As the number of PhD graduates worldwide continues to increase the percentage of graduates who can remain within the academic system has greatly reduced. As such, there is an increasing pool of highly qualified postdoctoral researchers looking towards alternative careers. It is envisaged that many of these positions will be in industry. However, the number of PhD graduates currently moving to industry appears to be very small. In order to increase this number and to facilitate easier transition from academia to industry there is a need for increased interaction and discussion between academic institutions and industry. This will inform potential employers of the transferrable skills acquired during a doctoral degree and also inform academic institutions as to how to build career development appropriate to the needs of industry into PhD programmes towards the needs of industry. There is also considerable scope for increased PhD programmes run jointly between academia and industry.
This session will commence with contrasting perspectives from a number of stakeholders (academia, industry, policy and a PhD graduate) on their views of the problems as well as the potential opportunities in moving from academia to industry. The first part of the session will serve to frame the issue and will be followed by an interactive panel discussion of the issues highlighted with questions from attendees. Interactive discussion will help to highlight the potential value of PhD trained researchers to the industry sector while providing academic institutions and researchers with a more clearly defined focus on the additional skills or training that would make PhD graduates more suitable for industry. The list of proposed panellists will allow for discussion of the issues not only at a national level but also in Europe and the US.