In today’s volatile career climate, PhD chemists get all too often stuck in a vicious circle. On one hand, they are expected to specialise more, requiring more post-dcotoral experience. On the other hand, academic positions and permanent industrial positions are scarce, leading to tough competition and numerous short-term 'postdoc' appointments, with meagre career perspectives.

Mentoring and network-building

To address this problem, the research priority area (RPA) Sustainable Chemistry is placing extra emphasis not only on research excellence but also on the career perspectives of postdocs. This is done by active mentoring, long-term planning and network building. Now, two years down the line, we are proud to say that the first three Suschem RPA postdocs have all been offered excellent research positions at leading institutions. This high demand for the ‘graduate postdocs’ of the RPA is a stamp of quality, that increases the chances of hiring high-level personnel.

Dr Zhiyong Guo, specialising in new materials and MOFs, has been appointed as Assistant Professor (tenure-track) at the College of Materials Science and Engineering of Fuzhou University, Fujian, China.

Dr. Jay Pandey, working in the area of fuel cells, was appointed as a Principal Scientist at the Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute in Gujarat, India.  

Dr. David Eisenberg, an electrochemist, has been appointed as Assistant Professor (tenure-track) at the Faculty of Chemistry in the Technion in Haifa, Israel, where he will head his own research group starting from March 2017.

With these appointments, the RPA suschem is extending its international network, and proving that Amsterdam is a place for high-quality research combined with bona fide career perspectives.