Postdoc Best Practice – Resources

Developing new talent to carry out high impact research is of paramount importance to the Computer Science & Engineering research enterprise.  An appointment as a postdoctoral researcher is an increasingly common starting point for a research career.  The National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer & Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate and the CCC recognize the critical importance in having an excellent postdoc training experience to help junior researchers advance their careers.

With NSF’s backing, the CCC created a program to develop, implement and institutionalize the implementation of best practices for supporting postdocs. This program awarded grants to institutions and consortia of institutions to implement best practices for strengthening the postdoc experience in computer science and computing-related fields.  These supporting programs have enabled PhD graduates to transition effectively to research roles in a variety of sectors.

This page contains collected resources from the awarded programs and broader community related to the development of best practices for postdocs.

Information on the awarded programs can be found here.

Independent Development Plans (IDPs) were introduced by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)’s Science Policy Committee and supply a framework for identifying professional development needs and career objectives. The IDPs are an important part of the three CCC Best Practice consortia’s current programming. Below you can find resources related to the development of a successful IDP.

IDP Templates from Multiple Sources:

CCC Postdoc Best Practices Programs:

Other Universities:

MyIDP:

In 2003, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) proposed an IDP framework for postdoctoral fellows in the sciences. Expanding on that framework, myIDP is a unique, web-based career-planning tool tailored to meet the needs of PhD students and postdocs in the sciences.