Andy Churchill,  phd, mba

Hone Communications

I work with individuals and organizations to help researchers present better. I start with helping them find their story and then coach them to deliver it in the most effective way.  Since Covid, my work has focused around helping people navigate the shifts to presenting online: 
👉 your voice (tone, pace, volume, pausing) remains your most important tool, and embracing the attitudes and feeling you want to convey is your most critical skill.
👉 stories still rule: tech interaction tricks are useful, but don't get sucked too far down that rabbit hole because stories are still the most effective driver of deep engagement, learning and memory.
👉 understand the impact of body language: while it has become less impactful on the audience, it still influences your own confidence and energy.
👉 the movement of visuals in person competes with your ability to engage your audience, but online, that same movement helps capture and retain attention: adjust accordingly.

A short selection of past companies & organizations with whom I've worked:
MY01
Engineva
McGill DeSautels School of Business
Research Institute of McGill University Health Care
Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress
MUHC Foundation
Bio-Sync
Integrated Program in Neuroscience

Co-Founder

Sounds of Science live

Co-Host

McGill University - Teaching and Learning Services

PROGRAMS INCLUDE:
3MT Training Developer & Director (100+ student competition)
Pitch Coach: McGill Hakim Family Prize (2x$50,000 winning grants)
Training Director, Lister Family Engaged Science Initiative (500 students/year)
Pitch Coach: Surgical Innovation Program (2-3 successful start-ups emerge each year)
Presentation Coach: TISED Changemakers (annual conference keynote speakers)
Pitch Coach: MI4 / McGill Advancement Collaboration (prepare professors for donor meetings)
Video Training (prepare professors for the recording studio)

Presentation Skills Training Manager

The McGill Writing Centre

COURSES INCLUDE: Fundamentals of Academic Presentations, Communication in Engineering, Cornerstones of Academic Writing, Communication in Management
👉These undergraduate, graduate and professional level courses all share communicating more effectively as their common thread.  Spanning from traditional academic writing (e.g., research papers and dissertations) to professional writing (e.g., cover letters & project proposals) to start-up needs (pitches & business plans) this work bridges the academic and professional spheres in ways that have come to define my career.

For this work, I have received the prestigious McGill Distinguished Teaching Award.

Sessional Instructor

Engineva

I work with clients to write the technical documentation needed for Science Research and Experimental Design (SR&ED) funding from federal and provincial governments. This work involves transforming technical texts to accessible, engaging narrative.

Technical Advisor

turn your audience into your champions: ignite curiosity 🔥 scaffold understanding ✔ maximize impact 🚀. The PresentBetter Program for lab research groups & academic institutes -now over 7,000 researchers served.

Every piece of research, when effectively communicated, can spark change. 

In academia. In careers. In society.

But too often, important findings remain hidden, their potential unrealized. 
The importance/impact of research gets:
●	Buried under layers of complexity
●	Communicated without connecting
●	Overwhelmed by scientific terms and processes

This is why I created PresentBetter: 
To transform how your researchers share their ideas with the world. 
Together we distill years of complex study into clear, compelling narratives that resonate with and inspire audiences.
By amplifying researcher’s voices, we elevate the ability to communicate research in ways that:
●	Moves people
●	Propels careers forward
●	Bridges the gap between academia and society

Through PresentBetter.org, I offer tailored solutions to meet diverse needs:
1.	Individual Coaching: One-on-one sessions crafted for your specific presentation challenges.
2.	Lab and Department Workshops: Small group training to elevate your entire team's communication skills.
3.	Institutional Programs: Comprehensive, scalable solutions for universities and research institutions.
4.	Conference and Event Preparation: Targeted coaching for high-stakes presentations that can define careers.
5.	Online Courses: Self-paced learning for researchers seeking flexibility.

We aim to create a future where every researcher's voice resonates with clarity and impact.



