Are you a PhD candidate, doctor, post-doctoral fellow and are you looking for work outside academia? Or are you the friend, parent, spouse of such a someone and do you want to see them happy? Then this message concerns YOU so take a minute to learn about Penda and help us make it happen.
The challenge
The majority of young doctors will have a career outside university. Society invests a lot of money in developing these bright minds. And every single PhD invests a lot of intellectual and emotional energy in their achievement. How can we create a labour market in which they can flourish so we all benefit? For this, we propose ‘Penda’, and we need you to make it happen.
What Penda is
Penda is a campaign aimed to help graduates and PhDs prepare themselves for work outside academia, and to help employers better understand what PhDs can actually mean for them.
We film a young woman who considers doing a PhD but who's also curious about the opportunities the title gives her for her career. She decides to do her own research into the labour market for PhDs. Every week she blogs about her findings, and in the end we edit the film fragments into a documentary that shows what the opportunities for PhDs are. The result is an overview of the labour market for PhDs and issues that emerge from the current situation, all through the eyes of someone whom it directly concerns.
Why we need Penda
A lot of research has already been done, but it's doubtful that the findings have improved the situation for PhDs. We don't need more research, we need a different kind of research. Penda experiments with the combination of analysis and film. Film has a big impact, because it creates an immediate experience that is fuller than by just reading written words. Penda shows the world behind words like 'knowledge economy' and 'crowding on the labour market' through the eyes of a young woman who wonders what that all leads up to for her. Following her search, graduates and PhD candidates can make better-informed choices.
Where Penda is
We have invested in developing the network and fine-tuning the concept. At this stage all parties concerned subscribe to the urgency of the issue and are enthusiastic about Penda as the means to address it. All want to contribute as much as they can, but we need money to kick-start the campaign.
You can contribute too.
If all PhDs, post-docts and their loved ones donate 10 euro, the start of Penda is a fact.
Who we are
Campus Orleon is a network for people with a passion for research. Our motto "Research or Die" says it all, we just can't leave research alone.
MEET Producties is a foundation that opens social themes up for debate with the use of film. We create strong networks of the parties involved to make sure that issues are addressed properly.
