Professional and Career Development (PCD) Program: Class2023 onwards

 

Click HERE for the PCD course for Cohort 2025.

Professional and Career Development (PCD) Program    

Last updated: May 9, 2025

gscareer@oist.jp

[OUR MISSION]

The OIST Professional and Career Development (PCD) program supports students to develop and advance their research and professional skills so that they can successfully navigate their future career paths and become world class scientists who contribute to their communities. 

[Structure]

PCD program consists of two phases, PCD1 (Year 1 and 2) and PCD2 (Year 3, 4, and 5). Both PCD1 and PCD2 are part of graduation requirements and have value of 2 credits each. Completion of PCD 1 is required to proceed to PCD 2. See below for detailed requirements.

PCD events are scheduled throughout the academic year (days and time vary) and are announced periodically. A PCD time slot (Friday 15:00-17:00) in the Term Schedule is reserved for occasional mandatory sessions, group project meetings and activities, cohort events, etc. There is no regular PCD meeting.

[PCD1]

PCD 1 is a two-year course with a value of 2 credits. It is a mandatory course which means that students must pass it to graduate or proceed. All the PCD1 requirements must be completed by the end of your second year. 

[PCD1 requirements for Class2023]

  1. Scientific Writing
  2. Scientific Computing
  3. Responsible Conduct in Research
    • Part I: Online self-study (OIST eFront "FAO: Responsible Conduct of Research", "The Lab")
    • Part II: Responsible Conduct in Research Workshop (scheduled twice per academic year)
    • Part III: Responsible Conduct in Research Open Forum (scheduled twice per academic year)
  4. Group Project

    Please refer to GS Knowledge Base (below link) for group project information. 

    Graduate School - PCD Program: Group Project (PCD1) (oist.jp) 

    • Collaboratively plan and execute team projects. The project period is from April to December. (subject to change)
    • Timeframe:
      • May: orientation
      • June: proposal submission
      • July-Oct.: plan and execute
      • Nov.: final presentation preparation
      • Dec.: final presentation 
  5. Individual Development Planning (IDP)
    • Attend "Introduction to PCD/IDP session" and create your own IDP plan on skill development in the session. (scheduled three times per academic year) 
    • Individual career session: Meet with PCD coordinator to discuss your plan for career trajectories and individual developmental plan you have created. For an appointment: Click HERE!

[Assessment]

Attendance 50 %, Active participation to classes 15 %, Computing certificate 10 %, Scientific Writing certificate 10 %, Final report 15 % 

 

Students must submit certificates upon their completion of Nature Online Masterclasses and online computing courses by the end of the second term of their first year.  

 

At the end of their second year, students must fill out the PCD1 completion webform and submit it to PCD team. In the webform, the students provide summary reports of what they have learned in PCD1 and self-assessment of their skill levels for each PCD1 outcome. Failing to do so must be reported to the Curriculum and Examinations Committee (CEC) as an academic progress delay.

 

[Deadline at a Glance]

Requirement Item What to submit Deadline
Scientific Writing Completion certificate the end of 2nd term of your 1st year
DataCamp Completion certificate the end of 2nd term of your 1st year
Individual Development Planning ORCID the Intro. to PCD/IDP session
PCD1 course PCD1 completion form the end of your 2nd year

 

[PCD2] -- (last updated November 19, 2024)

PCD 2 is a three-year course with a value of 2 credits. It is a mandatory course which means that students must pass it to graduate or proceed. All the PCD2 requirements must be completed by the end of the second term of your fifth year. 

PCD 2 course offers students opportunities to explore science career paths both within and beyond academia, including industry and entrepreneurism. Students also have opportunities to develop professional and science skills through seminars, workshops and events.

 

[PCD2 requirements for Class2023]

Students can choose A) or B) to complete PCD2 : 

A) Career-Targeted training (8 PCD units) AND 7 PCD units of seminars/workshops/events   

B) 15 PCD units of seminars/workshops/events

 

[Definitions]

  • Career-targeted trainings: Students take one of following career-targeted training program;  

  • 1) Teaching and Course Design certificate program by C-Hub 

  • 2) Entrepreneurship training program (advanced) by OIST Innovation

  •  

  • Seminars/workshops/events announced only by PCD team. No other sources will be accepted.  

