Regular Events

Coffee Socials 

Monthly “Coffee Socials” are held within the New Biochemistry Building. We use these events to highlight opportunities concerning mentoring schemes, teaching, career development, outreach, fellowships, departmental research facilities, and support with entrepreneurship in Oxford. To do this, the committee invites speakers to briefly advertise their services, facilities or opportunities, followed by an informal Q&A session. Recent guests have included representatives from the University’s Career Services, The Oxford Learning Institute and our departmental Research Facilitator, Deepa Nath. 
These events also serve as an opportunity for postdocs to network within the Department. Refreshments and pastries are provided. 

The Postdoc Seminar Series

Once every 3 months, we organise open Departmental seminars that provide an insight into the academic track and alternative career options for postdocs. Previous seminars have focused on topics including Public Engagement, Communication, and Consultancy for Researchers, and have been delivered by both internal administrative staff from across the University and alumni from the Biochemistry Department. Our seminar series are interactive and involve Q&A sessions, which allows attendees to gain a better understanding of all career options first-hand.   
Please contact the Postdoc Committee (postdoccommittee@bioch.ox.ac.uk) if you have any ideas about what you would like to see in future seminars. 

Evening Socials 

Our monthly evening meet-ups at the University Club allow postdocs to become acquainted with each other and to share news with colleagues under an informal atmosphere whilst enjoying a drink and board games. During 2019 we also plan to organise other outings to local establishments for ice skating, Junkyard golf and a wine tasting with The Oxford Wine Company. 

Formal Dinners  

Formal dinners are a tradition unique to the collegiate system of the University of Oxford. Postdocs are typically not affiliated with colleges and so these organised events offer postdocs the opportunity to experience college life and promote networking across the Biochemistry Department. Looking to 2019, we are set to co-organise formal dinners with other departments across the Medical Sciences Division, including the Dunn School of Pathology and Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, to encourage postdocs to socialise with interdisciplinary early career researchers.