Connections: Getting to grips 2022

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This is a professional development event for those who have recently taken on responsibility for supporting researchers in their professional development, whether as a full-time role or as a part-time activity.

Engaged group chatting in circle

Developing researchers can be hugely rewarding but often challenging. These introductory events help you to 'get to grips' with your new role and to:

  • navigate the researcher development landscape, seeing it from institutional, national and international perspectives
  • gain insights into how to add value in your role, create impact and effectively engage researchers in their professional development
  • concentrate on your own professional development, with opportunities to engage through interactive sessions
  • meet other professionals who support researchers in this way.

About you

We expect participants to come from a range of roles within the institution, including those who dedicate just a portion of their time to researcher development. For example, the events will be relevant to academics, senior managers, human resources professionals, teaching and learning professionals, and staff from research offices, careers services and libraries, as well as researcher development professionals.

We welcome participants from anywhere in the world who have a new role (less than 18 months’ experience) in supporting the professional development of researchers. For example, you might support researchers' through:

  • Training and development
  • Research administration
  • Research supervision
  • Staff development
  • Doctoral Training Partnerships or Centres
  • Graduate Schools
  • Careers services
  • Research and enterprise offices.

Vitae Connections

The ‘Vitae Connections’ series of events is designed to provide insights, tools and tactics to make you more effective in a researcher development role and to support the continuing professional development of staff supporting researchers.

Vitae CPD certification is available for this event and would provide appropriate evidence against the Careers Framework for Researcher Developers (CFRD), for example, in ‘Training and Development’, ‘Planning and Strategy’ and ‘Underpinning Knowledge’.