MDR’s PhD Day 2025 at Medicon Village: Supporting career pathways for researchers

On 23 April, Medicon Village had the pleasure of hosting PhD Day 2025, welcoming over 80 doctoral students to a full-day event organised by Lund University’s Medical Doctoral Student Council (MDR). The event was designed to support PhD candidates in exploring career pathways both within and beyond academia.

PhD Day is an annual initiative by MDR that fosters dialogue, knowledge sharing, and community-building among doctoral students at the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University. This year’s programme focused on the theme “Decoding the Career Puzzle – Academia or Industry?” and reflected a strong interest in understanding the implications and opportunities of career transitions between academia and industry. The event featured speakers and participants from across the life science sector.

As one of the speakers, Sarah Lidé, Deputy CEO of Medicon Village Innovation, provided an overview of the life science ecosystem in Skåne and Medicon Valley, highlighting in-demand roles and what employers seek in candidates. Other presentations covered doctoral rights and responsibilities, academic versus industry career perspectives, time and stress management, and personal branding for researchers and professionals. The day concluded with a panel discussion featuring representatives from Lund University, Vesper Bio, and Lundbeck, who shared their experiences navigating careers across sectors.

Participants also had opportunities for informal networking during dedicated fika and mingling sessions, and engaged with company exhibitors from AstraZeneca, Bio-Rad Laboratories, BioNordika Sweden, Merck Life Science, and Proteintech Group.

As Scandinavia’s leading life science science park, Medicon Village is proud to support initiatives like PhD Day, which contribute to talent development and retention across academia and industry – both vital to advancing innovations that benefit human health and society.