On Friday, March 22nd, the Postgraduate Research Committee hosted a careers event for PhD students, entitled Academic Careers, ‘Scholactivism’ and Beyond. This event featured a keynote presentation by Dr Paolo Cavaliere (Senior Lecturer in Digital Media and IT Law at the University of Edinburgh) on the topic of ‘scholactivism’, the intersection between academia and activism, and two roundtable discussions.
The first roundtable looked at careers in academia and featured Dr Giulia Priora (Assistant Professor at NOVA School of Law in Lisbon), Dr James Rooney (Teaching Fellow at Trinity College Dublin Law School, and Barrister-at-Law), and Dr Conor Crummey (Assistant Professor in the School of Law and Criminology at Maynooth University). During this discussion, the speakers described their routes into academic careers, their experiences of working in different countries across Europe, and their advice for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The second roundtable looked at careers outside academia and featured Dr Orla Gallagher (Postdoctoral researcher with the Irish Prison Service), Dr Vivian Rath (Research Fellow in Trinity College Dublin, and Research and Policy Officer with AHEAD), Marco Zanin (United Nations Official at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) and Ciarán Finlay (Senior Policy & Public Affairs Advisor at the National Disability Authority). This discussion focused on the ways in which doctoral researchers can carry their findings into the ‘real-world’, the employment process for a public body, and the key skills that are required to work in the UN and more broadly with international organisations.
This event provided wonderful insight into the careers that are available post-PhD, and the pathways through which they can be accessed. We extend our sincerest thanks to the speakers who contributed to this event, and to all who attended.