Jennifer Aumiller and Catherine Brooks Zander

The PDO at Washington University in St. Louis gives out mugs and stickers to show appreciation during NPAW 2015. Photo source: NPA

Every September the NPA sponsors an annual celebration of the National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW). This year’s ninth annual celebration of NPAW will be held around the globe from September 17-21. This year NPAW coincides with the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, therefore PDAs and PDOs are encouraged to tailor or extend their planned activities to be inclusive of all postdocs. NPAW is an important week of events that recognizes postdoctoral scholars’ contributions to research and scientific discovery. It is a wonderful way to let postdocs know that they are valued and recognized at their respective institutions.

Penn State postdoctoral scholars enjoy a hike as part of NPAW 2015. Photo source: NPA

NPAW reaches around the globe

NPAW has been celebrated since 2009 with the National Postdoc Appreciation Day being held on September 24, 2009. In its inaugural year, 70 institutions across 27 states hosted events to recognize the contributions that postdocs make to research every day across the country. The event has grown to an international event with last year having 398 events all over the world.

Tools to jumpstart your NPAW

The NPA offers fantastic resources for postdoc officers (PDOs) and associations (PDAs) looking to start NPAW activities on campus or for those looking for new event ideas. For those just starting out, the NPA has a NPAW toolkit that offers ideas for events, marketing, access to flyers and much more. The NPA website also lists past events that other institutions have hosted. This is very useful for those that are beginning to come up with ideas for events that they would like to bring to their campuses as well as for those looking to build upon their already existing programs.

Postdoctoral scholars are awarded certificates of appreciation at University of Illinois’ PDA Career Development Symposium during NPAW 2017. Photo source: NPA

These NPA resources are provided to help those interested in celebrating NPAW, whether you have celebrated NPAW before and have existing programs or are starting out and would like to bring NPAW to your campus. NPAW is a great opportunity for PDOs and PDAs to promote the postdoc community, showcase their programs, and to assist others in their planning for future years. Join the NPA in celebrating the postdoc community during NPAW and submit your 2018 events planned to showcase how your organization values their postdocs.