Capacity Building Programme

The primary aim of the EPDA capacity building pilot programme is to strengthen the associations capabilities to perform its activities, while the secondary aim is to contribute to providing Career development support for all postdocs at EPFL. These aims are in accordance with the EPDA strategic plan for 2021, including its specific goals

Contact person: Sanjin Marion, Vice president

Internal Leadership Training

01-05-2021

As a part of its Capacity building programme, the EPFL postdoc association is organising a free Leadership training workshop for its members. The leadership workshop is done by our member for free and builds upon the established freely available programme provided by Google (re:Work). The leadership workshop is expected to have six modules of about 3h spread (…)

Specific goals

  1. Provide training for association members in the domain of transferable skills
  2. Enhance the visibility of the Association and recruit new members
  3. Build a learning community based on open discussion
  4. Enable future association members to learn from current members
  5. Affirm the importance of managerial and leadership skills in academia

Target groups

Internal Only Events
 These events are targeted at EPDA members and are closed to external participants. Priority will be given to active members (those holding management roles in the association or working on projects), irrespectively of standard (free) or full (paid) membership.
Open Events
Open to all postdocs at EPFL, with priority given to association members (free or full).
Participation of non-postdocs
In specific circumstances PhD students and permanent contract scientists can participate, but in that case no financial support can be provided by the EPDA.

Events and activities

Q&A sessions/ seminars (Internal only)
Internal Q&A sessions are aimed at having short discussions or seminars with people of interest for the development of the association and its members. The goal is to transfer experience and information from members of other associations or individuals to the EPDA and build a sense of community. The events will be moderated by one association member and are expected to last 60 min with 20 min given to the guest speaker(s) for introduction(s) and the rest of the time reserved for questions and discussion. The events will be held according to the Chatham house rule.
Team Building events (Internal only)
The aim is for active association members to meet up in an informal setting and get to know each other.
Internal Training sessions (Internal only)
Internal training sessions are meant to provide training in basic management and leadership tools to association members. The training events are aimed to be short (up to 3 hours per session) and covering the theory and practice of individual topics with an emphasis on practical exercises in small groups. Training events will be given for free by members of the management with support from professional consultants inspired by Google’s Project Oxygen. Topics covered will include methodology of feedback, after action reviews, running meetings, decision making, coaching and emotional inteligence
Workshops (Open Events)
Multi-day workshops covering topics in Leadership, Project management and Coaching/Mentoring skills orginzed by recognized external consultants.