Career Day Research Articles

Report on the 2nd international molecular biosciences PhD and postdoc conference 2023: The emerging challenge - environmental impacts on human health.

The 2nd International FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE Molecular Biosciences PhD and Postdoc Conference was held from 23rd to 25th November 2023 in Cologne, Germany. Over 240 participants from 31 different countries came together at the University of Cologne to follow the two-day scientific symposium and the career day. This year's topic was "The emerging challenge - environmental impacts on human health". In four different sessions, eight renowned keynote speakers presented their current research. By offering flash and short talks, 39 participants were able to present their work in front of a big audience. Scientific exchange and networking were encouraged during the two poster sessions, during breaks, and the conference dinner. On the Career Day, a career fair was held and participants could attend workshops as well as career chats to improve their job prospects. The success of the series will be continued during the next conference edition: "Artificial Intelligence - Reshaping biomedical and healthcare research", which will take place 4th to 6th December 2024 in Singapore.

From the President

Howdy AMWA,I have 2 children, and during this time of year, parents are asked to volunteer for career day. I don’t know about you, but when I tell people I’m a professional medical communication expert, most have never heard of our profession. Doctors, nurses, and scientists have well-established roles in our society, but medical communicators still remain off the radar of most young people’s career options. As I begin to describe what I do to my kids, their eyes often glaze over but, when speaking to friends and the public, many are interested and see the obvious value we, as communicators, bring to the health care fields and beyond. As I speak with students, scientists, doctors, nurses, and medical liaisons, I find myself telling them, “You are a medical communicator too.”

Important brands met with students from Üsküdar at the "Career Day 24" event

Important brands met with students from Üsküdar at the "Career Day 24" event

Career days: Dipping your toe in I-O volunteerism

Career days: Dipping your toe in I-O volunteerism

School determinants and career awareness among students in public secondary schools in Meru-south Sub-county, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of school determinants on career awareness among students in public secondary schools in Meru South Sub County. Career awareness is a sign of one's level of democracy and personal freedom in determining their professional development. Uncertainty drives students towards making wrong career choices and, as a result, feel frustrated at a job they had never wished for. Despite the schools having career teachers and Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) providing career guidance, students portray unawareness on career matters. A descriptive survey research design was employed for the study. A sample size of 368 respondents comprising of 12 deans of studies, 12 guidance and counselling teachers,12 form three and 12 form four parents' representatives, 8 principals and 312 form three and four students participated in the study. The study established that school determinants had an influence on the student's career awareness, especially on career information. The subjects’ combination, school career days, and the status of the school (National, Extra-County and County) were found to have a great influence on career awareness. The schools, however, did not embark on serious career education, and the teachers failed to guide the students on careers or offer career alternatives. The schools should set mentorship days and career weeks to sensitise students on emerging issues in the career world and options available in accordance with their academic performance and achievement.

Evaluation of the Career Stress Levels of Students Studying in the Field of Health Sciences and the Factors Affecting Them.

The aim of this study is to determine the future expectations and career opinions of students who are about to graduate in the field of health sciences. 
 The population of the study consists of final-year students studying in the departments of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and vocational schools in the field of health sciences of foundations and state universities operating in Istanbul (N:1900). The sample of the study was formed by 581 faculty students (State: 369, Foundation: 212) and 488 SHMYO students (State: 359, Foundation: 129), and 56.26% (n:1069) of the population was reached.
 The research participants consisted of 32% male students (n:339) and 68% female students (n:730). In the conducted comparisons, significant differences were found in all three dimensions of career stress according to the field of study (p0.05). To reduce career stress in students, recommendations may include organizing career days with previous graduates and individuals working in high positions in the field, as well as carrying out joint projects and collaborations to increase university-industry cooperation.

HR-branding as a strategy for attracting student audience

Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of using the tools of employer brand promotion among the youth audience on the example of students and graduates of the economic specialty.Tasks. To analyze the information about the events held with the participation of company representatives at the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) with the help of the Employment Assistance Service of the Faculty of Economics, based on the data on the formats and number of such events.Methods. The study applied general logical methods of cognition: dialectical, systemic, logical and comparative analysis; sociological methods, including surveys.Results. Recent events such as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the withdrawal of foreign companies from Russia have significantly affected the structure of the labor market and, consequently, the employment of students and graduates. Using the 2019-2023 graduate employment data collected upon graduation, the top employing companies for graduates of bachelor’s or master’s degree programs of the MSU Economics Department were compiled. As a result of analyzing the activities of the Department of Employment Promotion and Alumni Relations, as well as student units, the key forms of employer brand promotion at the Faculty of Economics were identified: academic and extracurricular events with the participation of representatives of partner companies and Career Day.Conclusions. It is proved that active promotion of the employer brand has a direct positive impact on the employment of young people in these companies. The most effective was the organization of educational and extracurricular activities during the year. Career days had less impact, which is explained by the dominant number of internships and practicums offered at such events, while graduates by the time of the survey are already trying to find a permanent job. In this regard, there are prospects for extending the study to include more junior students.

