'How can you use your PhD outside of Academia?'

- Dr Nicole Pendini

Achieving your PhD arguably is the single most rewarding professional achievement you will be granted in your life time. So, what next? In a country where only 6% of grants are funded, that streamline career path they showed me in the glossy brochure on open day doesn’t seem quite right 8 years on. I always thought I was going to run my own biochemistry lab and cure cancer. Instead, I established Peak Scientific – a Gas Generation company in Oceania from the ground up. Being a woman, with no engineering, finance or MBA, I repeatedly was told I wouldn’t survive in industry, in a ‘man’s world’. I now get asked, on an almost daily basis, how to transition from academia and succeed in the ‘dark side’ of industry, given my unconventional career path, gender and perceived ‘inexperience’. With a PhD, you unknowingly have most of the skills that the big wide world is looking for, it is a matter of understanding your transferable skillset and how you can utilise these to build you ‘alternative’ career path. In the ‘Thriving in Science’ session, I look forward to sharing my experience and real truths including:

• Transferrable skills all employers want
• Invaluable alternative training
• Dealing in and with industry
• Managing critique and setbacks of going against the grain
• How to learn and embrace the challenges of choosing your own adventure

'Stress, Sanity and Leadership’

- Dr Elizabeth Pritchard & Christine Burns

Leadership is often seen as something for the elite, the special few who accept a role that involves the words ‘manager’ or ‘team leader’. However, we are all leaders of ourselves first (otherwise we would not start the day) and as scientists, educators, and researchers, we are leaders of others. This call to leadership demands understanding of our innate strengths, our values and our abilities to stand up and be our true authentic selves. We often play small or shrink to fit in as we are unsure how to lead effectively. We often struggle with self-confidence, self-belief and can feel overwhelmed by the responsibility and the expected demands when stepping up to lead. These challenges produce high levels of stress and negatively impact our health, relationships, and productivity. There are effective techniques to build skills, address these challenges, and manage stress in an empowering way. This workshop will present the ‘Six steps to sanity’ that each individual can implement to tame the beast of stress and step into their own power as an Authentic Leader.

Each participant will learn how to:

• Scan and notice the reality of the situation
• Build effective methods of calling the situation ‘As-is’
• Plan New ways to handle stress
• Instigate new habits
• Think differently
• Embed the fact that You are worth it

These ‘Six steps to sanity’ are actionable by every individual regardless of their job title, to decrease
stress, increase confidence and enhance overall health, so they can build effective and sustainable
leadership of self and others in all areas of life and career.

Dr Elizabeth Pritchard

Dr Elizabeth Pritchard is an internationally renowned researcher, occupational therapist, and transformational coach. She is the Cofounder of WALT Institute coaching and mentoring people to be effective leaders in their clinical, research or leadership roles. Past President of OTNZ-WNA, Elizabeth completed her Doctorate in Philosophy (Health Sciences) from Monash University and is currently also involved in research and teaching. Elizabeth facilitates change-making strategies based on positive psychology and the  science of subjective wellbeing.

Ms Christine Burns

Ms Christine Burns is a former elite athlete (hockey for New Zealand), educator and performance coach. As Co-founder and CEO of WALT Institute, Christine brings extensive experience in working with individuals and teams, across education, science, corporate and sporting arenas. Christine focuses on being a change-maker through integrating the theory of leadership psychology, promoting self-awareness and developing peak-performance. As a result, people feel inspired, less stressed and determined to live their lives with deeper resilience.