Call for applications Arqus PhD Week for Careers beyond academia

The 5th Edition of the Arqus PhD Week for Careers Beyond Academia meets Fiasco Fest. The Arqus Career Week is a 5-day programme intended to support PhD researchers in exploring and pursuing career paths beyond university research. 

The programme offers talks and workshops, led by a group of career experts with international backgrounds, to help participants recognise their labour market skills and give insight into application and hiring processes as well as company cultures outside academia. 

The next Career Week will take place at the University of Padua, Italy, from 30 June 30 to 4 July 2025.

This 5th edition of the Arqus Career Week brings a special collaboration with the project Fiasco Fest goes Arqus, previously organised by the PostDoc Office at the University of Graz. The Fiasco Fest is a party-workshop offering a space for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to share career setbacks and to learn how to joyfully move from rejection and failure to your best professional self.

Applications are open until Monday 24 March 2025, 23:59 CET (more information below).

What is the Arqus Career Week?

The Career Week is a combination of expert input and participatory approaches, focused on discussion and self-exploration. Topics may include: 

• How to become aware of your skills for the general job market and how to translate your academic skills into non-academic contexts
• How to create a convincing (non-academic) CV 
• How to fruitfully use the digital sphere in the job search 
• How to navigate the recruitment process, including job interview dos and don’ts 
• How to successfully transition from academic culture to the business world
• How to make use of entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial techniques for your career development 

The Career Week also provides the opportunity to meet and exchange with other early-stage researchers as well as professionals in career development from different countries and disciplines. 

What is the Fiasco Fest?

The Fiasco Fest provides an open, festive environment in which participants talk about highlights and failures of their careers so far. They subsequently analyse what they have experienced as “fiascos” and why. Together, the participants then explore which resources they have already used to overcome inevitable setbacks and they receive psychological insights and more tools for personal development from professional trainers. The Fiasco Fest concludes with an exercise in letting go and an opportunity to mingle and exchange further. It will be incorporated in the PhD Week as a 2.5-hour workshop. 

Who is this for?

The Arqus Career Week is intended for advanced PhD researchers (beyond the first year) who are considering a future career beyond academia and do not have a lot of experience in non-academic professional environments (service industry and other student jobs excluded). The programme is open to early-stage researchers from all disciplines. 

While we do not require any proof of English proficiency, you should be able to carry a conversation and be able to work together in this language. 

Due to funding requirements, you must be enrolled as a doctoral student or have an active employment contract at one of the Arqus universities.

How to apply? 

If you want to apply for the Arqus Career Week, please do so via this online form.

Only fully completed forms can be considered. 

Please note: If you use any supporting tools such as DeepL or ChatGPT make sure that the application consists solely of your own thoughts and motivations and reflects the level of your English language skills.

• Please prepare a (300-500 word) description of why you want to participate in the programme, what your expectations towards the programme are, why you are interested in (potentially) moving beyond academia in your career, which topics you would particularly like to learn about more/need support with etc. – this statement of motivation will be key in the selection process. 

• Please also attach your Curriculum Vitae in the online application (in PDF form)

The selection of participants will be made by local committees at the home university. Depending on the number of applicants and available funding, each university will be able to send 3-4 participants. You will be informed about the outcome within 3 weeks after the application deadline.  

Funding for travel and accommodation from different sources will be available through your home university, however, please be aware that you might have to prepare a separate funding application after the selection process (your local Arqus contact person will inform you about the process). 

The application deadline is  Monday 24 March 2025, 23:59 CET. 

For questions, please contact phd-pursuit@arqus-alliance.eu 

Call published on 19 Feb 2025