PhD Career Connect

Participate as a student Participate as a mentor

Register for PhD Career Connect 2025

The 2025 edition of PhD Career Connect will begin in the spring for PhD candidates, postdocs and recent alumni. This leads-up to a 2-day event with employers and mentors at the end of the program.

Recruitment will begin in the winter semester. We invite you to fill out the interest form if you wish to be contacted for the 2025 edition of PhD Career Connect. In the meantime, you can reference the participant guide relevant to you.

Student guide | Mentor guide

The model

PhD Career Connect selects a multidisciplinary cohort of sixty PhD candidates, recent graduates and postdocs to complete the program’s three stages:

Ten weeks of self-directed, and instructor-led workshops to enhance their professional and job readiness skills.
A two-day event where students network with mentors and employers to present their skills and learn about diverse career options.
A workshop where students create a career action plan.

PhD Career Connect was modelled after the award-winning graduate training program titled Accelerate to Industry (A2I) which originated from North Carolina State University.

Program objectives

Explore careers

Inform PhDs of their diverse career possibilities, moving beyond the traditional academic career path

Professional development

Further enhance PhDs' professional and job readiness skills

Showcase skills and network

Create an opportunity for PhDs to demonstrate their professional and job readiness skills to prospective employers through case study analysis and networking

Raise awareness

Raise employer and student awareness concerning the diverse skills and expertise developed during a PhD education

Testimonials

Azfar Adib, PhD Career Connect Participant 2023

“I participated in PhD Career Connect 2023, a highly enriching program. The workshop content was well-crafted to prepare PhD graduates with diverse skills. The networking event with employers and mentors was outstanding, offering us a firsthand opportunity to learn about practical aspects of career preparedness. This program is an excellent offering from Concordia for PhD students.”

Lucas Cober, PhD Career Connect Participant 2023

“The workshops that came before the event, though, are so, so valuable, and are the real reason why I recommend this program to anyone who is thinking of taking their PhD out of academia... all the speakers and organizers of this program are very dedicated to demystifying it for us, and their passion is what really makes PhD Career Connect special.”

F M Anim Hossain, PhD candidate in signal processing and deep learning, June 2022

“I had one of the most memorable weeks of my life during the PhD Career Connect "intensive week" event… PhD students, candidates and graduates from different disciplines teamed up for a case study competition. We had the opportunity to showcase our analytical, problem-solving, accelerated learning and presentation skills to experts and get valuable feedback from them. As an introvert, I was reluctant to participate, but I'm glad I put myself out there. The experience and feedback I acquired during the whole program helped me to grow and I am certain it will benefit me in my long-term career.”

Thomas Vignalou, Adoc Talent Management, June 2022

“This program has a great future for sure. It's a great initiative and many PhDs would love to have this at their university.”

Amanda Merrithew, Shared Services Canada, June 2022

“I want to extend a warm thank you to Concordia for organizing PhD Career Connect. It was a wonderful opportunity to engage with some of your brightest and most talented students.

Thank you for your hospitality and commitment to promoting and enriching the potential of your amazing candidates. Please keep Shared Services Canada informed on your plans for next year. We will spread the word to other Government of Canada organizations about this recruitment opportunity. We look forward to continuing our collaborations with Concordia.”

Kathleen McGarvey, PhD Tandem Launch, June 2022

“I really enjoyed the event and Noel and I spoke with some very interesting people that could potentially be good candidates for us. Keep us updated on the next iteration of PhD Career Connect!”

School of Graduate Studies