Skills & Career Development

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Skill development programs

Research Skills Development with RTC 

Skill development workshops complement your training in the lab to equip you with the knowledge and skills to become a great researcher.  

The RTC’s skills development programming includes opportunities to gain new skills and experience in:  

• Research Management, including project management and AI tools 
• Grant and award application writing  
• Research communication, including publishing and presenting 
• Leadership and mentorship  
• Teaching at the university level  

Specialized Skill Development Workshops 

The RTC also partners with and promotes research skills training delivered by subject matter experts at the Centre for Computational Medicine (CCM), the SickKids Library, the Learning Institute, Industry Partnerships & Commercialization (IP&C), Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children, among others. These specialized workshops include: 

• Programming & Data Analysis Bootcamp  
• Whole Genome & Exome Sequencing 
• AI in Academic Literature 
• Project Management 
• Building Community Partnerships in Research 
• Invention to Innovation (I2I) Education Series 

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Career Development Programs

Business, Government, and Non-Profit Job Markets 

The RTC’s Career Development Committee (CDC), led by our research students and fellows, plans, coordinates and facilitates job search seminars which cover key skills in:

• Preparing job documents  
• Interviewing  
• Negotiating  
• Networking 

Our annual Career Night provides opportunities for research students and fellows to explore careers in and out of the lab by talking to graduate-trained scientists who work in a range of fields.  

All graduate research students and research fellows are eligible to apply to become a part of the CDC team. 

Contact the CDC at career.developmentcommittee@sickkids.ca 

Academic Job Market 

The RTC’s PI Prep School program help give you the skills to successfully apply for, negotiate, and start your first job as a professor or research scientist.   

The competitive PI Prep School intensive program gives three postdoctoral fellows or research associates the opportunity to experience a real campus interview day, from the job talk to the panel interview.   

Other PI Prep School seminars cover:  

• Understanding the recruitment process  
• Preparing for and making the most of your virtual interview 
• Negotiating your first academic job offer   
• Establishing your first lab /research team 

The RTC also offers an eight-week intensive Art of Teaching program taught by award-winning faculty, which introduce the fundamentals of pedagogy and best practices in teaching science at the university level.  

Wellness and Community 

We support researchers as whole people, so join us to engage your mental and physical side, including: 

• Yoga  
• Peer Support and Employee Assistance programs 
• Coffee Hours 
• Social outings in the city of Toronto