Lectures and seminars Workshop on Career Development & Personal Growth + Coaching & Consultation 1:1 Sessions
Researchers' today face numerous challenges that affect both their career progression and their personal well-being—two areas that are closely connected.
Join us in this Workshop and learn how to address these challenges, get empowered and equipped with the tools to succeed.
Target Group
Primarily postdoctoral researchers but also spots available for junior faculty members.
About
I. Career development and personal growth workshop
This workshop consists of structured presentations to introduce key concepts, combined with interactive sessions for peer learning.
The main topics include:
- Career development from first principles – a structured framework for academic growth and long-term success.
- Personal growth and resilience coaching – practical strategies to strengthen confidence, address imposter syndrome, and enhance well-being.
Agenda
13.00-13.10 Introduction to trainer and setting the scene
13.10-13.55 First Principles for Academic and Career Success
- Introduction to Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as a practical framework for sustainable long-term goals
- Methodology of strategic communication based on first principles
- Concrete example: securing your first junior-faculty grant (emphasizing this approach is applicable to any academic or career goal)
13.55-14.10 Interactive Group Work: Peer Learning
- Participants select a personal academic or career goal and apply a “reverse engineering” approach. Using first principles, participants break the goal down into its fundamental components and outline the steps required to achieve it.
The exercise highlights how complex objectives can be reframed into clear, actionable strategies
14.10-14.20 Coffee & mingle
14.20-15.05 Personal Growth in Academia
- Introduction: importance of personal growth in academia, normalization of imposter feelings
- Imposter syndrome: definition in academic context, common triggers (publishing, grants, peer comparison), myths vs. reality, strategies to reframe and overcome
- Resilience: resilience as adaptation and growth, pillars (perspective, support, self-care), practical micro-strategies, short reflection
- Confidence & career Development: confidence as a skill, link to career clarity, tools (strengths awareness, OKRs/SMART goals, feedback), building self-trust.
- Integration: connecting imposter syndrome → resilience → confidence → career growth, key takeaways to prepare for group work.
15.05-15.50 Interactive Group Work: Application
- Activity 1 - Imposter Wall - Participants identify common imposter thoughts, reframe them into positive
realities, and create a collective “Imposter Wall.” - Activity 2 - Resilience Toolkit - Groups develop a “Resilience Toolkit” with strategies and habits to strengthen
their academic journey, sharing highlights with peers. - Activity 3 - Confidence Map - Groups design a simple career journey map (PhD → postdoc → junior faculty),
marking confidence boosters and blockers, and present key insights.
15.50-16.00 Wrap-up - Insights & Next Steps
Limited participation: 30 spots
II. Consultation & Coaching Sessions
After participating in the Workshop a number of you will have the opportunity to schedule 1hour individual consultation or/and coaching sessions with the trainers depening on your needs. Each participant may receive up three individual sessions in total. Further information will be provided upon registration.
Note: The number of individual sessions are limited and participants will be selected on a first come first serve basis.
About Trainers
Judy Mielke, PhD. Founder & CEO of scientifyRESEARCH
Judy is the Founder and CEO of scientifyRESEARCH. With almost 20 years of experience in the research services sector, Judy is passionate about empowering researchers, recognizing that they are the driving force behind societal advancement. She is dedicated to helping researchers expand and reach their fullest potential and thereby make significant contributions to the UN’s sustainable development goals. Judy's approach emphasizes effective learning based on first principles, fostering adaptive knowledge that can be applied in any situation.
Gulhis Sarap, Personal Growth Coach at scientifyRESEARCH
Gülhis Şarap is a Personal Growth Consultant and ICF-accredited Coach who helps researchers and professionals navigate their careers with clarity and confidence. With more than eight years of international experience, she has led initiatives on well-being, mental health, and diversity & inclusion, guiding individuals and teams through change, growth, and transformation. Her approach emphasizes the integration of career development and personal growth, ensuring that participants build both the skills and the resilience needed to thrive in demanding and competitive environments.
Organizers
KI Career Service in collaboration with scientifyRESEARCH.
About scientifyRESEARCH
Scientify Research Solutions AB (scientifyRESEARCH) is a Stockholm-based research services company. Our mission is to empower researchers to reach their fullest potential and thereby advancing solutions for social challenges. We offer a premium research funding database that includes all major research funders in the EU, Sweden and those funders that fund internationally. To complement our grant-discovery services, we provide a range of grant and career-success services, including grant and academic writing, grant interview training, diversity training, and our newly launched coaching & consultation services designed to strengthen researchers’ career development, confidence, and personal growth.
Registration
Please use your @ki.se email when signing up to this event. Non @ki.se email domains, will not be admited to the event. Information on how to join the event and schedule individual sessions will be provided upon registration.
Registration is open until Monday, November 3rd, 2025
Contact
Please contact us at career-service@ki.se if you have questions regarding this event.