UK Postdoc Slack

Being a postdoc is highly challenging (though rewarding). Ask any postdoc and they will likely tell you that working in academia is a perilous pursuit. Recent surveys are beginning to provide data to back up these long-known difficulties for example this nature survey.

UK Postdoc Slack

Inspired by the ever brilliant Prachee Avasthi who created NewPI slack and following in the footsteps of Pearl Ryder, creater of FuturePI Slack I have created this new group to bring together postdocs from all disciplines working across the UK.

For anybody wishing to stay in academia, FuturePI Slack is a treasure trove of useful resources and helpful people. However, it is very US-centric which often means that the advice does not always translate well. Combine this with the very different academic career structure and it can leave those of us across the pond feeling a little isolated. It is for these reasons that I decided to create a group that was more regional - and despite the name (and Brexit) we warmly welcome EU academics too!

Although still a new group, we consist of almost 160 people across a variety of disciplines. I am hopeful that we will grow into a supportive community that will ease the transition of PhD student to postdoc and provide a network that is dearly missing from this career stage.

So far we have the following channels:

  1. Academic careers - A place to discuss academic careers and jobs. This channel often has posts for new positions spotted by members
  2. Fellowships - One of the more active channels, this is a place where people can ask for help with specific fellowship applications or materials. There is a google drive space with some useful resources related to this channel.
  3. General - A channel for everything that currently does not have a specific space
  4. Introduction - Come say Hi
  5. Regional channels - we have specific channels for different regions so that more local connections can be made
  6. Outreach - A channel for discussing outreach activities and events
  7. Writing - A place for forming writing groups or getting feedback/tips

Importantly, I created this group to welcome everyone - even those not wishing to pursue an academic career or those who left after their PhDs (you’re still postdocs). As part of this, I very much wish this to be a supportive, kind, environment where we can support each other through career-progression, people-problems (aplenty in academia) and successes. Moving forward, I am hoping to organise the group more as we grow, create a public list of postdocs keen to give seminars and further promote the group across the UK.

If you’d like to join then please get in touch and I can send you the joining link.

Q; If I’m based in the EU can I still join A: Yes! Especially if you’re considering moving to the UK at some point

Q: What career stage is this? A: Specifically postdocs, so no PhD students or PIs - sorry! But that does not mean you must be working in academia or doing research.

Jonny Coates
Jonny Coates
Postdoctoral Researcher | Preprints in Motion host | preLighter

Research interests include immune cell biology and meta-research.

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