Postdoctoral researchers are key to addressing the advanced skills required by industries driving sustainable and innovative solutions. At the recent REDS conference, the UK’s largest postdoctoral development programme, C-DICE (Centre for Postdoctoral Development in Infrastructure, Cities and Energy), showcased tools and insights to help researchers navigate their careers and align their skills with industry needs.
A central feature is the C-DICE Net Zero Skills Framework, a free-to-use tool designed to help researchers identify capabilities, articulate transferable skills, and explore diverse career paths. The framework highlights three interconnected domains – Leadership and Influence, Research and Innovation Capability, and Collaboration and Partnerships – supported by technical expertise, systems thinking, and digital literacy, reflecting the competencies that employers increasingly seek.
Research involving postdoctoral researchers and industry stakeholders shows that while researchers possess many of these skills, they often struggle to communicate them or navigate careers beyond academia. The framework bridges this gap, offering practical guidance for workshops, mentoring, CVs, and professional development.
C-DICE supports postdocs at 18 partner universities across the UK, providing research sandpits, industrial secondments, fellowships, training events, and grant funding – all free and tailored to accelerate career development and impact in the Infrastructure, Cities, and Energy sectors.
By connecting researcher development with industry expectations, C-DICE empowers postdoctoral researchers to plan strategically, expand career options, and contribute to a highly skilled, sustainable workforce.
For more insights, you can explore the full C-DICE blog post and the journal publication on postdoctoral skills for net-zero industries.
Illustration: Headway/Unsplash
