About
Developing future talent
p2i Consortium
The number of postdoc positions at universities has grown over the past years. However, tenured positions have not increased accordingly and tenured academic careers are now the exception, not the norm.
The Postdocs to Innovators (p2i) consortium was created in recognition of the increasing need to develop postdoctoral researchers' entrepreneurial mindset and set of skills they can use to pursue careers that will be personally and professionally meaningful both within and outside of academia.
Engaging in entrepreneurial training develops the mindset, skills, and capabilities to identify and shape opportunities for creating impact from research. This can significantly enhance a researcher's competitiveness for future employment
• in Academia, where universities seek to appoint self-sufficient faculty members who can contribute in multifaceted ways and can successfully secure funding from diverse sources, including industry to create impactful research outcomes
• In non-Academic positions as they possess the ability to identify opportunities for innovation within diverse sectors and translate research findings into tangible products, services and processes.
Additionally, entrepreneurial training equips researchers to venture into entrepreneurship, enabling them to create impactful startups based on their research, aligning with universities' goals of contributing positively to their communities and beyond.
The current p2i partners, six leading Higher Education Institutes and two global enterprises, are all committed to improving the potential and mobility of postdocs to contribute to economic and social growth and expand European competitiveness.
The consortium also offers an international dimension to those who engage with the p2i programme - postdocs are a highly mobile workforce and p2i events bring cohorts together from different countries, providing a flavour of different entrepreneurial ecosystems.
p2i Programme
The p2i programme builds upon already existing provision at the partner organisations, by focusing on filling a gap in delivery at the very early stages of the entrepreneurial life cycle with a particular focus on changing mindsets, developing skills, and raising awareness, inspiration and intention to innovate.
Developing an entrepreneurial mindset, skills and "know-how" to transform ideas into positive results are desirable attributes for careers in many different career paths.
Our main ambition is to ensure that those who engage with p2i come away with a clear understanding of the importance of the entrepreneurial skills and mindset and its impact on a successful future regardless of their career trajectory.
The p2i programme is open to early career researchers (postdocs) from all of the partner organisations to engage in a range of activities matched to their interests and needs.
Participants are connected with other researchers, industry contacts, investors, entrepreneurs, and academics with experience in starts-ups.
Programme Calendar
Below are the events that are part of the p2i programme and the dates these events are planned. Please note that the actual dates may change - Participation is by application only so look out for application announcements from the p2i Network and partner organisations.
p2i online course start date
p2i: In Action- in person
January
December
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
IECT Summer
School
IECT Summer
School
The Team
Hannes Rothe
Professor for Information Systems at University of Duisburg-Essen | Place Beyond Bytes
Katia Smith-Litière
Entrepreneurship & Industry Engagement Project Manager, PdA
University of Cambridge,
p2i Network co-ordinator
Charlotte Waugh
Enterprise and Innovation Programme Lead
Edinburgh Innovations
Edinburgh University
