An essay of myself in SCIENCE is online!

One essay of MYSELF is online in <SCIENCE> website, selected as one of top essays on postdoc mechanisms from over 300 submissions by Science.

Sounds great!

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6243/24/suppl/DC1

Given the fast increasing number of postgraduates and the decreasing period to finish a research degree (e.g., 3 years for a Ph.D. degree in many Australian universities) it becomes essentially important that a transition period should be there between formal academic and postgraduate to further advance their professional skills. It might be helpful to promote their development by establishing some small funds for them to apply. Right now, although the salary is relatively high for many postdocs in Australia, compared to those in the United States and Europe, the future is not optimistic for postdocs because there is currently only one funding scheme for them (with success rate 14.3% for 2015, which is quite low given that postdocs from the world will apply and research in Australia is not leading in many areas). Many postdocs and early academics (lecturer/senior lecturer) are contemplating or attracted to leaving Australia. There is definitely something that Australian government can do to retain or improve its research capacity to enhance its innovative capability for the challenging economics.
Qinfu Hou
Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
E-mail: qinfu.hou@monash.edu

There are some printed.

Postdocs reimagined

In April, we asked young scientists if the idea of the postdoc position is obsolete. If so, what should replace it, and if not, how can it be improved? We received a record response of more than 300 submissions. About a third of respondents felt that postdocs are indeed obsolete. The rest deemed them necessary, if imperfect. Many felt that creating a permanent staff scientist position, with full salary and benefits, would help the plight of postdocs, either by replacing the postdoc entirely or by serving as a long-term option after the completion of a postdoc. Others suggested that a system in which postdocs had dedicated funding and were not beholden to a PI would foster more creativity and minimize exploitation. Tailoring postdocs to a broader array of career paths was another common theme. Many responses reflected the feeling that postdocs deserve more respect and recognition. A sample of the responses describing these and other ideas can be found below. To allow for as many voices as possible, in some cases we have printed excerpts of longer submissions (indicated by ellipses) and lightly copyedited original text for clarity. To read the complete versions, as well as many more, go to http://scim.ag/NG15R. Follow Science's NextGen VOICES survey on Twitter with the hashtag #NextGenSci.

Previous post about reseachers in Australia
http://qfhou.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/academics-unhappy-in-australia.html