Talk for PhD students: Rethinking Impostor Syndrome - Why Capable Students Doubt Their Competence and What to Do About It
Aim and content
This Talk is reserved for PhD students at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.
Millions of people around the world, from new hires to CEOs, first-year students to PhDs, artists and engineers, secretly worry that they’re not as intelligent or capable as everyone “thinks” they are.
It’s called impostor syndrome. Fortunately, there is a solution.
In this upbeat interactive session, you will:
• Understand what impostor syndrome is – and what it is not
• Discover the situational, occupational, familial, organizational, and societal reasons why capable students feel like frauds
• Understand the core source of impostor syndrome and why it matters
• Identify your personal “Competence Type”
• Examine how impostor syndrome shows up in the form of a pattern
• Recognize the costs of impostor syndrome to individuals and organizations
• Receive practical, immediately usable tools to help yourself – or others – to unlearn impostor syndrome by becoming a Humble Realist™
NOTE: You do not need to personally experience impostor feelings to attend.
About the speaker
Valerie Young, Ed.D. is a global thought leader on impostor syndrome. In addition to speaking at over 100 universities in the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, and the UK including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Oxford, and University of Copenhagen she’s spoken at such diverse organizations as JP Morgan, Google, Pfizer, Boeing, NASA, and the National Cancer Institute.
Time and date: Tuesday 29 October 2025, 15:30-17:00.
Registration: Please register here no later than 15 October 2025.
Venue: Panum, Blegdamsvej 3B, Maersk Tower, 1st floor, Jerne Auditorium.