The University’s Research Staff Association (UoL RSA) brought together a number of early career researchers, postdocs, academic staff and other research-related staff from across University Faculties for their annual one-day conference, held in December.
The conference theme was ‘Enhancing the research environment and researcher career progression’. Researchers heard a keynote speech by Professor Anthony Hollander, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Impact, on ‘Creating a Vibrant and Sustainable Research Environment for Early Career Researchers’.
The Principal Investigator (PI) panel on ‘Effective Career Practices’ chaired by Dr James Howard, Director of The Academy was also particularly well received. PIs at different stages of their careers, shared their personal experiences and gave practical advice on ways to build an academic CV and balance work and family life.
Ten researchers from across all Faculties who were awarded the ECR & Returners Fund discussed how this funding has benefitted their careers. Staff wellbeing information stands, outreach demonstrations and a panel on research staff networks provided abundant information on opportunities available for professional development of research staff at the University.
Videos of the day’s sessions can be viewed at: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/researcher/research-staff-conference/
Future meetings
The UoL RSA has scheduled meetings every six weeks with invited speakers discussing key professional/career development activities and opportunities available for research staff. All staff are invited to attend the meetings, which are planned as follows for the next semester:
Monday, 4 February 2019: Laura Winters, Public Engagement Officer, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences will talk about different public engagement activities available at the University and go through the process of grant application to fund your own ideas.
Friday, 22 March 2019: Simon Thomson, Director, Centre for Innovation in Education, will be discussing the Curriculum 2021 framework, including the overall approach to holistic curriculum design and the use of digital tools for learning and teaching. He will discuss how using a “critical friend” approach CIE is working in partnership with Faculties to support staff with curriculum development activity.
Wednesday, 8 May 2019: Research, Partnerships, and Innovation Team will discuss the support facilities available to researchers at every stage of their research, the impact and knowledge exchange process, and effective engagement options with collaborators, partners and funders.
Thursday, 13 June 2019: Mary Jane Monaghan, Research Assistant, FIT4RRI Project funded under Horizon 2020 scheme will speak about embedding responsible research and innovation principles into current ethics and science education practices. If interested, there will be an opportunity to be involved in Mary Jane’s research too.
All the meetings take place 1pm – 2pm, followed by a closed meeting for the UoL RSA Steering Group. Venue information will be published on the website in due course.
If you are interested in getting involved with the RSA, please email: researchstaffassociation@liverpool.ac.uk or Saneeya.Qureshi@liverpool.ac.uk
Follow @LivUniAcademy, @LivResearcher and @UoL_RSA for updates and information about further research staff development opportunities.