Interested PDA Positions: Vice Chair & Social Media & Communications Coordinator
Subhadip Bhandari
Tell us about yourself.
I am Subhadip Bhandari, born and brought up in Kharagpur, a city near Kolkata, India. I completed my bachelor's and master's degrees in India, and my first international trip was to Germany, where I carried out my master's thesis. I later moved to Italy to pursue my PhD, during which I had the opportunity to travel to more than 12 countries across Europe, thanks to the conferences. After completing my PhD in Italy, I recently moved to UAB.
What is your vision for the PDA?
At UAB, I see strong representation from biology and medicine, while engineering and science seem less represented in the postdoc community. Coming from an engineering background, I would like to connect with and engage more postdocs from engineering, science, and related fields. However, I greatly appreciate the PDA for organizing various events and activities, which I have been able to follow through WhatsApp and the newsletter.
My objective is to create a postdoctoral community at UAB that is more connected and engaging, and in which postdocs from a variety of disciplines can interact, collaborate, and develop professionally. I would like to strengthen connections between postdocs, industry, the Graduate School, and the broader UAB community, while also helping incoming postdocs feel welcomed and connected from the beginning.
Describe your leadership experience, service activities, and involvement with associations like the PDA.
During my time in Europe, I was actively involved with the European ceramic society and helped coordinate activities such as a scientific photo contest, where I had the opportunity to judge and evaluate submissions based on their scientific explanations. I also had the opportunity to host sessions for young ceramists additive manufacturing (yCAM) conference, which helped me develop my communication and organizational skills. In terms of mentoring, I directly supervised two master’s thesis students during my PhD, which was a valuable experience and taught me how to guide students and manage research activities effectively.
If elected to your chosen position, what initiatives or activities would you like to implement?
I have listed down some of my ideas:
- To organize networking sessions with engineering- and science-related companies to help postdocs explore career opportunities beyond academia.
- Plan more social and networking activities to bring postdocs from different departments together.
- Provide incoming postdocs with useful information about UAB. The Postdoc Office could connect with new postdocs once their visas are approved to help make their transition smoother and make them connected with the PDA.
- Expand the reach of the postdoctoral association by collaborating with the graduate school.
Finally, I believe working as a team will bring together different perspectives and ideas, helping us build a stronger and more connected postdoc community.