"From Academy to Industry in One Week": Unique Workshop

One of the aims of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine is to mentor and train the next generation of researchers. Some will have roles in academia, and some will transition to industry. Last month, Dr. Sondra Turjeman led a new academic workshop entitled "From Academy to Industry in One Week" in which MSc and PhD students in the medical and health sciences were encouraged to take a week to think about their futures as leading scientists and researchers. The course's main aim was to introduce research students to the world outside of the academy, with a special focus on the North. 

More than 20 guest speakers came to Safed to teach about the different types of industries in Israel, explain the differences between various job titles, discuss research-adjacent roles, describe what it takes to get a job (CV, networking, and interviews), highlight differences in culture between big and small companies and new and budding start-ups, and share their experiences making the transition out of academia - including practical tips and common mistakes.

In addition to familiarizing students with types of jobs relevant to their biomedical advanced degrees, a secondary goal of the course was to provide students with tools towards obtaining these jobs. Students prepared elevator pitches - short personal statements for any occasion - CVs, and LinkedIn profiles, and on the final day of the course, they put everything together in a networking event with Faculty alumni and other members of the North's varied industry. The room was buzzing all afternoon, and the event led to a number of connections that students have already begun to cultivate, towards building their own personal networks.

Merck sponsored refreshments for the course throughout, the Bar-Ilan Employability Center provided students with personal access to LinkedIn Learning to further expand their skillset, Bar-Ilan's Unbox joined for a lecture, and guests from AgTech, MedTech, FoodTech, clinical trials, and everything in between joined from near and far.