C7 - Innovating in researcher development to support the career progression of internationally mobile researchers: UK, African and global perspectives
| Day | Day 2 |
|---|---|
| Session | C |
| Start time | 11:00 |
| Strand | All researchers |
| Code | C7 |
| Presenters |
Alison Mitchell - Director of Development, Vitae Dr Jane Wellens - Head of the Graduate School, University of Nottingham Dr Harry Tagbor - Head of the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi – Ghana Dr Hazel McCullough - Professional Development and Educational Advisor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine |
Outline
How can we as a community of global researcher developers enhance our researcher development to meet the needs of internationally mobile researchers? In this interactive workshop we will provide a platform to make more explicit the potential valuable learning gains from dialogue amongst the international researcher developer community and consider how we might achieve mutual understanding between research collaborators to support researchers’ career development and progression in a global research environment. Case studies will present perspectives from African colleagues who frequently look to the UK and other researcher development communities (US, France, Denmark, Norway) to inform their own researcher development approaches, whilst internationally mobile researchers move between our different countries in their careers. We will explore a variety of international ideas and cultural insights to enable us all to be creative and innovative in our own researcher development delivery to meet the needs of global researchers.
Topics covered
Participants will discuss
- What are the similarities and differences in required competencies of researchers in different countries?
- What are the benefits and challenges faced in developing researchers in different countries?
- What are the key considerations for facilitating early-career researchers’ transition from PhD to postdoctoral research in an international research environment?
- What are the implications for career development planning and provision for international researchers studying and working in the UK and moving home or to other countries to continue their research careers?
Themes covered
- Researchers' development across boundaries: learning from international collaborations, exploring inter-cultural competences and business/industry collaborations in developing researchers
- Developing a pipeline of research talent, including widening participation issues and the strategies to attract the best candidates into research degrees
- New approaches to enabling researchers to reach their potential and make powerful career choices
Workshop outcomes
Participants will gain insights into the career development needs of internationally mobile researchers within a global research talent pool and international support for the careers of global researchers, enabling consideration of practical actions to enhance institutional provision.
Format
International case studies of researcher development followed by facilitated group discussion of the topics using the jigsaw approach to address the topic questions and come together to explore practical actions.
Background and case studies
This workshop is part on an on-going Vitae project, building on a workshop at last year’s conference ‘Divergence and convergence in international research cultures and practices: implications for researcher developer’ which considered how global convergence of research policy and practice, and the mobility of researchers globally impacts on the development of researchers locally (Mitchell and Wellens). CIRCLE funded by the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the African Academy of Sciences facilitates institutional capacity building in the career development of African researchers to develop relevant local solutions and improve uptake of research in local, national and regional implementation. The Malaria Capacity Development Consortium (MCDC) funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, strengthens malaria research capacity in Africa. Career Development Groups support the embedding of sustainable career development support for researchers within their institutional structures and processes
