Message to members from PDFA President Qutuba Karwi

29 June 2023

Dear Postdoctoral Fellows,

I want to share with you that I will be stepping down as president of the Postdoctoral Fellows Association (PDFA) on June 30, 2023, as I have accepted an assistant professor position at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. I would like to take a moment to thank you all for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to serve on the team of PDFA. What we have achieved as a team over the last four years will always be a legacy for me. I am so very thankful for all past and present board members of the PDFA, who were always working hard and finding time to do PDFA business and initiatives while managing their research like any other postdoctoral fellow on campus. I am also very thankful to our friends in the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA) for always being there when needed and for being amazing partners. I would also like to thank the whole community of postdoctoral fellows at the University of Alberta (U  ofA) for their continuous support and for being our biggest asset. 

I would also like to congratulate Dr. Shahid Ullah for being elected as the interim president of the PDFA. Dr. Ullah is a long-time member of the U of A community, and we are fortunate to have him as the next leader of the PDFA. I wish Dr. Ullah all the best in his new role, and I am fully confident that he, with the help of the board members, will lead the PDFA to a new level of success. 

The PDFA will only remain strong if the support from its members continues. We have made huge progress by signing the first-ever collective agreement with the U of A. However, there is still more work to do, and the PDFA cannot function without the voluntary work of its members. So, let's continue our great work and improve the training conditions for our postdoctoral fellows at the U of A by working as one team. 

Meanwhile, I hope you all achieve your training goals, and I will be watching your fantastic achievements from the east coast!

Sincerely, 

Qutuba Karwi
President
Postdoctoral Fellows Association