  • Only seminars/workshops/events offered by PCD team are eligible to be counted towards the PCD2 units. (e.g. JSPS Workshop, Lecture at local university, Scientific Writing session, Career talks, Career fairs, Academic English classes, Company information sessions, TSVP career talk, Alumni Workshop, DataCamp, LinkedIn Learning, TA for OIST elective courses, OIST Japanese language proficiency test preparation session, GS outreach events)  

 

[Assessment method] 

  

Attendance 50 %, Active participation to activities 10 %, certificate of completion of career-targeted trainings or attended seminars/workshops 20%, Final report 20 % 

 

Students must submit certificates upon their completion of career-targeted training program of their choices. For seminars/workshops, students can enter the information to PCD2 completion webform as they complete each item and save it as a draft, then keep adding information as they attend and complete. 

 

By the end of the second term of their fifth year, students must complete the PCD2 completion webform and submit it to PCD team. In the webform, the students provide summary reports of what they have learned in PCD2 and self-assessment of their skill levels for each PCD2 outcome. Failing to do so must be reported to the Curriculum and Examinations Committee (CEC) as an academic progress delay.

 

[Optional PCD2 program for cohort of Class2023]

Class2023 will have a choice of following the current PCD2 program or choosing PCD2 Leadership Program.

 
Guideline for PCD Elective Units
   
 

1 unit = approx. 60 min. to 120 min. of professional development or career development related activities.

15 PCD units = 2 credits

The following activities will be counted towards PCD elective units:

  • Seminars/Workshops organized by the PCD team [will be announced monthly]
  • Seminars/Workshops offered by other OIST divisions or external organizations [ONLY events approved by the PCD Team]
     

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • During PCD2, a variety of events must be attended in order to ensure professional skill development in a wide range of areas. Therefore, please refer to the Guideline for PCD Elective Units chart below and note the maximum/cap on how many PCD units can potentially be earned through participation in each type of activity.

  • ONLY seminars/workshops/events approved for PCD units by the PCD Team are eligible to be counted towards the total calculation of PCD2 units. No other events will be accepted.

Example Events/Sessions include: JSPS Grant-Writing Workshops, Lectures at a local university, Scientific Writing sessions, Career Talks, Career Fairs, Academic English classes, Company Information Sessions, TSVP Career Talks, Alumni Workshops, DataCamp, LinkedIn Learning, being a TA for OIST elective courses, Graduate School-approved outreach events, etc.

 
Multi-session events
(# of PCD units earned varies per course, and is
dependent on variables such as hours engaged in activity, etc.)		 PCD units
Mini course 

# of PCD units earned varies per course
(May earn up to 5 units maximum in this category)
Online courses (e.g. Nature Online Masterclasses, LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, EdX, Udemy, etc.)  May earn up to 5 units max.
Language courses (Japanese course, Academic English sessions) May earn up to 5 units max.
DataCamp courses May earn up to 5 units max.
Pedagogical Training/Teaching Certificate program (offered by C-Hub or Kyushu Uni.) + Teaching Practicum 8 units earned
5-day Entrepreneurship Training program (offered by OIST Innovation) 8 units earned
Single-session events  
PCD team hosted events (Alumni talk, Company info. session, JSPS info. session, Intellectual Property seminar, Grant writing workshop, visual communication workshop, etc.) # of PCD units earned varies per event 
Events shared/announced by the PCD team (e.g. Consortium for Career Development of PhD_CCDP hosted events, Graduate Career Consortium_GCC Career Events, etc.) 1 unit per talk
(May earn up to 3 units maxium in this category)
TSVP Career Talk 1 unit per talk
(May earn up to 3 units maximum in this category)
   
Others  
Outreach activities - participating in Science Challenge, OIST Cafe, etc. May earn up to 3 units max. 
Teaching Assistant (TA) at OIST (log your TA hours HERE) May earn up to 5 units max.
   

[Event Calendar]   PCD Events & Calendar | OIST Groups

[PCD Resources Page]  Professional and Career Development Resources Pages | OIST Groups

[Past Events]  Past Events | OIST Groups

[Job Opportunities]  Job Opportunities | OIST Groups