#VitaeChat: Raising the profile of researcher career development
Read the summary from the #Vitaechat on Raising the profile of researcher career development
With recent attention on the wellbeing and mental health of researchers and their career development by the higher education and research community, this #vitaechat aims to bring together researcher developers and researchers to explore opportunities to influence how researchers’ career development is prioritised by universities.
There are challenges of both sides of a collaboration between researcher developers and researchers; email messages being overlooked or not reaching their intended audience; short-term contracts meaning researchers have difficulty understanding or participating in complex university governance; differences in use of language and perspective. However, on both sides, there are common goals; to ensure that universities make the development of researchers, their career progression, and the culture and environment of research a priority.
Are there opportunities to work together to achieve this common goal? What good examples are there that others can learn from? Is it possible to influence institutional decisions as a researcher? How can researcher developers support and enable this?
Our expert panel will explore these questions and share tips, advice and best practice on the ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of influencing institutional policy.
What is a Twitter chat and how do I participate?
A Twitter chat is a live discussion on a set day and time, usually facilitated by a designated person, around a particular topic. If you have never used Twitter or taken part in a Twitter chat before, there are a lot of helpful guides around (e.g. 10 Commandments for Twitter and Using Twitter in university research, teaching and impact activities)
How do I join in?
- Log in to Twitter (you will need a Twitter account) at 12pm (UK time) on Wednesday 12 June 2019
- Search for the hashtag #vitaechat on Twitter and select the “Latest” tab
- Follow @vitae_news
- Our #vitaechat moderator (Dr Katie Wheat, Head of Higher Education Engagement, Vitae) will post a series of discussion questions from @KL_Wheat
- Tweet your replies to the discussion questions and add your thoughts around the topic
- Don’t forget to add the hashtag #vitaechat to each of your tweets so that it shows up in the discussion stream
Why should I join?
Twitter chats are an open discussion, allowing participants from around the globe to meet and chat in real time around a shared interest. They are often fast-paced and exciting, with lots of different conversations happening simultaneously.
Benefits of joining a Twitter chat include the opportunity to
- broaden your network outside of your usual circles
- find out more about a new topic
- be exposed to different perspectives on a familiar topic
- offer advice, share your expertise, and contribute to a pool of knowledge.