A quasi-experimental study of the impact of college-run science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career days on American students’ STEM career aspirations

ABSTRACT This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of participation in college-run STEM career days on American high school students’ STEM career aspirations. Data were collected from a nationwide retrospective cohort survey of 15,847 U.S. college students who provided information about their experiences during high school. Accounting for self-selection effects and a robust set of controls, results showed that students who participated in a college-run STEM career day during high school had 1.3 times the odds of expressing STEM career aspirations compared with a control group. We found that STEM career days were equally effective in promoting American students’ STEM career aspirations across background characteristics, levels of academic preparation, and prior STEM interest. Results suggest that policymakers and educators should seriously consider implementing STEM career days for high school students as an evidence-based strategy to effectively increase STEM career interest.

FORMATION OF THE CAREER TRAJECTORY OF A DENTAL STUDENT USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AT A MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

This article discusses the use of digital technologies in building the career trajectory of medical university students. The features of the digital model of the development of the career trajectory of a dental student, the requirements of employers and the main problems faced by young professionals at the beginning of their work are shown. Starting from the first year, students are constantly held meetings with employers, Career Days, master classes, trainings, where future specialists have the opportunity to decide on the direction of training.
 The dental profession is a dynamically developing specialty, where knowledge in the field of high digital technologies, the latest techniques, work on new equipment is needed.
 The conducted survey of students of the Institute of Dentistry of the Burdenko State Medical University showed the need to acquire digital literacy of students during training and the importance of this indicator when applying for a job for employers.

Report on the FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE 1st International Molecular Biosciences PhD and Postdoc Conference.

The FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE 1st International Molecular Biosciences PhD and Postdoc Conference was held in Seville, Spain, from the 16-18th of November 2022. Nearly 300 participants from all over the globe were welcomed by the host institution, the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS). Following the theme "The perfect tandem: How technology expands the frontiers of biomedicine", the Scientific Symposium of the conference hosted eight world-renowned keynote speakers who presented their work in one of the four sessions: Innovation, Basic Research, Translational and Clinical Research, and Computational Biology and Artificial Intelligence. Participants had the chance to present their research to their peers: more than 200 posters were presented during the dedicated poster sessions and 19 selected PhD students and postdocs presented their work as short talks. The Career Day featured a wide range of workshops fully devoted to trainees' professional development, as well as a job fair and career chats with professionals to discuss future perspectives. Besides, several outreach activities were organised before and during the conference to engage with the general public and bring science closer to society. The success of this conference will be followed by the next FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE conferences in Cologne, Germany, in 2023 and Singapore in 2024.

Jack Dwayne Farmer April 18, 1947-February 22, 2023.

Jack Dwayne Farmer April 18, 1947-February 22, 2023.

Brands gathered with Üsküdar students at the ‘Career Days 23’ event

Brands gathered with Üsküdar students at the ‘Career Days 23’ event.

607 A Career in Neurosurgery: Perceptions and the Impact of a National SBNS/NANSIG Neurosurgery Careers Day

Abstract Entrance to neurosurgical training is highly competitive. Without advice and opportunities, talented individuals may be dissuaded from applying. The Neurology and Neurosurgery Interest Group organised the 9th Annual Careers Day in Neurosurgery every year. Our objective was to assess the overall utility of a neurosurgery careers day and the perceived factors that attract and detract from the speciality. 18-item pre-conference post-conference questionnaires were disseminated electronically to conference attendees. Questions aimed to capture: i) baseline demographics; ii) previous experience and exposure in neurosurgery; iii) interest in neurosurgery; iv) understanding training and a career in neurosurgery; v) perceived factors of attraction and dissuasion of neurosurgery; and vi) perceived value, quality and educational purpose of the conference. In total, 77 delegates attended. 19/77 did not have a formal neurosurgical rotation during medical school, but almost half had gained neurosurgical experience. The careers day increased knowledge of the neurosurgical application process (median Likert score 3/5 to 4/5), duration of training (72.7% to 88.3%), and desire to pursue a career in neurosurgery (75.3% to 81.8%). The most common factors attracting delegates to neurosurgery were interest in neuroanatomy (80.5%, n=62) and practical skills (64.9%, n=50). Dissuasive factors were competition to entry (64.9%, n=50) and long working hours (40.3%, n=31). Almost all would recommend the event to a colleague (94.9%, n=73). Undergraduate exposure to neurosurgery is limited. Neurosurgery careers days increase awareness and understanding of the application process and improve interest in a selected cohort. The factors attracting applicants to neurosurgery remain practical links to anatomy and direct impact on patients.

