Doctoral course - Career skills for scientists
Learn more about career options for PhDs and increase your awareness about all the transferable skills you obtain during your doctoral education.
The course includes reflections over what career options that exist and sessions where academic and non-academic careers paths and entrepreneurial options are presented and discussed. In addition, the course includes the process and steps in a job application procedure, networking practice and gives you the possibility to use your communication skills in various contexts.
Course at a Glance
- Next course occasion: Autumn 2026
- Application window: 15 April – 5 May 2026
- Format: In‑person
- Time: From 10.00-12.00 every Tuesday and Thursday, including private study (total +- 6h/week).
- Course duration: 8 weeks total, equivalent to 1 week full‑time (40h)
- Credits: 1.5 ECTS
- Course language: English
Schedule
| Date | Overview |
|---|---|
| August 18th – September 17th | 5 weeks in total (10 sessions in-person) |
| September 22nd – October 1st | 2 weeks of individual exam preparation (total +- 4h/week). |
| October 6th – October 8th | 1 week of exam presentations in smaller groups (+- 2h) |
A more detailed schedule will be available to course participants on the course web (Canvas).
Informational Interviews & Career Portraits
As part of the course, doctoral students conduct informational interviews with researchers from different sectors and may turn these conversations into career portraits for the KI Researcher Blog. Here are some examples from the previous course:
Internship Program
Career Service organizes an Internship Program for KI doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers. It is important to note that the internship program is only available to doctoral students currently enrolled at KI. However, all course students are welcome to participate in networking activities related to the internship programs, including mingling and informative webinars. More info is on the page dedicated to the doctoral students internship.