Vitae member updates - July 2022 UK Edition
We have quite a few member updates to relay to you this month, not least around the Vitae International Researcher Development Conference 2022.
Vitae International Researcher Development Conference 2022
Preparations for #VitaeCon2022 have come on leaps and bounds since last month and we are delighted that on Tuesday 13 September, Professor Tim Newton, Dean of Research Governance, Ethics and Integrity, King’s College London will be speaking in plenary two that focuses on Concordat implementation: Successes and systemic issues. On Wednesday 14 September we will be joined by Dario Capezzuto, Policy Officer, European Commission, DG Research & Innovation, and Dr Gábor Kismihók, Learning and Skills Analytics Research Group Leader, Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology (TIB), who will share their global perspectives on the practice of developing researchers as part of plenary four: Supporting researchers into, through and beyond the PhD.
Book your seats at #VitaeCon2022
As a preview for Vitae members, online workshops are now live for booking on the conference website. Read through the recently added abstracts and presenter information, giving members advance notice of what to expect from this year’s event. Use the ‘save your seat’ function to make your selection for the interactive sessions at #VitaeCon2022. Some sessions will have limited availability, so please book soon to avoid disappointment.
As a member, ensure you are logged into the Vitae website before making your ticket booking in order to take advantage of the discounted member rate.
Vitae Three Minute Thesis® competition
Thanks to all who submitted institutional 3MT® Winner videos, as well as to the judging panel of community members who kindly dedicated their time to review and score the 67 excellent entries. The 12 highest scoring videos will go through to the semi-final at the end of the month; registrants will be notified. Just six finalists will be chosen to present at the competition final on Thursday 15 September 2022. The semi-finalists will be announced on Wednesday next week.
New funding call: Equality, diversity and inclusion caucus
You may be aware that UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the British Academy have recently announced a new funding call to establish and lead an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) caucus. The caucus, to be made up of practitioners and researchers, will be responsible for providing EDI research evidence to inform policy and practice relating to UK research.
Vitae welcomes the call, and believes that the enhancement of EDI is a critical element for evolving the research eco-system and key to an improved research culture.
The Careers Research & Advisory Centre (CRAC), which manages the Vitae programme, and Vitae have a strong and growing portfolio of diversity and inclusion work, both in and outside the HE research environment. We would be interested in discussing potential collaboration opportunities with senior contacts at member organisations who are considering making a bid for funding. If you would like to discuss potential collaboration opportunities, please get in touch with membership@vitae.ac.uk.
New practice sharing resources
Dr Angela Midgley, Research Staff Developer, University of Liverpool has written a blog about a new toolbox that Vitae’s Researcher Networks working group has been creating. The toolbox, to be published in the Autumn, will contain examples of good practice on how to nurture and sustain researcher networks. An open access panel session, made up of contributors to the toolbox, will ‘unpack’ what the resource offers on Thursday 15 September during the Vitae International Researcher Development Conference 2022.
Following the government’s call for a ‘New Deal for Postgraduate Research (PGR)’, Vitae brought together a range of community stakeholders to a member event to form a collective response to the consultation led by UKRI. Discussions focussed on contemporary goals, greater inclusivity and enhanced support for PGR and have been summarised in this article by Dr Mat Tata, Project Manager, Vitae.
Dr Kate Jones, Head of Learning and Professional Development, Vitae has written a blog about the Researcher Development Framework (RDF) and Vitae’s ongoing RDF ‘refresh’ project that has also led to several new projects involving cultural contextual adaptations of the framework.
Recordings from the recent Research Culture and Practice Forum sessions hosted by Universities UK are now available to watch online. Vitae’s speaker contributions included an examination of the core Researcher Development Concordat obligation for researchers to engage in 10 days of professional development per year and the multistakeholder responsibility for it, as well as an overview of the Concordat Platform of Practice and a call for more case examples.
HR Excellence in Research Award call for new peer reviewers
Vitae is seeking to recruit new peer reviewers for the UK process of the HR Excellence in Research Award. If you would like the opportunity to further your professional development and build experience in HR Strategy, then we would really like to hear from you. Further information including what is involved and how to apply can be found on our website; full training will be given to successful candidates.
Until next month,
Kind regards,
Rachel Cox
(she/her)
Engagement and Policy Team Lead
