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The article 'postdocs need more respect' in a 1999 issue of Science made many postdoc very pessimistic about the future. They considered themselves the victim of poor career development opportunities within the research community. I wanted to do something about that feeling, so from all this pessimism around me the first postdoc retreat was born.
At the time extraordinary leaps in life sciences and biotechnology were taking place, just as they are now. Young scientists have the unique opportunity to be a part of those developments.
A very successful first retreat took place. It provided an opportunity for postdocs to put their daily business aside and consider their future. 100 young scientists took part with enormous enthusiasm. Nature subsequently published two articles about the retreat.
The goal of the retreat was to increase awareness of the factors that contribute to being a successful scientist, and to make the most of the opportunities the workplace – be it academia or elsewhere – provides. It offered insights that can make a difference, that allow for better choices, for greater confidence. Rarely do we scientists examine how we make our choices, determine our actions and set goals for the future.
This first retreat motivated me to increase its scope and catalogue the opportunities that postdocs have available to them. The mission and activities of the Postdoc Career Development Initiative is the result of this effort. Lilian Menu is the perfect partner in reaching this goal based on our rapport and her experience.
The aim then was to create a new sense of enthusiasm and minimise the struggles of daily postdoc life. Which activities should take priority and how can you take action to shape your future career? Those are the kinds of questions we tried to answer back then. With a renewed spirit and enthusiasm, a real appreciation of and respect for postdocs, PCDI continues to answer these questions for today's young researchers. It's now a successful organisation that provides me with a lot of energy. It's my responsibility, but moreover I enjoy taking care of the next generation of life scientists.
Academic career
After he submitted his thesis at Utrecht University, Peter Peters joined the research group of Rick Klausner at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, USA. In 1998 Peter became principal investigator at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and was appointed as professor at the Free University of Amsterdam. His long-term focus is on understanding the molecular machinery and the organization of molecular sorting within the endocytic membrane system of a cell. More recently he was appointed part-time professor at the faculty of Physics at the Technical University Delft. You can find more information about Peter's academic interests on www.nki.nl/research/peters.
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About PCDI