13 Feb Humanizing Science

* pictured above: ESR Laurensius Kevin Lie during the final PDP masterclass

Four years ago, our early stage researchers (ESRs) joined our project with one ambition in mind: to become leading researchers in the field of virology and organoid technology. However, navigating the competitive job market will not be easy. Although scientific academic skills are undoubtedly important for a researcher to have, being able to demonstrate human skills is what will make a researcher truly stand out.

When our coordinators Katja Wolthers and Dasja Pajkrt curated the OrganoVIR project, they recognized the need to provide a training program that will provide the next generation of researchers with skills that will elevate their employability in the competitive industry. As a result, our training program was created with the following three skills in mind; academic scientific skills through scientific training, managerial and entrepreneurial skills through the pre-MBA program and finally, human skills through the BeyondU Personal Development Plan (PDP).

The PDP, curated by PDP coach Ingrid Valks, is a program curated to develop human skills, personal competences and practicing well-being as foundation skills for future leaders in business and science. Human skills include empathy, adaptability and critical thinking. In a world of constant change, overload of work and information, time pressure and uncertainty, the need for a personal development program becomes clear.

Based on the logical levels of Bateson and Dilts, the PDP explores topics such as purpose, identity, values and beliefs, emotional capabilities, behavior, and environment. Under the guidance of Ingrid Valks and other experienced PDP coaches, our ESRs learned the seven actions to humanize science. These seven actions are elaborated in detail in the article below:

*article is currently awaiting peer review on Open Research Europe.