Are you a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA), Research Assistant (RA), Research Associate or other ECR staff member? Join our special event for Kent early career research staff on 30 March 2023 to enhance your personal growth and career development, expand your networks, and help shape and grow our supportive ECR community.

The ECR Forum is being organised by the Graduate and Researcher College (in conjunction with Divisional R&I and other Professional Services teams) to encourage and support the professional development of ECRs based across the University. The one-day event is divided into two halves: the morning focuses on understanding the research landscape and developing our research culture, and the afternoon includes sessions on writing and getting your first research grant. Please see the programme for more details and book your place if you would like to attend.

Dr Alison Charles, Researcher Developer (Academic), said:

“Attending the ECR Forum is a great chance to deepen your knowledge of the research ecosystem and to pick up practical tips for writing successful grant applications. You will also be able to network with your peers, as well as colleagues from across the University who can support you to fulfil your plans. We also hope you will share your own experience, ideas and best practice, and thus contribute to the debate.”

Participation in the event is also a developmental opportunity as there will be an ECR-led panel/workshop entitled ‘What does a positive research culture look like for ECRs?’ from 11.30am-1pm. This will be led by a small team of ECRs who will take responsibility for organising, delivering and/or chairing the session – with support to be provided from the GRC. Getting involved could benefit both your own career development, as well as your colleagues and our wider research community so please contact the GRC if you would like to volunteer or for more details about this session or the event as a whole.

We look forward to seeing you on 30 March – and please spread the word to your ECR colleagues in the meantime!

Are you considering applying for the Summer Vacation Research Competition 2022 but unsure where to start? Or do you have a great idea but also practical concerns? Then come along to the Summer Vacation Research Competition 2022 Q&A Session, which will be held online on Thursday, 03 February 2022 from 1-2pm.

Participating in this competition, which is now in its fifth year, is a great way to boost your career and the initiative is being generously supported by the Careers and Employability Service, the Centre for the Study of Higher Education, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Research & Innovation, the Divisions, the Graduate and Researcher College, Research and Innovation Services, and the Signature Research Theme Leads. Use this virtual get-together to hear about the skills you will develop through managing your own project and intern. You’ll also discover what makes a successful submission and pick up some practical tips for your application.

Dr Jennifer Leigh, the competition’s co-founder with Dr Helen Leech, said:

“Please join us for an informal chat about how the competition works and the various ways in which participation can support your professional development. With contributions from event organisers and previous competition winners, it’s a great way to learn more about this fantastic opportunity.”

No need to book. To join the session, please access the Teams link via SharePoint (Kent staff login required).

We look forward to answering your questions at the session or please email svrc@kent.ac.uk in the meantime. (The closing date for 2022 postdoc applications is 11 February 2022.)

Postdocs play a vital role in delivering institutional research outputs and are thus crucial to the success of any research-intensive university. Kent is committed to supporting and developing its postdocs to achieve their potential and offers a range of training and development opportunities to all research staff, including early career researchers.

Join us for an informal session on Tuesday, 21 September from 12.30-2pm (online) to inspire you to think about the opportunities available. Learn about sectoral developments to support research staff, as well as Kent-based initiatives including new opportunities for the 2021-22 academic year.

The session will include contributions from Professor David Bogle, Pro-Vice-Provost of the Doctoral School at UCL, on ‘how can we better prepare postdocs for a broader future?’ and from Kent colleagues involved in the Summer Vacation Research Competition, which is a great way to boost your career and gain transferable skills.

Professor Paul Allain, Dean of the Graduate and Resesarcher College (GRC), said:

“As a busy postdoc, it can be hard to find the time to plan your professional and career development. We hope that this lunchtime session will whet your appetite to explore the range of training, development and support options available to you at Kent and to discover more about how the GRC is working with and for researchers to support their academic and research careers.”

This session coincides with National Postdoc Appreciation Week (20-24 September, 2021) and is open to all Kent academic and research staff, especially PDRAs, RAs and Research Associates.

There is no need to book – access the Microsoft Teams link via SharePoint (Kent staff login required.) We look forward to seeing you there.

The Graduate and Researcher College (GRC) is pleased to announce that a range of virtual training and development events are available for academic and research staff to book including four scheduled to take place next week:

Demand management for research schemes and relationships with external stakeholders – 14 June 2021, 10-11am

Consultancies and tenders – 16 June 2021, 11am-11.30am

Commercialising your research - 17 June 2021, 10-11am

Please see https://www.kent.ac.uk/graduate-researcher-college/academic-and-research-staff/training-and-development/grants-factory-training for further information about these events and links to book your place.

Coping with rejection – 15 June 2021, 11am-12pm

(The GRC is also offering 1:1 Coaching for PDRAs, RAs and Research Associates – 17 June 2021 and 15 July – 3 slots each day.)

Please see https://www.kent.ac.uk/graduate-researcher-college/academic-and-research-staff/training-and-development/grc-training for further information about these sessions and links to book your place.

Registration for these sessions is via Target Connect, the GRC event booking system, but please note that you will need to register for an account on Target Connect using your Kent email address before you can book any of these events.

These sessions are organised by the GRC as part of its new remit to support the development of colleagues who research throughout their careers and further information is available in our new web pages for academic and research staff.

Professor Paul Allain, Dean of the Graduate and Researcher College, said:

“These webinars are a great opportunity to learn more about relevant topics in targeted sessions delivered by specialist academic and Professional Services staff from Research and Innovation Services, IS Research Support, the GRC and the Divisions. They reflect our ongoing work to create an impactful programme of demand-led training and development for teaching and research colleagues across the University, which now includes some 1:1 coaching for PDRAs, RAs and Research Associates.”

Please note that most sessions will be recorded and made available to view after the event.

If you would like to suggest future sessions or to discuss researcher development at Kent, please contact the GRC.

We look forward to seeing you at these and future events.

The Graduate and Researcher College (GRC) is pleased to announce that a range of virtual training and development events are now available for academic and research staff to book including three scheduled to take place next week:

Essential elements of a successful grant application – 26 April 2021, 10-11am

Click here to book your place.

Sharing sensitive data, GDPR and research ethics – 27 April 2021, 3-4pm

Click here to book your place.

Copyright and open access publishing – 28 April 2021, 10-11am

Click here to book your place.

Registration for these sessions is via Target Connect, the GRC event booking system, but please note that you will need to register for an account on Target Connect using your Kent email address before you can book any of these events.

These one-hour online sessions are organised by the GRC as part of its new remit to support the development of colleagues who research throughout their careers and further information is available on our new web pages for academic and research staff.

Professor Paul Allain, Dean of the Graduate and Researcher College, said:

“These webinars are a great opportunity to learn more about relevant topics in targeted sessions delivered by specialist academic and Professional Services staff from Research and Innovation Services, IS Research Support, the GRC and the Divisions. They reflect our ongoing work to create an impactful programme of demand-led training and development for teaching and research colleagues across the University.”

Please note that most sessions will be recorded and made available to view after the event.

If you would like to suggest future sessions or to discuss researcher development at Kent, please contact the GRC.

We look forward to seeing you at these and future events.