Perceptions about the applicability of robot technology in the tourism industry

In the research, it is aimed to determine the applicability of robot technology and the importance of technological innovations in the tourism industry. The populatin of the research consists of academicians, managers and students in the tourism industry. In the research, the "convenience sampling" method was used, in which everyone who participated in the research could be included in the sample. The research data was collected from tourism students, academicians and managers who participated in the Mersin University Faculty of Tourism Career Days and the IVth International Eastern Mediterranean Tourism Symposium held in 2019. The Cronbach Alpha test was applied for the reliability of the scale, along with the frequency distributions, percentiles, mean values, standard deviations and correlation coefficients from the descriptive statistics of the obtained data. In the research findings, it is accepted that airports, housekeeping activities, tour operator and travel agency services and hotel receptions are the most applicable areas of robot technology in the tourism industry.

A career in neurosurgery: perceptions and the impact of a national SBNS/NANSIG neurosurgery careers day

Objective Entrance to neurosurgical training is highly competitive. Without proper advice, information and opportunities, talented individuals may be dissuaded from applying. The Neurology and Neurosurgery Interest Group (NANSIG) organises a Careers Day in Neurosurgery every year. Our objective was to assess the overall utility of a neurosurgery careers day and the perceived factors that attract and detract from the specialty, from attendees of the ninth annual neurosurgery careers day. Methods Eighteen-item pre-conference and 19-item post-conference questionnaires were disseminated electronically to conference attendees. Questions aimed to capture: (i) baseline demographics; (ii) previous experience and exposure in neurosurgery; (iii) interest in neurosurgery; (iv) understanding training and a career in neurosurgery; (v) perceived factors of attraction and dissuasion of neurosurgery; and (vi) perceived value, quality and educational purpose of the conference. Results In total, 77 delegates attended the careers day. Most did not have a formal neurosurgical rotation during medical school (24.7%, n = 19), but almost half had gained neurosurgical experience and presented research work. The careers day increased knowledge of the neurosurgical application process (median Likert score 3/5 to 4/5, p < 0.01), duration of training (72.7–88.3%), and desire to pursue a career in neurosurgery (75.3–81.8%). The most commonly reported factors attracting delegates to neurosurgery were interest in neuroanatomy (80.5%, n = 62), practical skills (64.9%, n = 50), and impact on patients (62.3%, n = 48). The most common dissuasive factors were competition to entry (64.9%, n = 50), long working hours (40.3%, n = 31), and other career interests (35.1%, n = 27). Almost all would recommend the event to a colleague (94.9%, n = 73). Conclusions Formal undergraduate exposure to neurosurgery is limited. Neurosurgery careers days increase awareness and understanding of the application process and improve interest in a selected cohort. The factors attracting applicants to neurosurgery remain practical links to neuroanatomy, opportunities in neurosurgery for innovation and research, and direct impact on patients.

A Survey of the Role of Vocational Guidance Counsellors in Entrepreneurship Education in a Developing Economy

The study was designed to investigate the role of Vocational Guidance Counsellors in promoting student’s entrepreneurship development in a developing economy. This study focused on secondary schools students in Oredo Local Government area of Edo state, Nigeria. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study, while purposive sampling technique was used to select eighty senior secondary school students from eight schools with professional Guidance counsellors. The question the study attempted to answer is to ascertain the extent to which school counsellors’ impact on students’ entrepreneurship development through counselling services. A 10-item self-designed instrument titled ‘Counsellor’s role in promoting Entrepreneurship development’ was used for data collection. This instrument was validated by experts in measurement and evaluation and a reliability coefficient value of 0.75 was obtained. Data generated from this study were analysed using frequency count and percentages. The findings of the study revealed that school counsellors were deficient in promoting entrepreneurship development of secondary school students through the following counselling services: orientation and information services and also in the organization of entrepreneurship workshop, excursion and career day programmes. Based on these findings, it was recommended, among others, that, the school Guidance Counsellors should be reoriented to drill into their repertoire of professional orientation, a high dosage of entrepreneurship protocols, knowledge and skills. The school heads should be required to provide support for the school counselling programmes, by education authorities. Keywords: role, vocational guidance, entrepreneurship, development DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-15-06 Publication date: May 31 st 2022

Hosting an Educational Careers Day Within the Virtual Paradigm: The Neurology and Neurosurgery Interest Group Experience.

