About DocPro The origins of DocPro, the professional profile of PhD-holders
DocPro gives PhD-holders, businesses, doctoral schools and laboratories a view of the skills that PhD-holders develop throughout their careers. This tool is the fruit of collaboration between stakeholders in academia and the corporate world.
What are the aims of DocPro?
DocPro provides an overview of the competencies of PhD-holders to address three key needs:
- Promoting the idea that a PhD-holder, backed by training in scientific research, is a professional who has acquired all the competencies and people skills needed to meet the needs of the corporate world;
- Building a bridge between the research and corporate worlds through the development of a common language;
- Facilitating communication between PhD-holders seeking new career opportunities, and recruitment officers.
Who created DocPro?
Three important players decided to pool their efforts to enhance the professional recognition of doctorates and increase the integration of PhDs into business enterprises:
Their strategy revolves around building mutual understanding and trust.
A shared catalog of skills
The three partners formed a task force staffed by experts from the economic sector (employers, representatives of the employers’ union and professional organizations) and academia (deans of doctoral schools and representatives of the conference of university presidents, the communities of universities and learning establishments, universities and top schools). This task force was led by ABG.
Its aim: to define jointly the competencies that a PhD-holder develops at each stage of his/her career.
The result of this effort is an operational tool designed for use:
- by PhD-holders seeking to build their resumés for a job search or merely to determine their stage of professional development;
- by recruiters who need a standard profile to gain better understanding of the full potential afforded by doctoral training;
- by academic advisors (deans of doctoral schools, university officials, career counselors, laboratory directors, etc.) seeking to better prepare PhD candidates and recent PhD graduates for the job market.
Why create bridges between PhD-holders and businesses?
Innovation has crucial implications for the growth and competitiveness of companies, and PhD-holders embody a capacity to innovate. By conducting research to earn their doctorate and then throughout their careers, these scientists develop methodology, creativity and an ability to master complex problems. These skills are particularly valuable for businesses – be they large corporations or small enterprises.
DocPro bibliography
- Recrutez des docteurs pour booster votre entreprise, Bruno Carrias, Eyrolles, ISBN : 978-2-212-54302-5
- Projet professionnel et doctorat, un duo gagnant, François Baty-Sorel et Frédérique Deloffre-Vye, Eyrolles, ISBN : 978-2-212-54303-2
- 10 raisons d'embaucher un docteur - ABG-MEDEF
- The NPA Postdoctoral Core Competencies Toolkit - National Postdoctoral Association
- Researcher Development Framework - Vitae
- Individual Development Plan - Science Careers
- Référentiel de management (PDF) - CNRS
- Référentiel de compétences comportementales de la filière Chimie-Environnement - Axelera
- Les besoins en compétences des chercheurs à l'horizon 2020 - Apec-Deloitte
- Making the right moves: a practical guide to scientific management for postdocs and new faculty - Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Lab Dynamics, Management skills for scientists - C. M. Cohen and S. L. Cohen, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, ISBN : 978-193611378-1