Wayne State University’s National Institutes of Health-funded BEST Program (Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training) will sponsor a careers bootcamp May 22 and 23 on The Business of Science, to be conducted by the professional development services organization SciPhD. 

This rigorous, hands-on workshop is open to doctoral trainees and postdoctoral scientists committed to making successful transitions to careers in business and industry. SciPhD has held similar bootcamps at Rutgers, the University of Michigan, the University of Chicago, Harvard University, Stanford and other major research universities nationwide.

The BEST Program is designed to help Ph.D. students and postdocs at Wayne learn about the multiple career pathways open to them, in addition to academic careers in postsecondary institutions. 

“Our goal is to help prepare doctoral trainees to meet the needs of the 21st century economy in a dynamic and evolving job market," said Wayne State Graduate School Dean Ambika Mathur, the grant’s co-principal investigator.

Program participants engage in a professional development curriculum that shows how their scientific training, problem-solving skills and analytical aptitude can help them achieve success in a range of domains — such as the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, patent and intellectual property law, state and federal government, science communication, and undergraduate teaching. 

The SciPhD careers bootcamp in May is one of several special events sponsored by BEST that focuses specifically on how attendees can promote their skills and demonstrate their business value to employers in commercial industry settings.

The cost of attending the two-day SciPhD bootcamp is $35, and includes breakfast and lunch on both days plus a personalized portfolio of job-hunting resources for each attendee. Deadline for registration is Friday, May 5. Walk-in registration will not be permitted.