The Graduate and Researcher College (GRC) and the Researcher Development Advisory Group (RDAG) are proud to announce that the University of Kent has retained the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research (HRER) Award after our Eight Year External Review. (Please see the Vitae press release for further information.)

Retention of this prestigious award, which the University has held since May 2013, is indicative of Kent’s continued commitment to further embed researcher development across the institution, including through collective work to implement the Principles of the Researcher Development Concordat which encourages best practice in researcher development and support.

Kent’s submission for the Eight Year external Review was published in November 2021 and consists of new documentation which details the wide-ranging work taking place across Kent to support staff who research.

Professor Shane Weller, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation, said:

“Kent’s retention of its HRER accreditation is a wonderful achievement and demonstrates to our varied stakeholders – but, most importantly, to our researchers – how we are striving to support staff who research across the whole academic lifecycle and, in so doing, to build an institutionally unified and inclusive research culture that provides the appropriate support for colleagues to achieve their potential.

My sincere thanks go to Dr Alison Charles and the GRC which coordinated the submission in conjunction with the Researcher Development Advisory Group (RDAG), as well as to numerous central and Divisional colleagues who contributed to the process at multiple stages. We are also grateful to Vitae for providing feedback, support and encouragement throughout the submission process.”

To learn more, please view our HRER resources including the individual submission documents.

For further information about the HRER, Concordat or any aspect of researcher development at Kent, please contact the GRC.