PS Wondering if too good to be true? Here's a link to the talk I coached that was voted the best 3 minute research presentation in North America last year. Scroll through the flipbook for the talk, key lessons, minute by minute breakdown, and a description of the program that I used to train the speaker: https://www.presentbetter.org/post/international-award-winning-talk

Andy Churchill, phd, mba

"You know you weren't sharing any slides?"
"No, I thought you could see them"
 An hour later the judges returned with their verdict.
The professor had won the McGill Clinical Innovation Pitch Competition.

Simple lesson: The presentation is better when it's not about your slides.

Don't get me wrong, I like slides, I work hard helping people improve their slides. I even have a slick "7 rules for better slides."

But before I do that I teach people to change their relationship with their slides. That's the root of most visuals problems, and fixing the root of problems is the way to help people actually improve.

And when you're no longer slide dependent, you make better slides and you give better presentations.


My newsletter this week shares 3 tips to fix the relationship problem most researchers have with your slides. If you're not signed up, join over 1,000 of your research colleagues here: https://lnkd.in/eb9kYBmx 

PS: you might have noticed: there's no visual here. Sometimes we're just better off without it.

Andrew Churchill, PhD

Amplifying the voice of researchers | Founder of PresentBetter | 10+ years & 10,000+ researchers trained | Currently booking with universities for winter/spring ’26

In my work with PhDs and postdocs, here's 1 thing I've noticed you often miss about your next presentation. 

It's not really like what you've mostly seen and often done before: in-class oral tests and classroom lectures. 

Neither of those are good models for the ones you now have to do:
 1. conference presentation
 2. dissertation defense
 3. job talk
 4. presentation beyond academia
And each of these is uniquely different from each other.  

That's the reason my digital course will start with the choice of 4 videos from the list above, each a deep dive into that particular genre.

Curious: if you could ask a question about just one, what would it be?  



video here is a cell phone recording of the intro to the 4 videos mentioned above.  Thought would be fun to share this behind the scenes look at the McGill University Telestudio when I've been recording the program.

Last time I was here it was a for a McGill project 
This time it's for you, well those of you who are PhDs or postdocs wanting to learn to present better.  

Tomorrow is the first day of filming.  
I can't wait.  

PS If you want updates, check in the comments. I'm starting a sign-up for people who want to be in the know for early releases.

Season 3 of my newsletter brings you stories of putting the research behind presenting better into practice.

Tomorrow's talks about my work with Dr. Jen Ronholm and her graduate students in the One Health Against Pathogens (OHAP) program supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). I explain how Jen and I integrated presentation training into lessons and assignments the students were already doing rather than as external workshops.

How'd we do it?
What was the result?
I’ll let you read for yourself tomorrow. 

Newsletter sign-up next to profile pic.

Rima Dey Ph.d  📘

Smart Dumb club

●	Generated $20,000+ in revenue through strategic implementation of coaching programs and career development workshops, resulting in successful placements of Ph.D. professionals in Fortune 500 companies including AstraZeneca, Nokia, and Siemens. 
●	Led 7 community workshops on key competencies such as team management, effective communication, and career transition strategies tailored to STEM professionals. 
●	Coached over 100+ international scholars, providing tailored guidance on navigating career pathways in academia, industry, and government sectors. 
●	Organised 15 + career panels via LinkedIn, bringing together diverse stakeholders worldwide from varied industries to provide real-world insights into non-academic career trajectories with participation of 2000+ Ph.D’s worldwide.
●	Established strategic partnerships across 4+ countries, designing industry-aligned career accelerator programs integrating hiring managers and global leaders. - (https://learn.rimadey.com/stemcareeracceleratorprograme). 
●	Created digital career resources, including 500+ posts demonstrating thought leadership that has sparked more than 25000+ engagements on posts from experts worldwide. 

