From PhD to Professional Success: Rethinking Career Pathways Beyond Academia

On 17 December 2025, I had the privilege of being invited by INTI International University to participate in a timely and meaningful panel discussion titled “From PhD to Professional Success: A Conversation with Experts.” The session brought together academics and industry practitioners to address a reality that many doctoral students and graduates are currently facing: the academic pathway is no longer the only, nor the most accessible, route after a PhD.

The Changing Landscape for PhD Graduates

For many years, the implicit expectation for PhD holders was clear:
complete the doctorate, enter academia, and build a career as a lecturer or researcher.

However, global employment dynamics have shifted significantly. Universities are producing more PhD graduates than the academic system can absorb, while tenure-track positions continue to decline. As a result, career transitions into industry, professional practice, policy, consulting, and innovation-driven roles are no longer exceptions, but an emerging norm.

This panel discussion directly addressed that shift and invited an open conversation on how PhD training can remain valuable, relevant, and impactful beyond traditional academic settings.

A Conversation Across Academia and Industry

The session featured a diverse panel of speakers, each representing a different trajectory of doctoral training and professional application:

• Dr. Antonio Inserra, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy

• Dr. Ratnadevi R. Shunmugam, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education and Liberal Arts, INTI International University, Nilai

• Myself, Dr. Koo Kian Yong (Hiro), Director of Learning and Development, New Mind Academy 

A Message to Current PhD Students

If there was one message I hoped participants would take away, it was this:

Your PhD does not limit your future. It expands it, if you are willing to reimagine where your expertise belongs.

Career uncertainty after or during a doctorate is not a personal failure. It is a structural reality of a changing global system. What matters is learning how to translate depth into relevance, and knowledge into contribution.

Gratitude and Closing Reflections

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to INTI International University, the Centre for Postgraduate Study, and Professor Dr. Walton Wider for the invitation and thoughtful organization of this session. It was encouraging to see institutions creating safe and honest spaces for doctoral students to reflect on their futures.

Conversations like this are essential if we are to support the next generation of PhD graduates in building careers that are not only successful, but also meaningful, sustainable, and aligned with real societal needs.

From International Occupational Health Psychology to Practical Team Building in Malaysia

 

Recently, I attended the Joint Congress of ICOH-WOPS & APA-PFAW 2025, an international conference focused on work, well-being, and psychosocial factors at work. Researchers, practitioners, and policy contributors from around the world gathered to discuss one central question:

How can organizations design healthier, safer, and more sustainable workplaces?

As a practitioner based in Malaysia, this experience directly informs how I support organizations through team building, corporate training, and training needs assessment (TNA).

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Why This Conference Matters for Organizations

The sessions covered evidence-based topics such as:

• Psychosocial risk and burnout prevention

• Psychological safety and leadership responsibility

• Working time, workload design, and recovery

• Organizational-level interventions, not just individual coping

A key message repeated throughout the conference was clear:

Employee well-being is not only an individual issue.
It is a system and leadership responsibility.

This perspective is central to occupational health psychology, the field that guides my work with companies.

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Applying Occupational Health Psychology to Team Building

Many organizations approach team building as a one-off activity.
From an occupational health psychology perspective, effective team building should:

• Strengthen psychological safety and trust

• Improve communication and role clarity

• Support energy management and recovery, not just motivation

• Align individual strengths with organizational demands

This is why my team building programs are designed as purposeful interventions, not games without direction. They are linked to real workplace challenges such as stress, disengagement, and performance sustainability.

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Training Needs Assessment Beyond Surveys

At the conference, researchers highlighted the limitations of relying only on self-report surveys. A robust training needs assessment (TNA) should consider:

• Job demands and role expectations

• Leadership practices and team climate

• Psychosocial risks and protective factors

• Signals of burnout, fatigue, or disengagement

In my practice, TNA is not just about “what training people want”, but what the organization actually needs to function in a healthier way.

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Supporting Malaysian Organizations

The insights from this international congress reinforce a direction that is increasingly relevant for Malaysia:

• Evidence-based corporate training

• Psychosocially informed team building

• Organizational-level prevention, not crisis management

Organizations that invest in this approach tend to see better engagement, stronger leadership capacity, and more sustainable performance.

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Looking for Team Building or Training Needs Assessment in Malaysia?

If your organization is looking for:

• Team building with real psychological value

• Training needs assessment grounded in occupational health psychology

• Corporate wellness and psychosocial risk-informed training

This is the work I focus on.

International knowledge must ultimately serve local workplaces, and my role is to translate occupational health psychology into practical, culturally relevant solutions for Malaysian organizations.

Contact us via WhatsApp 0167154419 (New Mind Academy).

Neurofeedback Malaysia: Leading the Future of Neuro-Wellness at the 2025 International BCI & Neurofeedback Summit in Shanghai

 

📍 Shanghai · Pudong
✨ 2025 International Brain-Computer Interface & Neurofeedback Applications Summit
Opening Day Highlights

Today, it was a great honor to represent Malaysia on the international stage — joining global experts to discuss the future of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) and Neurofeedback technologies, and how these innovations are transforming the way we support brain and mental health.

As a speaker in the roundtable forum, I focused on one essential question:

👉 How can BCI and Neurofeedback move beyond clinical settings
and bring real impact to workplaces, leadership, and organizational well-being?

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Key Focus of My Panel Sharing

💡 Bringing Neuroscience into Everyday Work Performance

Here are the major directions I highlighted:

✔ Burnout & Stress Management
Real-time monitoring and HRV + neurofeedback stress regulation to support mental resilience

✔ Brain-Based Talent Profiling
Leveraging EEG markers (attention, executive function, adaptability) for better hiring and development decisions

✔ Neuro-Leadership Coaching
Using brain plasticity data to strengthen emotional intelligence, decision quality, and influence

✔ EAP × Neuro-Wellness Integration
Modern Employee Assistance Programs enhanced by neuroscience for early prevention — not just crisis response

✔ Enhancing Organizational Performance
Improved focus, creativity, psychological safety, and team coherence through brain-behavior optimization

Technology connects the brain
Psychology connects the heart
When both come together, organizations transform from the inside out.

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Why This Matters for Malaysia

Like many countries, Malaysia is facing:

• High work pressure and turnover
• Growing mental health concerns
• Rapid digital transformation stress
• Talent retention and performance challenges

The growth of Neurofeedback Malaysia presents a timely solution:

🌱 From treatment to prevention
🌟 From fixing weaknesses to strength-based potential development

Neuro-wellness is no longer the future — it is what the workforce needs right now.

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