Home Professional Development Ph.D. Connections Conference Ph.D. Connections Conference Ph.D. Connections is an annual career conference at the end of the winter term designed to support doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in exploring career paths beyond academia. Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows will learn about career opportunities beyond the professoriate through engaging sessions with Ph.D. recipients in diverse fields. The conference is co-sponsored by the University Career Center, Rackham Graduate School, and the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at the University of Michigan Medical School. I gained a lot from the Pitch Perfect event in particular. Anna's presentation style was approachable, informative, and encouraging.” 2025 Attendee The networking event was very helpful in learning about different career paths, meeting people who are working outside of academia, but also connecting with current U-M students who are in similar places in their career as me. Having those connections will be invaluable moving forward.” 2025 Attendee This session helped me to see that I'm not alone. Imposter phenomenon can hamper the job search and there were helpful suggestions for how to work through these feelings, to make sure I don't count myself out for applying to jobs I don't fit all criteria for and for preparing for an interview.” 2024 Attendee The speakers were terrific and I’m considering reaching out to several of them.” 2022 Attendee Prev Next Conference Schedule Keynote Conference Schedule Meet the visiting industry experts. Thursday, April 30, In-Person All events will be held on the 4th Floor of the Rackham Graduate Building. 10:00 a.m. Opening Remarks and Dean’s Welcome Join us as we kick off the conference together with a welcome from the planning committee. Dean Mike Solomon will deliver opening remarks and answer pre-submitted questions from attendees about his perspectives on careers and career preparation for Rackham students. 10:30 a.m. Industry Expert Networking Roundtables In this interactive session, you will get a chance to connect with Ph.D. holding industry experts across the disciplines who are working in a wide range of professional fields. Industry experts will introduce themselves, and then participants will be led in semi-structured conversations where they can rotate to talk to many different experts. The goal of this session is for you to build networks, practice telling your own story, and understand the many paths down which your Ph.D. may take you professionally. 12:00 p.m. Catered Lunch and Keynote Address After everyone has gotten their food, our keynote speaker, Joseph Barber, will share his keynote address titled, “From ChickIntroverts to Wolverines: An Animal-Themed Guide to Ph.D. Careers.” Barber is the director of graduate career initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, supporting graduate students and postdocs from across Penn’s 12 schools. He earned his Ph.D. in animal behaviour from the University of Oxford, where he studied the behavior of chickens. As a first‑generation graduate student, he once agreed enthusiastically to a “3:3 teaching load” during a campus interview for an assistant professor role without actually knowing what it meant–an experience that now fuels his commitment to demystifying academic and nonacademic career paths and to staying curious about whatever comes next. Unlike many chickens, Joseph identifies as an introvert. 1:30 p.m., Choice of two In-Person Workshops RELATE – Elevator Pitch Workshop Join RELATE (Researchers Expanding Lay-Audience Teaching and Engagement) during Ph.D. Connections for our Elevator Pitch Workshop! Sharpen your skills in presenting your research goals and the motivation driving your work: captivating audiences from fellow scientists to policy-makers. This workshop will elevate your networking abilities and empower you to market yourself with confidence and impact. Designing Your Life – Odyssey Planning What is a well-designed life? How do you find a career where you can thrive? In this workshop, you’ll learn to apply the design thinking concept of ideation to create three “Odyssey Plans”: creative, actionable paths your future could take. Inspired by Stanford’s Designing Your Life curriculum, this interactive conference mini-workshop is designed for Ph.D. students and postdocs who are seeking clarity and inspiration in their career planning process. Friday, May 1, Virtual Workshops 10:00 a.m. Building Your Cultural Intelligence In this fast-paced, ever-changing, increasingly globalized world, we need to be able to understand how to work effectively with many different types of people to reach our goals. In this workshop, we will focus on cultural intelligence to assess your own cultural values and behavioral preferences while understanding where others may be coming from. Participants will have the opportunity to practice how to navigate cultural misunderstandings that may occur within your research or a major project team and develop plans for how to continue building your cultural intelligence. 12:00 p.m. Articulating and Leveraging Your Transferrable Skills Are you interested in learning how to effectively connect with colleagues and prospective employers? Do you want to know how to sell the transferability of your research to a broad industry audience? If so, this integrative workshop will help you develop a strong pitch that can be used in networking opportunities. Come and learn about the process of networking, develop and practice your pitch, and understand available networking and career development resources. 2:00 p.m. Career Compass: Discovering Your Professional Purpose Choosing a career path after graduate school can feel overwhelming—there are so many possibilities, and it’s hard to know where to start. If you’ve ever felt uncertain about what comes next, this workshop will help you cut through the noise and discover what truly matters to you. You will define your own “Career Compass”—composed of your life needs, career skills, and mission statement—that can help you focus your career exploration and job search strategies. The self-awareness developed through the exercises in this workshop can help you clarify career fields, work environments, and a lifestyle that are the best match for you. Keynote Back to Top Joseph Barber, Ph.D. Director of Graduate Career Initiatives, University of Pennsylvania “From ChickIntroverts to Wolverines: An Animal-Themed Guide to Ph.D. Careers” Joseph Barber is the director of graduate career initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania’s centralized Career Services office, supporting graduate students and postdocs from across Penn’s 12 schools. He earned his Ph.D. in animal behaviour from the University of Oxford (UK), where he studied the social behaviour of chickens, and spent three years as an enrichment research fellow at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, partnering with animal care and research teams to support the park’s animal collection. As an independent consultant for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Joseph helped develop the Animal Care Manuals Project, creating resources to guide animal welfare and management practices. He joined Penn Career Services in 2009 as a part‑time career advisor, and now oversees two teams of graduate career advisors and co‑leads the Career Champions initiative, which empowers staff across Penn to support the professional and career development of students. Beyond his career‑focused role, Joseph teaches animal behaviour and welfare as an adjunct professor at Hunter College (CUNY) and as an instructor in Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine. He enjoys thinking creatively to help people find and explore different career paths and is always interested in hearing students and postdocs talk enthusiastically about their research. As a first‑generation graduate student, he once agreed enthusiastically to a “3:3 teaching load” during a campus interview for an assistant professor role without actually knowing what it meant–an experience that now fuels his commitment to demystifying academic and nonacademic career paths and to staying curious about whatever comes next. Unlike many chickens, Joseph identifies as an introvert.