Want to know any further? Connect @ rima@rimadey.com

Founder 

Rima Dey Training & Consultancy

Rima Dey Image consultancy is a state of the art consultancy focussed at empowering professionals & aspiring students. Be it professionals looking to better themselves for lucrative career opportunities that leads them to the ladder of success or be it students, wanting to be career ready by working on their employability skills, or even organisations looking for tailored solutions to train their employees, Rima Dey Image consultancy provides customised sessions for, accelerating growth & impactful results

Consultant

National Metallurgical Laboratory

Research Associate & Postdoctoral Researcher

●	Selected for prestigious Quick Hire Fellowship, awarded to exceptional scientific talent, recognizing pioneering research as the first woman globally to specialize in multiaxial fatigue of stainless steel
●	Led development of competitive research grants and technical proposals valued at approx. $55,000, demonstrating ability to secure funding through compelling technical and commercial justifications
●	Successfully managed multiple concurrent R&D projects under strict timelines, coordinating with cross-functional teams across 3 departments while navigating complex regulatory requirements.
●	Designed and executed 100+ advanced biaxial/multiaxial fatigue testing & characterisation experiments for 304Ln stainless steel, resulting in 6 high-impact publications and 1sponsored international conference proceeding in International Conference on Multiaxial Fatigue and Fracture 2019.
●	Spearheaded industrial collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on industry funded projects of national importance. Collaboratively worked in the field of multiaxial fatigue & fracture of stainless steel, structure property relationships & structural integrity of the materials.
●	Implemented Six Sigma methodologies for root cause analysis and process optimization, resulting in 30% improvement in experimental efficiency and data quality. Performed Failure analysis studies using various microstructural studies including Scanning Electron Microscopy-SEM, Transmission Electron Microscopy- TEM, X-ray diffraction -XRD & Electron Backscatter Diffraction-EBSD.

Fellow Scientist

General Electric

●	Received GE's Inclusiveness Award for successfully bridging laboratory innovations to commercial scale, serving as key liaison between R&D and pilot plant teams across 60 stakeholders in 3 continents, demonstrating ability to drive cross-functional collaboration 
●	Authored 4 comprehensive internal technical reports translating complex R&D findings into actionable insights, facilitating informed decision-making for senior leadership and manufacturing teams
●	Developed & optimised formulations to make fire retardant grade of commercial plastics, in addition to working with thermoplastics & composites for assessing structure property correlation for diverse real time engineering applications 
●	Demonstrated expertise in Six Sigma methodologies through successful completion of Green Belt certification, applying principles to optimize laboratory workflows and improve operational efficiency
●	Led technical benchmarking initiatives, analysing industry best practices and proposing innovative solutions that reduced product development cycle time by 25%

Scientist 

GE Research

Analysis of fatigue performance in engineering thermoplastics
Optical properties (birefringence) evaluation in fatigue specimens 
Interpreting the effect of impact modifiers on fatigue performance in engineering thermoplastics                                    
Fundamental studies of polycarbonate/polyester blend compatibilization
Micro patent analysis (basic understanding)

Student intern pursuing M.Tech Project

Apollo Tyres Ltd.

Elaborate idea of the various process operations involved in manufacturing tyre both Radial and Bias tires.
 Reverse engineering to analyze competitor’s tires with various analytical equipment's such as Thermogravimetric analyzer, IR Spectroscopy, High performance liquid chromatography.

Graduate Engineering Trainee

Transforming careers for Ph.D's, Eng’s & researchers | Scientist (Ex-GE) by default People's Engineer by Choice | Career Elevation Coach | Founder Dynamic Professionals Hub | Spoken @ IITs & corporates|

They asked me what I do for a living.

I said: “Some days I coach Ph.D.s out of imposter syndrome.
Some days I run training workshops that make engineering grads say, ‘Why weren’t we taught this earlier?’
And some days, I am on vacation yet helping someone from hotel room to negotiate a leadership offer with more confidence than they thought they had.”

So what do I do? I'm Rima, ( and some know me as Dr Rima - courtesy Ph.D ) once a scientist at General Electric, now a training consultant, career coach, and project manager of people’s turning points.
A Ph.D. in engineering sciences who traded lab coats for laptops, and technical fatigue studies for the emotional fatigue of brilliant minds stuck in the wrong roles.

Over the last 3 years, I’ve coached 100+ international STEM professionals, placed researchers in companies like AstraZeneca, Siemens, GE, Oracle, and built the Smart Dumb Club a community of scientists, scholars, and seekers who are done living invisible lives behind citations.