Introduction: To explore our experience of hosting the 10th Annual Neurology and Neurosurgery Interest Group-Society of British Neurological Surgeons (NANSIG-SBNS) Neurosurgery Careers Day, held virtually for the first time.Methods: Reflective feedback and review of an international, virtual neurosurgery careers day. The authors reflect on the logistics of organizing the event, and the pre- and post-event feedback provided by delegates. Recommendations have been made on how to successfully host a virtual event. The key themes that permeated the event have been outlined and discussed in the context of the feedback received.Results: The event was attended by 231 delegates from 20 countries worldwide. Knowledge of neurosurgery as a career and the application process increased after attending the careers day (4.27/5 to 4.51/5, p=0.003 and 3.12/5 to 4.31/5, p<0.001 respectively). The key themes identified from the event include attendance, networking, and education. Qualitative feedback was positive and indicated a positive perception of the careers day.Conclusions: The future of educational events is unclear, and a hybrid approach is recommended to retain the benefits of the online space when in-person events eventually return.

Effect of Career Days on High School Students’ Irrational Beliefs about Career Choice and on Decision Making Skills about Career

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of career days on 10th grade students' irrational beliefs about career choice and on their career decision-making skills. This research was conducted in two high schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in the 2019-2020 academic year. There are totally 102 students in the experimental and control groups. In the research, a quasi-experimental model with pretest-posttest control group was used. Within the scope of the research, ten-week career days were organized for the students in the experimental group. No career days were organized for the students in the control group. In the study, personal information form, irrational beliefs relating to career choice scale and career decision inventory were used as data collection tools. Frequency, Percentage and Arithmetic Average analysis was used for statistical information on demographic variables; Mann Whitney U test was used for the significance of the pre-test post-test difference scores of the experimental and control groups. As a result of the research it has been observed that career days are effective in reducing the irrational beliefs relating to career choice and career indecisions of the students in the experimental group. The results of this study emphasize the importance of career days on students' irrational beliefs about career choice and career decision making skills. The research findings were discussed and suggestions for future research and applications were developed.

The Independent Learning (Nature-Based Learning): Outdoor Study Arabic Learning Nature School Jambi City

This study describes nature-based learning as an offer of new learning outside the classroom for Arabic learning at the Jambi City Natural School to implement independent learning in Indonesia. Field research used a qualitative approach rooted in natural settings as data integrity. Well, interviews, observations, and documentation as a comprehensive data collection technique. The findings of the research, which located at the al-Fath natural school in Jambi, show that nature-based fig language learning is carried out by (1) an integrative curriculum of three curricula: Nature, Integrated Islam, and the National Education by applying the spirit of independent learning and make nature. 2) outdoor class based on contextual approach with the application of the saung mode backpacker and live-in. Program career days and Quran week used active learning methods Implemented in Arabic learning. 3). Supporting factors: open learning places and teachers applying various variations of teaching methods. Furthermore, the inhibiting factors: the use of big themes, combining Arabic language material with other materials, teacher competence, and parental cooperation. Arabic based on an integrative curriculum is a new paradigm in outdoor class-based Arabic learning, which is currently primarily taught in class as a unit of mainstream language learning theory.

Improving forestry secondary education: Identifying teachers’ needs

Industrial, technological, and societal changes require teachers to be continually engaged in professional learning activities that promote new scientific approaches to education and content. Providing teachers with current and relevant professional development is an important task in secondary education. This study sought to identify the professional development needs for educators who teach forestry and forest ecosystem content to secondary students. Researchers used the Delphi method with two participant groups to investigate the diversity of thought held throughout the southeastern United States. Participants were agriculture and environmental science teachers, state department of education administrators, foresters, and environmental scientists. Participants identified eleven areas of educational need: 1. Forestry career days, 2. Tree diseases and pathogens, 3. Graduation requirements limit student opportunities to take electives, 4. Career counseling in forestry jobs, 5. Educate students about degrees needed for forestry careers, 6. Over commitment of students to extra-curricular activities, 7. Lack of foundational forestry knowledge, 8. Lack of forestry /agriculture programs in schools, 9. Develop forestry electives in middle school, 10. Lack of foundational forest management knowledge, and 11. Connect classroom content to FFA and Envirothon extra-curricular activities.