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Recently there has been growing interest in an alternate business model, social enterprise. This is a different way of doing business that trades for a social purpose whereby the social or environmental aims of the business are of equal importance to its commercial activities. Consequently the skills required for running a successful social enterprise combine those typical of enterprise activities generally with a strong motivation and passion for social improvement. We have found that this aspect is useful in engaging researchers because at the heart of social enterprise is a strong commitment to achieving a better society, a motivation that resonates with that which typically drives the research agenda and researchers themselves. This collaborative project with Vitae has been successful in developing written and associated video materials to explore enterprise skills with early career researchers. There are plans to disseminate the resources via Vitae as part of the ongoing move to produce development resources that are freely available to HEIs as part of the research skills development agenda, this is likely to be in January 2011.

This series of podcasts were recorded with 4 university administrative staff all of whon have completed a PhD and some also postdoctoral research in academia before moving into a non-academic role in higher education.

PhD alumni of the university from all subject areas from the 70s, 80s and 90s who were not working in academia were contacted and asked to write a free text case study which covered certain key areas of interest. They were asked why they chose their career area, how they got into it, what it involves, how has their research background been useful and did they have any tips for current researchers.

This session focuses on how researchers can effectively market themselves to academic employers via CVs and application forms, through covering letters and at interview.

A fund for researchers within the Faculty to apply for, to cover costs of attending external events which develop their transferable skills.

A range of support for researchers considering applying for Fellowships, including workshops and information on building a funding track record, funding sources, advice on applying, and sharing experiences of successful applicants and Fellowship reviewers.