What makes me different? I don’t teach from textbooks.
I teach from trenches: being rejected, pivoting mid-career, writing grants worth $55,000, and still wondering if I belong, until I claimed the stage.

I don’t just help people find jobs.
I help them find their voice, redesign their self-concept, and become visible in rooms they never imagined being in.

I combine project management, business development, psychology, and communication to design transformative training programs used across IITs, XLRI, and colleges across India and Canada.

Whether I’m hosting a career panel for 2000+ Ph.D.s, creating a negotiation playbook, or building a course on Ikigai and Clarity using AI one thing stays the same:

💡 I believe your career should be a mirror, not a mask.
And I help you polish it until the reflection feels finally, fully like you.

Ready for your turning point?
Book a 1 on 1 call with me. Not someday. Today & so head to my featured section right away!!

Because this might be the conversation your career has been waiting for.
And if you scroll past it… you might miss the one moment that changes everything.

Founder

Dynamic Professionals hub is founded in the year 2022 to help science and engineering professionals both aspiring/current to, become dynamic  job attractors capable of creating opportunities for themselves through the RRAPID Framework. 
The dynamic professionals hub helps you become more confident in your dream job search by implementing 4 c's which are
Coaching (BiWeekly)
Challenge
Courses
Community Support 
& certification.
Want to know any further? Connect @ rima@rimadey.com

Rima Dey Ph.D📘

3 things missing on Ph.D. resumes that actually get interviews and how to fix them with AI (and most importantly HI).

I’ve reviewed resumes from over 200+ Ph.D.s across 7+ countries, & Ph.D's working with me have landed interviews at Astrazeneca, Clarivate, Nokia, Seimens, Oracle, & Many more, so I can tell you this:

95% are missing the same 3 things and without them, the “no response” loop continues.

Let’s break it down:

1️⃣ Metrics.
Most Ph.D.s can calculate error margins to the 4th decimal but forget to add a single number on their resume.

Numbers = proof. Proof = credibility. 
(Want examples of what metrics to include? Check the comments, I’ve dropped a link there.)

2️⃣ Section headings.
“Academic Experience”? “Research Experience”? Meh.
Those are fine, but they don’t guide the reader. 

Customize headings to the role you’re targeting - Industry Projects, Strategic Collaborations, Innovation Leadership… these reframe how your work is seen. It has landed by clients multiple interviews.

3️⃣ Bullets that show impact.

Most bullets just list responsibilities. But hiring managers don’t want to read your job description they want to know what changed because you were there.

So how do you fix this without rewriting your resume 20 times? Simple !!

Here’s a prompt I wish more Ph.D.’s used with AI tools like ChatGPT:

“Hi, As a Ph.D. I will be applying for this job role [insert the job description], and here is my resume. Based on the job description, consider yourself the hiring manager for this role with 10 years of experience. Give me 3 resume bullets that don’t overlap, use metrics, show impact, and use varied action verbs in the format: Did X, using Y, accomplishing Z, that would make you call this candidate immediately.”

❌No, this won’t magically fix your resume. 
But it will give you a mirror a peek into what hiring managers actually look for.

Because resume is a persuasive tool built on psychology and empathy written from hiring managers/recruiters point of view, not yours.

And AI alone won’t solve that. You will.

That's why I always say: don’t forget to add HI to your AI. (HI = Human Intelligence 😊) 

screenshot this. Save it. Repost it🔁.
Because the next time you're stuck rewriting your resume, 
this is the prompt you will need.
 
You’ll thank me later - maybe not out loud, but definitely in your head. 😊

#rimadey #phdcareertransitions #smartdumbphd

P.S: Want to get your resume reviewed ?? My career clarity slots are open. Limited slots so, book yours through the link.

When a Ph.D. tells me one of my free resources helped them get started on their career transition journey --yaaaayyyyyy that makes my made.
 
Because I do get Dm's - but Dm's about how my content is specifically helpful is not that frequent. 

So if you are a Ph.D getting started this this carousel might be your nudge.

 with 10 roles across industries hiring Ph.D.s 

And if you're thinking, “But it’s not that simple…”
 You’re right it isn’t for many of you!!

