Individual Development Plans

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a tool to explore, define, and plan the postdoctoral scholar’s research, professional development, and career goals throughout their postdoctoral training. At its core, the IDP establishes, in writing, the career aims of the scholar and the steps needed by both the postdocs and mentor(s) for the scholar to reach those goals. The IDP, consequently, focuses on research training as it relates to the postdoc’s professional growth and career readiness. It also emphasizes the professional experience needed so they can succeed in the job market.

Best practices suggest that 10% of the time spent in postdoctoral training should be dedicated to the development of transferable professional skills as distinct from research skill development.

To guarantee the IDP meets these goals, the document should include the following:

1. Detailed objectives for both research and professional development. 
2. Benchmarks of success with targeted dates of completion.
3. Defined amounts of effort in research and professional development so that both the mentor and scholar are clear about how the postdoc spends their time.

IDP Workshop

OPE requires all postdoctoral scholars to attend and participate in the IDP Workshop, a four-hour workshop offered by OPE, in the first two months of their training. This workshop introduces postdocs to career and professional development opportunities available to them on and off campus. It also provides space for the scholar to evaluate their current skill level, identify gaps and challenges in their research and professional skillsets, and brainstorm how they could close those gaps and challenges. This exercise is important as it encourages the scholar to think how their training years relate to their long-term career goals. 

IDP Requirements

Best practices indicate that postdoctoral scholars who utilize an IDP exhibit greater satisfaction and success in their postdoctoral training and post-training professional position than scholars who do not. For these reasons, OPE requires that all postdoctoral scholars draft an initial IDP and engage in annual IDP review throughout their postdoctoral tenure using OPE's IDP Workbook.

• Incoming postdoctoral scholars must attend the IDP Workshop and complete the "Year I" section of the IDP Workbook within the first sixty days of their postdoctoral tenure at UAB.
• Second-year and beyond scholars must complete an annual evaluation and revision of their IDP as laid out in the IDP Workbook according to their appropriate year of training.
  • When submitting the annual evaluation and revision, scholars must use the same workbook as they did for previous years. They will just need to complete the next section.
  • Failure to complete and submit an annual evaluation and IDP review will cause the scholar to become non-compliant with OPE's policies and procedures.