Workshop

Workshop, 16th and 17th May, AstraZeneca

Published May 27, 2022

  • Anna Reznichenko, AstraZeneca, hosted the first in-person meeting which grouped ESRs and PIs. We were all delighted to see each other and brake the barriers of the computer. 

    We had the pleasure to welcome Tess Harris, PKD International president, for the first time. PKD International is a partner of TrainCKDis, allowing our students to connect with the patients point of view.

  • The ESRs presented the enhancement of their thesis. The discussions were fruitful and the students underlined that it was easier to understand the content of the research of their colleagues with in-person presentations. Even though the online or hybrid meetings are more inclusive, we witnessed the added value of physical meetings.

    We scheduled the usual administrative meetings, the Junior Research Board and the Supervisory Board at the end of this first day to have a whole day dedicated to career development. Main students will soon start the third year of their Thesis. This led to an important discussion regarding the organisation of their research work in addition to the consortium training activities. 

  • During the second day, the PhD students had the opportunity to think about career paths. We invited Azinspire, early careers scientists working at AstraZeneca, to participate in this second. They had several sessions:

    • The transition from academia to industry, career development and different options in industry, the importance of collaboration between academic and industry to drive innovation
    • Hands-on exercise: ESRs and AZinspire early-career scientists work together in subteams to brainstorm a pitch for a research proposal for an academia-industry collaborative project
    • Pitch presentation: after working on the proposal, they pitched Interview skills development: Presentation from an AZ HR recruitment partner
    • “Fake interview”: ESRs and AZinspire early-career scientists take turns interviewing each other to practice asking and answering typical interview questions.

    In addition to this formal session, TrainCKDis students and AZinspire networked during breaks and lunch.