Because getting hired isn’t just about having the Technical skills.
It’s about learning to speak the language that hiring managers & recruiters understand easily.

And That’s where I come in.
 I have helped & helping Ph.D.' in life sciences, nano-materials, AI, neuroscience, chemistry, and even astrophysics from 7+ countries make the switch.

A once Scientist in corporate & a Ph.D myself.. I was dumb enough to quit academia & smart enough to have survived two career transitions :).

Hence I now call myself a smart dumb Ph.D.

And if you need 1 on 1 help in your. journey along with a community, then my career clarity calls are open. Link in comments.

#rimadey #phdcareertranstions #smartdumbphd

11 Job roles for Ph.D's & A Prompt to get started

One of my clients in Europe wants to land a role in a FANG company.
 
The skills are there. The record is there.
But the belief that they belong in those companies was low.

This is where I begin with the RRAPID system.
 With the first R: Rewire.
 Because no amount of strategy works when the belief system keeps saying,
 “Not me. Not at that level.”
So we started small. Found out One decision maker.
 Wrote one thoughtful cold email.
 Despite no job opening, no referral, but just the right intent of adding value.

They heard back in a day. 
This was the first cold email they ever wrote for their job search.

Most Ph.D.s think people in FANG roles sit behind walls that only a perfect resume can cross. But cold email done right reaches rooms your resume can’t.

That one reply, I know has changed how my client sees their own path.
 They now know these roles are not “for others”.
 They are within reach. This is the work inside Smart Dumb club.
 
To be smart enough to act.
And dumb enough to question the old story you keep telling yourself

#rimadey #phdcareertransitions #smartdumbphd
P.S. Cold emails only work when they are written with intent.
 The generic ones never get a reply.

P.P.S. My cold email methods come from years of studying how people think and decide. I used the same skills to land interviews and offers that were never meant for me on paper. I now teach the same inside RRAPID.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey this is Rima, a scientist turned Ph.D career coach, helping Ph.D from 7+ countries land roles in pharma, tech & consultancy, & my starting point of career trasition was not resume or linkedin, but belief that I can do it :). it was hard but worth it.

One of my closest friends, a Ph.D. with stellar publications and a strong reputation in his field , works in one of the top manufacturing companies.

He’s in a senior role, solving complex problems that excite him every day.

However, since his Ph.D. days, his long-term dream was always to teach.
Despite his credentials, he’s struggled for years to land a role in a premier academic institute.

Why am I sharing this?
 Because your career choices as a Ph.D. can’t be made in a vacuum.

👉 Academia or industry - neither is “better” or “worse.”

But choices need to be made with demand in mind, not just passion.

If academia is where your heart lies, understand the supply–demand imbalance: too many qualified Ph.D.s, too few seats.

And if that path isn’t opening doors no matter how niche or brilliant your research it may be time to look where the market does have room. That’s often industry.

Here’s a decision matrix I built to help you compare the two & I want to acknowledge that this may be a very simplified version but it will give clarity when getting started.

I’m not here to glorify industry or dismiss academia.

But the market doesn’t bend to your passion. It bends to demand.

And in the current state of affairs, industry is often the stronger bet — both in opportunity and financial stability. 

Thats something I have seen to be true with most Ph.D's I am working with who transitioned into tech Pharma & Consulting.

Ignoring that truth can cost you your career.
So… what’s your opinion of this table?

#rimadey #smartdumbphd  #phdcareertransitions 

P.S. Without industry experience, your opinion on this table is, at best, partial. And I’ll take it with a pinch of salt.

P.P.S My Career clarity calls are now open starting next week, apply to book your slot. Only 8 slots available.

It is super heart warming to see when Ph.D"s in India are taking the initiative to extend the impact of their Ph.D in real world through their starts ups.
Kusumika Sinha Roy best wishes. 

If you are from biotechnology bioinformatics or related field, please reach out & share it anyone you know, needs this opportunity.

