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The annual Research Poster Conference provides a unique opportunity for doctoral researchers at all stages of their studies to present their research to a diverse mixed-disciplined audience. The Conference is an excellent practical forum for the development of a range of essential communication and networking skills. It is also a chance for University students and staff to foster productive interdisciplinary links and find out more about the range of exciting research that takes place at the University of Birmingham. The usual resources are required to deliver the event: a venue; catering & catering staff; additional helpers to assist on the day; and a means of producing and displaying the posters. We also provided 3 doctoral researchers with the opportunity to become part of the project team that organised the Research Poster Conference.

A joint initiative across the Schools of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, it provide an intellectual forum for supporting the research interests and career development of postdoctoral researchers.

Graduate training Representatives

In 2011-12, the Humanities Division will contributed funds to each Faculty wanting to employ a graduate training representative role. 

Researchers are key members of academic staff. They are central to the College’s status as the leading centre for veterinary research in England, as well as its global aspirations. Beyond this, the College recognises that researchers make many other important contributions, for example in undertaking valuable research support, teaching and supervision duties, and as a vibrant group within the wider RVC community.

Following the launch of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, the College developed a Concordat Code of Practice and Guide which demonstrates the Colleges commitment to the provision of timely and effective support for Research Staff and their chosen career paths.

The courses and workshops outlined in our programme are designed to meet the needs of all groups of staff within the College and offer a wide variety of development opportunities in five key areas:

• Health & Safety

• Information Technology

• Leadership & Management

• Skills & Knowledge

• Wellbeing

In our 2009/10 training programme, we introduced a section specific to the development of researchers, in response to principle 4 of the Concordat. This section has continued to develop following feedback received from research staff, line managers and principal investigators.

Research staff may also attend any of the other Staff Training & Development courses offered in the programme.

There is an increased expectation from funders of research on researchers to consider the wider implications of their research on society, culture and the economy. This is reflected in the addition of 'pathways to impact' documents in grant applications. So too, the Vitae RDF explicitly makes reference to the need to up skill researchers in the area of engagement, influence and impact. This includes, working with others, communication and dissemination and KT and impact.

The University of York has piloted a new skills training programme for PhD students and staff which ran November 10 - July 11. This included training in: 

Enterprise and knowledge transfer - 'the research and innovation programme' - 8 part series of business planning workshops, aimed specifically at commercialisation of research and industrial engagement. the sessions were 2 hours in duration and covered- Knowledge Transfer, IP, business models for research innovation, Market analysis, financial awareness, business planning and pitching to industry.

Also, the Enterprising Researcher residential programme - 2.5 day intensive school for PGRs and postdocs.

Policy and Practice - Sessions included: Science into Policy - 2 hour session on working in the social sciences and translating research to policy makers. Also includes evidence led policy making advice. Sessions on communicating your research to lay audiences also covered aspects of communicating to policy makers.

Public Engagement - The University is working closely with the NCCPE to pilot a training programme in PE - also, sessions have run on public engagement and communicating research to different audiences.

Impact - specifically around pathways to impact, the programme offered 4 central staff sessions for cognate groups of departments broadly based around research council area, on pathways to impact. 

The programme also offered 4 central PhD sessions on research with impact, designed to allow researchers to consider impact from the outset of their research careers.

The sessions are 2.5 hours in duration and  pose the following questions: 

1. Who will benefit from your research?

2. How will they beneift?

3. What will you do in order to ensure they have the opportunity to benefit.

The sessions are interactive, allowing participants to work in groups on a specific research idea, and build a pathway to impact- they also have the chance to view example pathways and plans, and also to review their colleagues. Where possible, academic input is also used.

Sessions on impact are also being run in the departments as part of grat writing programmes and as bespoke one off courses. Such courses have mainly been for staff in Sociology, Education, Computer Science, Arts, Politics and psychology.

Coaching and one to one support around writing pathways to impact is also offered as part of the programme.

Following consultation at the Research Staff Forum in March 2011 a programme has been devised and is scheduled to run for the first time in September 2011.  The programme exists as a one day event, but it is envisaged that following the initial event in September online content will be developed to make the Induction Programme available to researchers who need it, when they need it.

This initiative, which seeks to develop potential future research leaders by allowing individuals to gain experience supporting the development of others, is considered an effective way of achieving long term impact and sustainability from investment in researcher development. Derived from existing good practice and responding to feedback from the researcher community, it involves early career researchers being seconded to work in multidisciplinary liaison across the researcher community to develop appropriate training and ensure that the Researcher Development Programme meets the needs of individual researchers.

GRADnews is a monthly e-newsletter aimed at postgraduate research students within the university and features information on a wealth of internal and external career-development related opportunities available to the community.