in November, excluding 11/22 – Mentoring Professional Development for Postdocs: Sponsored by OPA with Erin Dolan, at the Vet Med building in Conference Room 2007(222) from 1-2:30 PM. These sessions were discussing topics around being a mentor and personal development. 
  • Series II – Paths to Permanent Resident Status for Academics seminar that focused on permanent resident status for academics. This event was sponsored by PDA and was facilitated by Robin Catmur-Smith. This event took place on October 17, 2022 in Vet Med 1070 0311. The link to the slides used for this session can be found here. 
  • Series I – U.S. Visas for Academics: International Graduate and Post-doctoral Perspectives was a seminar that focused on U.S. Visas for academics with an emphasis on international graduate and post-doctoral perspectives. This event was sponsored by the PDA and was facilitated by Robin Catmur-Smith. This event took place on September 23, 2022, in CoverdellS175. 
  • Industry Panel: Transitioning from Academia to Industry was a panel that focused on the transition period from academia to industry jobs. This event took place on September 19, 2022, on Zoom. This event was sponsored by the PDA. 
  • “Preparing Academic Job Applications” was a workshop on July 18, 2022, that was designed to get academic job ready. Participants were encouraged to bring their CVs and any draft documents to receive feedback and better prepare for jobs in academia. 
  • “Interested in Faculty Role: Key Aspects When Applying for Faculty Positions” was a panel event on May 19, 2022, focused on experiences around applying for academic jobs and well as an opportunity to ask questions about the panelists experiences and recommendations for when applying to jobs in academia. 
  • The online course titled “The Postdoc Academy: Succeeding as a Postdoc” began April 26, 2022, on edX. This 6-week course was designed to help you create a rewarding experience that would launch you into your chosen career path. Each week of the course was 1-2