Management / project management

The acquisition of management tools and project management skills is a determining factor for professional development both within and outside academia.

Understanding which methods, which principles of organisation and planning are optimal for a given project, knowing how to manage and motivate teams on both a daily and long-term basis, having the know-how to resolve conflicts or overcome crises are transversal skills par excellence.

Although the process begins during the doctoral phase, by observing « from below », the project and team management principles in which you participate, the acquisition of practical skills in these domains really starts in the postdoctoral phase.

Researchers at postdoctoral level usually start to assume responsibilities in the management of teamwork and setting-up of collaborative projects, which involves a number of skills such as :

Team management
Preparation of job applications, job vacancies, job interviews, recruitment (and management of « departures »: termination of contract or, more rarely, dismissals), definition of short- and long-term objectives, motivation and integration of individual dynamics in collective projects, assessments and feedback, management of the diversity of professional skills and characters, conflict management, etc.

Project management
Project design, funding applications, budgeting (planning and implementation), setting-up of collaborations, strategic planning, establishment of objectives and priorities, administrative responsibility (accountability), meeting management, delegation aptitudes, etc.