Summer Vacation Research Competition 2021

Are you a Postdoctoral Research Associate, Research Associate or Research Assistant interested in developing your project and people management skills? Did you know you can apply to run your own independent project and win funding worth up to £2500 to work with an undergraduate intern for 4-7 weeks on your research?

Following the popularity and success of the competition in previous years, the University is funding 9 different summer vacation research projects in 2021, each of which will be associated with a particular Division and/or Signature Research Theme.

Reflecting on the benefits of participation, Dr Jennifer Leigh, the event’s co-founder with Dr Helen Leech, said:

“The positive impact on successful applicants is self-evident and can include increased productivity and outputs, non-research skills acquisition and kick-started career planning. One PDRA told us ‘I got more work done on this project in 6 weeks than I would have done in a year of working in my own time’ and many others have credited the competition with the opportunity, practice and support to make further applications for funding and fellowships, and to apply for permanent roles.”

Details of how to apply for the Summer Vacation Research Competition have been sent to relevant staff – please email svrc@kent.ac.uk if you do not receive this information.

The closing date for applications is 15 February 2021. Good luck!

PDRA Pre-Christmas Update Meeting

The PDRA Pre-Christmas Update Meeting will be held online on Tuesday 15 December from 1230-1330.

If you are a Postdoctoral Research Associate, Research Associate or Research Assistant, please join us for an informal virtual get-together to welcome the end of a challenging term and reflect on recent progress and achievements. We will also use this opportunity to tell you about exciting developments taking place in the Graduate and Researcher College, and to update you about our plans to support you and your colleagues going forward.

Professor Paul Allain, Dean of the Graduate and Researcher College, encourages all relevant staff to come along and contribute to the discussion:

“The Graduate and Researcher College team is working hard to strengthen networks for research staff and is currently planning our training and development offering for next term and beyond. We very much welcome your input into this process and will use this opportunity to canvas your ideas on how best we can communicate and work with you and provide the information and support you need.”

Details of the meeting have been sent to relevant staff – please contact Dr Alison Charles if you have not received this email.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!