STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT RETREAT

PAND is back from holidays refreshed and energised! Before the tropical Danish summer got us totally distracted, the PAND board met for a 2-day strategy development retreat in a cosy house in the centre of Copenhagen. PAND board members from all over Denmark joined the gathering to brainstorm for the 2018/2019 activities.

The first day started with a creative workshop in graphic facilitation. Bigger Picture Denmark (also our hosts!) ran us through some basic tips on how to create strong memorable illustrations by using very low-tech equipment: a paper and coloured markers. We used the newly acquired skill to create a fun drawing following the theme: What will PAND focus on next term? Check the result on our Facebook page.

We continued with a brainstorming session and workshop with Mirjam Godskesen, PhD coach and expert in PhD matters. The participants agreed on having two main questions in mind, when setting up the strategy for next year:

What do PhD students in Denmark need?

What can PAND do about it?

The second day of the retreat, we worked on the results of the workshop and identified a series of challenges PhD students face, most pressing being employee rights, mental health, isolation and uncertainty about the future career. In order to address these problems, we decided to organise ourselves in four main 2018/2019 working groups (WG):

PhD Career

PhD Integration

PhD Rights

PhD Stress

Can’t wait to tell you more about specific activities of the WGs, when the time comes!

The two days of the retreat were filled with very serious strategy planning, but we made sure to unwind in the evenings with delicious dinners, beers and fun BBQs. We are thrilled that the strategy retreat is becoming an yearly tradition! It helps the PAND board clarify its goals, as well as it creates connection and motivation for our hard-working board members.

If you got excited, all you need to do is ask your university’s PhD association how can you join next year!