U of L opens office for post-doctoral students

As senior students, they’re next in line to become a professor at the University of Lethbridge or another institution. Now, the dozens of “post-doctoral fellows” — female and male — will have a central office for services at the U of L. And they’re now considered employees, technically not students.

“Post-docs have had some difficulties in the past accessing campus services in an appropriate way,” says Robert Wood, dean of graduate studies and post-doctoral affairs. “They’re becoming a larger and more important aspect of our community.”

As well, recent changes in Alberta employment law named post-docs as employees, no longer “trainees.”

The new office, housed within the university’s research services department, should “help to give some foundation to the kind of experience we need to be able to provide to them,” he says. “It’s not just about getting them here, it’s also about once they’re here, making sure they have a stellar experience.”

In recent years the U of L has had between 35 and 50 post-docs on campus at any given time, most of them funded by a professor’s research grant. Alongside the university’s graduate students, officials say they’re the backbone of research activity.

As well, “Post-doctoral fellows are the next in line in learning the trade to become an academic,” says Erasmus Okine, the university’s vice-president for research.

“Top-class academics and professors looking for positions tend to look to universities with strong post-doctoral fellows and strong graduate programs because they can recruit them into their research programs, and they form the basis of the next wave of academics in our universities.”

But others move into careers in industry or public-sector positions, and the new office is expected to ensure their U of L training and experience “sets them up for success in any career trajectory.”

Michael Kyweriga, president of the university’s Post-Doctoral Association, says members appreciate the proactive approach being taken at U of L.

“Because there are so many granting agencies and different contracts for post-doctoral fellows, having the office of post-doctoral affairs will be very useful to improving the life of a post-doc,” he says.

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