Overview

Postdoctoral scholars have a unique role within the U of T research ecosystem. While their needs are clearly distinct from those of graduate students, they can still benefit from accessing some of the same resources. And they can certainly benefit from an understanding of all the places that can provide them with support. Across campuses, faculties, hospitals, centres, and strategic initiatives, many people are charged with assisting postdoctoral scholars to make the most of their time here.   

To learn more about the professional development landscape at U of T and support available to U of T postdocs, please explore the resources below.

Professional Development Strands

In order to facilitate individual development planning, CGPD has organized professional development into four strands: Research, Communication, Leadership & Collaboration, and Career Planning. These four strands are designed to help graduate students understand and plan the activities that will support their professional development. Although the needs of postdocs are different, it can still be helpful to investigate the programming organized around those four strands.

5 Minute Research Talks (5MRT)

Learning to explain your research to non-expert audiences is a key communication skill for researchers from all disciplines. 5 Minute Research Talks (5MRT) is a research communication program in which postdoctoral scholars have five minutes to present their research to a generalist audience, at an event that celebrates the outstanding scholarship of our postdocs, with the possibility to win prizes and reach a wider audience than traditional scholarly publication. SGS will be running an in-person 5MRT program open to all postdocs registered with U of T in fall 2026. The top three presenters from the U of T 5MRT will be entered into a province-wide exercise with the opportunity to secure a place at the final at McMaster University, hosted by the McCall MacBain Postdoctoral Fellows Teaching and Leadership Program. More details will be available soon.

Science Meets Parliament – Ontario

The Canadian Science Policy Centre runs this initiative, which aims to strengthen the connections between Canada’s scientific and political communities in Ontario. The program is open to postdoctoral fellows who are affiliated with a post-secondary institution or affiliated research institute in Canada. More information is available on the Science Meets Parliament ON webpage. Note that although the program title is science-focused, the program is open to postdocs from all disciplines.