Other Careers Events

Success at the PSI Careers Event 2014

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On the 19th February 2014, CALC ran the fourth annual PSI careers event. Fifteen different companies and organisations descended on the University of Sheffield, along with approximately 90 BSc, MSc and PhD students from across the country for a half-day event which consisted of a mix of presentations, newly created workshops, and time for the students to talk to the different companies.

The companies included a mix of pharmaceutical companies and CROs (Adelphi Values, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, GSK, PAREXEL, Phastar, PhUSE, PPD, PRA, PSI, Quanticate, Roche, and Veramed). The representatives talked to students about the industry: the opportunities open to them, and their personal experiences of work in the industry to date. In addition, representatives from five universities (Lancaster, Leicester, LSHTM, Reading, and Sheffield) joined to advertise the various course options open to students should they be interested in further study.

The presentation topics for the day included an introduction to the pharmaceutical industry, a discussion of the differences between a statistician and a statistical programmer, the current trends and future challenges seen in the industry, and the role of outcomes research in the industry. In addition, we had a presentation from a new starter in the industry to give the students a real feel for what they could be doing in the next year or so. We also had a session called ‘Statisticians on the spot’: five volunteers were literally put on the spot and asked some fairly difficult questions! This ‘Mock the week’ style session was much more informal and hopefully showed statisticians in a different light.

Feedback received shows that both the companies and the students found the day extremely useful, and that this was our most popular event yet. The students particularly enjoyed hearing experiences in the ‘Statisticians on the spot’ session, and speaking to the company representatives. Many students would have liked even longer time to speak to the companies, which we plan to address for next year’s event.

PSI CALC hopes to repeat the success of the event again next year. The location and timing of the event is currently under discussion, so watch this space for more details later in the year! - See more at: http://www.psiweb.org/careers/careers#sthash.GqIgMSge.dpuf

 

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Upcoming Events

Joint PSI/EFSPI Visualisation SIG 'Wonderful Wednesday' Webinars

Our monthly webinar explores examples of innovative data visualisations relevant to our day to day work. Each month a new dataset is provided from a clinical trial or other relevant example, and participants are invited to submit a graphic that communicates interesting and relevant characteristics of the data.

AIMS SIG - Open-Source Lunch Bites

Topic: R Package Basics. Our monthly webinar series allows attendees to gain practical knowledge and skills in open-source coding and tools, with a focus on applications in the pharmaceutical industry. This month’s session, “R Package Basics,” will introduce the fundamentals of working with R packages—covering how to install, load, and manage them effectively to support data analysis and reproducible research. The session will provide a solid starting point, clarify common misconceptions, and offer valuable resources for continued learning.

PSI Mentoring 2026

Date: Ongoing 6 month cycle beginning late April/early May 2026 Are you a member of PSI looking to further your career or help develop others - why not sign up to the PSI Mentoring scheme? You can expand your network, improve your leadership skills and learn from more senior colleagues in the industry.

PSI Book Club Lunch and Learn: Communicating with Clarity and Confidence

If you have read Ros Atkins’ book The Art of Explanation or want to listen to the BBC’s ‘Communicator in Chief’, you are invited to join the PSI Book Club Lunch and Learn, to discuss the content and application with the author, Ros Atkins. Having written the book within the context of the news industry, Ros is keen to hear how we have applied the ideas as statisticians within drug development and clinical trials. There will be dedicated time during the webinar to ASK THE AUTHOR any questions – don’t miss out on this exclusive PSI Book Club event! Haven’t read the book yet? Pick up a copy today and join us. Explanation - identifying and communicating what we want to say - is described as an art, in the title of his book. However, the creativity comes from Ros’ discernment in identifying and describing a clear step-by-step process to follow and practice. Readers can learn Ros’ rules, developed and polished throughout his career as a journalist, to help communicate complex written or spoken information clearly.

PSI Training Course: Effective Leadership – the keys to growing your leadership capabilities

This course will consist of three online half-day workshops. The first will be aimed at building trust, the backbone of leadership and a key to becoming effective. This is key to building a solid foundation. The second will be on improving communication as a technical leader. This workshop will focus on communication strategies for different stakeholders and will involve tips on effective communication and how to develop the skills of active listening, coaching and what improv can teach us about good communication. The final workshop will bring these two components together to help leaders become more influential. This will also focus on how to use Steven Covey’s 7-Habits, in particular Habits 4, 5 and 6, which are called the habits of communication. The workshops will be interactive, allowing you to practice the concepts discussed. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion. There will also be reflective time where you can think about what you are learning and how you might experiment with it.