WHAT?
While not in charge of their own research group, postdocs often do find themselves mentoring more junior colleagues in their team, supervising undergraduate and graduate students and communicating with administration and research partners. Future team management plans are also often expected as a part of many funding applications. At the same time, postdocs are still subordinates of their current PIs. As a result, the postdoctoral researchers have to handle different demands and responsibilities, and adopt distinct communication strategies in their everyday work.
The second Postdoc Forum meeting will address these issues through expert presentations, Q&A, participatory group discussions, and shared reflection, offering practical tips on how to navigate them.
Topics will include student supervision, communication with team colleagues, relationships with the PI, department or laboratory head, and the kind of leadership and management responsibilities postdocs often take on despite not being in a PI role – including how to navigate and carry out these responsibilities effectively from a non-PI position.
WHEN AND WHERE?
27 May 2026 from 15:00, 60-90 min workshop, free discussion afterwards
Kampus Hybernská, room A.3 (Hybernská 998/4, 110 00 Praha 1 – Nové Město)
OUR SPEAKERS
Kateřina Šámalová
Kateřina has been the ombudswoman at Charles University for the last four years and also works as an assistant professor at the Hussite Theological Faculty of Charles University. She holds degrees in social work and sociology and in her professional work, she has long focused on complex issues of social safety in the higher education environment. In her role as ombudswoman, she engages highly sensitive individual cases, identifies systemic risks, and works to propose preventive measures to address these risks. Kateřina is actively involved in international cooperation in the areas of ombudsman practice and social protection in education. She also works as an independent consultant on ombudsman practice, ethics, and organizational culture in various types of institutions.
Aniruddha Mitra
Aniruddha is a group leader at the Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences since half a year, where his lab focuses on molecular biology. Trained originally as a physicist in India, he transitioned into cell biology and advanced microscopy during his PhD and subsequent postdoctoral work. Over the past eight years, he has worked as a postdoc in the labs at TU Dresden, E VU Amsterdam and Utrecht University. During this time, he experienced very different research environments, scientific cultures, and mentoring styles across institutes and countries.
Brought to you by:
This event is organised within the CHARLESTON project, co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.