“They’re brilliant and resilient” – program manager sums up the 120+ postdocs she’s coached during the past four years

Katie George needs only four words to describe all of the postdoctoral fellows she’s coached over the past four years.

Beyond brilliant and remarkably resilient.

Resiliency is a trait George knows well. She spent the first 17 years of her career as a rehabilitation therapist working with acquired brain injury patients. George says postdocs are far and away the most resilient people she’s worked with on campus.

And she’s worked with a whole lot of postdocs – more than 120 and counting – as program manager and research coordinator with the McCall MacBain Postdoctoral Fellows Teaching and Leadership Program.

Created by professor Joe Kim, funded by the McCall MacBain Foundation and launched in 2018, the made-at-Mac program helps postdocs develop their teaching, leadership and communication skills. Around 35 postdocs from across McMaster enroll in the free program every year, participating in weekly meetings, workshops and projects from September to April. It’s the only program of its kind in Canada.

“Katie is the heart and soul of the McCall MacBain program,” says Kim. “She puts a compassionate face on a challenging period of time for postdocs who are finding their footing and establishing their careers. From planning workshops and speakers to organizing food and social networks, our postdocs know that the tireless and professional Katie is always there to support their journey.”

Q: Why offer postdocs a teaching, leadership and communication program?

A: Because they deserve it. McMaster’s research engine can’t run without postdocs. They’re indispensable as highly trained and independent researchers. They’re publishing high-impact papers, securing grants and funding and mentoring and supervising graduate and undergraduate students. They’re on campus a lot – averaging 45 to 60 hours a week according to the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars. And they’re doing all of this while carrying an incredibly heavy load. The McCall MacBain program is our way of saying thanks and investing in early career researchers.

Q: Can you say more about the heavy load that postdocs carry?

A: Most postdocs in our program are in their early to mid-30s. Everything’s happening all at once for them both professionally and personally. Big decisions need to get made. They’re having to decide what career path to choose – do they stay or leave academia? While that’s long been the goal and dream for many, there’s no guarantee that they’ll land a tenure-track faculty position.

The academic job market is incredibly competitive – it’s been called a traffic jam for a reason. A study came out last year showing that 40 per cent of postdocs end up leaving academia. So they’re under intense pressure to publish papers, complete their research before their fellowship ends, mentor and supervise.

Now add on top of that everything that’s happening outside of work. Every year, we have postdocs who are getting married and having kids. Many are far from home and don’t have a support network of family and friends to lean on. Every cohort in the McCall MacBain program quickly becomes a community and the postdocs lean not just on Joe and I, but on each other for support and encouragement. Being a postdoc can be very isolating and lonely. Our program brings postdocs together from across McMaster and reminds them that they’re not alone.

Q: Why do postdocs need a program to shore up their teaching skills? Haven’t they already spent years working as teaching assistants and sessional instructors?

A: Some have had those opportunities and others have been mentored by supervisors who are exceptional instructors. But that’s not the case for every postdoc. Most are focused entirely on their research. Yet their ability to teach will factor into whether they’re offered a tenure-track position.

Being a subject matter expert doesn’t make you an expert when it comes to teaching. That’s why we spend a lot of time focused on evidence-based, best-practice approaches to teaching and learning in our program. We also give postdocs opportunities to apply what they’re learning, whether that’s teaching a module of INSPIRE 3MP3 or taking part in public talks and competitions.

I was totally unprepared when I taught my first course as an instructor. I walked into the lecture theatre with nothing more than my graduate degree from McMaster and the best of intentions. I knew my stuff but I didn’t know how to effectively share what I knew with students. It was like learning how to swim by being tossed into the deep end of the pool. I became a better teacher over time, with a lot of trial and error.

The McCall MacBain program offers postdocs a better way. And that gives them an advantage in a really competitive job market.

Q: Why the emphasis on leadership and communication skills?

A: Great leaders are great communicators. We’re preparing postdocs to take on leadership roles throughout their careers, whether that’s in academia, industry or government. Joe and I see the leadership potential in each and every postdoc in the McCall MacBain program, even if they can’t see it in themselves just yet. They’re going to be future leaders – whether that’s leading a research group, a team, a department, an entire university or company.

The demand for leadership development is definitely there from postdocs. We worked with the DeGroote School of Business to spin off the leadership components in our year-long program to create a postdoctoral leadership certificate. Postdocs from across Canada come to Mac during the summer for an intensive, weeklong leadership program.

Q: What’s surprised you most about working with postdocs?

A: Like I said earlier, postdocs are brilliant. Yet they sell themselves short. They’re doing important research but they’re blind to the impact they’re having. Many wrestle with imposter syndrome. Joe and I spend a lot of time reminding postdocs about all that they can bring to any table in terms of their skills and experience.

My husband and kids were in the audience for this year’s 5 Minute Research Talks (5MRT) Postdoc Research Competition that we’ve added to the McCall MacBain program. I’ve spent the past four years telling my family how brilliant the postdocs are at Mac. My family decided to see for themselves. After the competition, my kids were amazed – not an easy feat with tweens. They said that the postdocs are doing research that’s going to change the world. I wish I’d recorded that on my phone so I could play it at the start of every meeting and workshop.

Q: What’s been your best day working in the McCall MacBain program?

A: The best day and the worst day are one and the same and it happens on end of the program every year. We celebrate everything the postdocs have achieved and experienced together. But it’s also a bittersweet moment because I know that we won’t be getting together next Wednesday. We’ve spent so much time together – a lot of laughs and a few tears. It’s hard to say goodbye.

Q: Having worked with so many postdocs, any thoughts about becoming one yourself?

A: No – I love where I’m at. I’m in a position where I can coach and mentor postdocs at a key moment in their careers and their lives. And to be honest, I don’t think I have the resiliency to be a postdoc.