On January 13th, ILead Grad hosted a panel geared towards upcoming PhD Graduates. The panel boasted five PhD graduates with the intention of sharing their story of how they got to where they are now, their mindset at the end of their degree, and how to transition from an academic to industry setting successfully. The panelists consisted of Theresa Cooke, Director, Strategy at Simens Canada Limited, Anton Davies, Principal at RWDI Consulting Engineers and Scientists, Inmar Givoni, Vice President of Big Data at Kobo, Dan Rosen, Managing Director of Risk and Analytics at S&P Capital IQ, and Nick Timmins, Vice President, Technology at Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine.
Moderator Professor Doug Reeve opened the discussion by asking the panelists to recall their feelings around the time of their graduation. The group collectively noted feelings of apprehension and indecision for their next steps in life, feelings which resonated with the crowd of PhD students. Panelists went on to discuss skills they learned in their first few years outside of their PhD. Recurring discussion of humility and attitude in the workplace occurred with panelists describing the difficulty to unlearn some of the things that become inherent as a PhD student; such as solving a problem to completion and publishing – feats not necessarily associated within industry. The panel described the key ability for new hire PhDs to move from an individual, competitive environment, to one which celebrates community and cohesiveness.
The panel concluded with the discussion of value and leadership of PhDs within industry. PhDs provide value in their ability to approach and solve difficult problems and their ability to learn difficult concepts rapidly. With respect to leadership in the workplace, panelists described the unique position of PhDs to use their drive for understanding to motivate colleagues by determining their individual values.
Succeeding conclusion of the discussion, students had the chance to speak with panelists individually to answer any outstanding questions.
-Michael Sabatini