Hiring an intern to join me on an exciting research project this December!
We are an early-stage, grant-funded startup incubated at NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore. I am looking for someone with prior experience in molecular docking or molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.
Students pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s in Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, or related fields are encouraged to apply.

The most harmful belief Ph.D.’s inherit from academia that keeps them stuck and here’s what replaces it👇

Many Ph.D.’s that I work with carry this belief that for a career transition they have to know everything in great depth and detail.

Listen, academia teaches you to explore depth of knowledge, and
honestly that is super valuable. 
However everything has an upside & downside too.

So when you are deep into something, for a good 4-5 years –
you also become prone to the downside of doing it for that long.

And that is you believe in researching a lot, before acting on it.
Science has a term for it named as enantiodromia, where the exact opposite happens.

Like in your career transition - You believe that collecting more information & doing more research will help you figure out things – but you are in a constant loop of collecting free resources, free advises but that is never executed or yielding results.

I did hear this from one of my client who told me “ I was drowning in information and had no clue how to act on it “

And so this is where you need to understand, researching is a precious skill,
but research without implementation is a wasted one.

You need to move from less research → to → more execution.

This is exactly what one of my clients did to land her industry job in telecom sector.

However it wasn’t straight forward at the outset. 

She had to understand what were her foundational skills (FS) & what were her Minimum Viable skills (MVS).
She worked with petabytes of data, & radio transmission which were the foundational skills required for the role of data scientist in telecom sector.

And we then worked on the MVS to build on top of the FS - which are skills that are an absolute requirement for the job she was pivoting into – in her case it was Power BI & SQL.

Now she didn’t need to know every use case of Power BI & SQL, but built something relevant for the role – validating further you don’t need to know everything in  great depth & details as you did in your Ph.D.

And that is your super power as a Ph.D. to quickly  learn things because you have the foundations for many skills.

So this Monday ask yourself, What are the Foundational skills required for the job I want to pivot into ?

Do I have it ?  If yes, what are the MVS required for the same & how can I build it at the earliest ?

And I repeat – you don’t need to know everything in great depth & details for you career transition.

You just have to act & move fast with what you know.
That’s your Monday reminder :).

#rimadey #phdcareertranstions #smartdumbphd

4 Ph.D.s. 4 domains. 4 different transition outcomes.
 
But one question kept coming up in every coaching call:
“Should I make a work sample or portfolio for my industry transition?”

Let’s decode this using real data from my community.

Here’s what actually happened 👇

1. The AI Scientist
 He built a portfolio, and it helped him land initial interviews for leadership roles.
 Those interviews didn’t convert into offers.
 He eventually moved into fintech through the larger job search process, not because of the portfolio itself.

2. The Computational Biologist
 She built a portfolio too.
 But for her job search, the portfolio didn’t play any meaningful role.
 She landed a consultancy role that required a case study, and later moved into pharma.
 
3. The Network Engineer
 Her portfolio genuinely helped in the interview.
 We used it to show how her Ph.D. work connected to the company’s goals.
 That clarity strengthened her conversations and made her positioning much   sharper.

4. The Astrophysicist
 Her work sample played a central role in getting the offer.
 And the company later featured her work sample publicly on their pages.
 This was one of those rare cases where the work sample wasn’t just useful — it became a highlight of her onboarding.

So… do portfolios work?
Sometimes yes. Sometimes not at all.

It depends entirely on the role, domain, and hiring process.

But here’s what stood out across every case:

Nobody regretted making a portfolio.
Even when the portfolio wasn’t used in hiring, the act of creating it helped them:

 • understand their work better
 • articulate impact more clearly
 • connect their research to business needs
 • interview with stronger confidence

And for most Ph.D.s, that clarity alone changes the game.

So here’s the real question:

If creating a portfolio gives you clarity, confidence, and sharper interview answers… is it still a wasted effort?
Tell me below , Would you create one for your transition?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you’re new here, I’m Rima a Smart Dumb Ph.D. helping researchers from 7+ countries move into pharma, tech, and consulting roles.
(My clarity call slots for this month are listed in the comments. Apply to book a slot for your free 1 on 1 call )

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