Plenty of opportunities for PhDs outside academia in digital innovation

What is it like to build a career outside the university as a PhD? This question was central during the PhD Meet & Greet, organized by the Jantina Tammes School of Digital Society, Technology and AI. Companies and PhD candidates exchanged experiences at House of Connections about career opportunities in the field of digital innovation.

At the start of the event, Johan Woltjer, Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Groningen, addressed the attending PhDs and business representatives. At present, there are no fewer than 4,500 PhD candidates at the UG, many of whom will eventually pursue careers outside academia. This fits the profile of a university that is increasingly strengthening its ties with society, Woltjer stated.

The keynote of the day was delivered by Jim-Wah Chung, principal data scientist at Gasunie. He earned his PhD in physics at the University of Groningen, worked as an ICT consultant after his doctorate, and has been at Gasunie for many years now. According to Chung, the value of PhDs in industry cannot be underestimated: they bring valuable intellectual power to complex problems that companies and organizations face. ‘The simple things we can now solve with AI,’ Chung joked.

After the keynote, there was a panel discussion with three PhDs, moderated by Gorbi Logeswaranathan (JTS). Lieke van der Heide (Gasunie), Maarten van der Velde (MemoryLab), and Saurabh Soni (IMChip) shared their experiences. They discussed the differences between academia and industry, such as the faster pace and greater emphasis on teamwork in business. There is also more tangible impact, noted Van der Velde.

Academia can be quite an intimidating environment: everyone is a super-expert in their field. This is not your average work situation, the panelists emphasized. It is therefore important to allow room for imperfection. Now that the three PhDs are working in industry, what they miss most is the freedom their doctoral research offered: the chance to immerse themselves for months in a single specific topic – something that simply doesn’t happen in business.

Were there any tips for future PhDs planning to work outside academia, Logeswaranathan asked. The three panelists stressed how important it is not only to focus on research during the PhD, but also to remain active in a broader sense. This includes building a network and developing a wide range of skills, both technical and soft.

In the second part of the afternoon, attending PhDs and company representatives met during an information fair. With the AI revolution, the upcoming AI factory, and Nij Begun, Groningen is the place to be in the coming years for digital innovation. Plenty of opportunities for PhDs to build a strong career outside academia, the participants concluded.