The Research Futures Academy supports the training and development of the research community across Heriot-Watt University - from doctoral students and early career researchers, to PhD Supervisors and Professorial research leaders.
The new year is a great time to think about your development in advance of your Personal Development Review. In this month's newsletter we're highlighting just some of the opportunities which will be available in early 2019 to develop your skills, careers and professional networks.
Further details of researcher development and Academic CPD opportunities are available on the Research Futures website pages and are published every month in this e-newsletter.
If you would like to book a free place on any of our Research Futures workshops and events, please visit our online booking system, PDMS.
Have a very enjoyable Christmas break and we look forward to welcoming you to our Research Futures Academy programmes in the coming year.
Course bookings are now open for our 2019 workshop programmes. See our online booking system PDMSfor more details.
Research Futures Academy:
Postgraduate Researcher Programme
The popular 'How to Be an Effective Researcher ' workshop for PhD Students will run on Thursday 21 February 2019.
This programme will build on your experience to provide you with an opportunity to develop and enhance the core skills required to successfully complete a doctorate. The course will also provide you with transferable skills that will develop you as a researcher but also enable you to succeed outside academia.
This event is specifically designed for Postgraduate Research Students between 6 months and 18 months into their project.
Additional workshops including Research Writing, Career Management and Viva Preparation will run during Semester 2.
Registration for these and other workshops is now open. Keep checking back on PDMS as well as our External Opportunities webpage for more opportunities which will be added during 2019.
Research Futures Academy:
Academic CPD
The next Doctoral Supervisor workshops 'Supervise - Enhancing your supervisory practice' will take place on 29 January 2019 and are outlined below.
A doctorate is a journey towards academic independence. Doctoral students start and finish at different points, gaining different skills along the way; doctoral supervisors place different emphases on different points of the journey and have different interpretations of what supervision means.
The University expects all PhD Supervisors to attend a supervisory development workshop at least once every three years. We have added to our continuing programme of 2 hour Supervise workshops (for new and experienced Supervisors) hosted by popular external facilitator, Dr Steve Hutchinson.
Supervisors can select one of the following two hour workshops by going to the Research Futures Academy's on line booking system PDMS
Tuesday 29 January 2019 (12:00 - 14:00) (including lunch)
Tuesday 29 January 2019(15:00 - 17:00) (refreshments provided)
The workshops will include:
Group discussions to explore overcoming challenges of Doctoral Supervision at HWU
Sharing of best practice between experiences and new supervisors
Understanding key challenges and University expectations regarding student progression and development.
If you have any further queries about Supervisory development opportunities please email us at ResearchFutures@hw.ac.uk
More workshops are being added to our research staff programme for the current academic year so keep checkingPDMSfor new opportunities. Please also check out ourExternal Opportunitiespage. We tap into wide and varied networks to keep you updated about further events, training and funding you can access to enhance your skills and career development.
CONCORDAT CONSULTATION
A national consultation has been launched to inform a revision of the ‘Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers’ (Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers). Heriot-Watt's HR Excellence in Research award demonstrates that we are committed to the Principles of the Concordat (HWU HR Excellence in Research Award. We are being encouraged to provide a response from Heriot-Watt University to the online consultation by the Concordat Strategy Group and a number of our stakeholders. The deadline for the survey is midday on 7 January 2019.
Submissions to the Concordat Consultation are welcome from organisations and individuals, including all staff engaged in research, as well as those managing or supporting research and researchers. You are welcome to submit an individual response directly using the survey link below or to contribute to an institutional response. The word document can be downloaded from the CRAC webpage. Any comments can be sent to julie.kennedy@hw.ac.uk for inclusion in the HWU response by close of business on Thursday 3 January 2019.
Academics, researchers and business leaders met at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University last week to take part in this year’s Scottish Crucible Forum.
After a decade of delivery, and with over 300 “research leaders of the future” having taken part in Scottish Crucible, the annual Forum was an opportunity to celebrate the impact Scottish Crucible has had on its Alumni’s careers and research activities and consider new opportunities for researchers in the current research and innovation landscape.
The Scottish Crucible Alumni reported on funding won and on new projects and collaborations forged, whilst also reflecting on their individual career progression since taking part in the Scottish Crucible leadership and development programme. The Forum enabled them to further network with colleagues from the past 10 years’ cohorts who represent multiple academic disciplines and research institutions in Scotland and now form the Scottish Crucible Alumni Network. “I have been very impressed with the breadth of this network” said external Forum guest, Dr Ian Archer, Technical Director of IBioIC (Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre).
Opportunities for researchers to learn from and engage with large research collaborations were highlighted at the Scottish Crucible Forum by Prof Arthur Trew (Deputy Director, Bayes Centre, University of Edinburgh), Prof David Lane (Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics) and Prof Tom Wagner (Co-Director of the Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University). The value of collaborative, interdisciplinary research approaches in tackling Grand Challenges and effecting impact were further discussed by invited speakers including Mr Ian Ritchie, non-executive Chairman of Tern plc and Computer Applications Service and Prof Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Assistant Deputy Principal (Research and Innovation) and Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions, Heriot-Watt University. Prof Maroto-Valer said after the event, “I am really impressed with the Alumni from Scottish Crucible. Congratulations on a decade of developing research leaders.”
A focus on researchers engaging with the public was emphasised in the Forum, both by the host, broadcaster Quentin Cooper, and by programme speakers such as Dr Hermione Cockburn, Scientific Director of Dynamic Earth and Steven Vass, Scottish Editor, The Conversation. Prof Lesley Yellowlees, University of Edinburgh, discussed the findings of the recently published “Tapping all our Talents” Review https://www.rse.org.uk/inquiries/womeninstem-2018/emphasising the demand for “more to be done” to increase the number and opportunities for women in STEM.
Concluding the Scottish Crucible 2018 Forum, Prof Richard Williams, Principal of Heriot-Watt University, and Dr Stuart Fancey, Director of Research and Innovation, Scottish Funding Council, highlighted the opportunities for “research leaders of the future” in Scotland. They emphasised the growing importance of multidisciplinary projects and collaboration with research partners in addressing global challenges and building international collaborations. Scottish Crucible Director, Dr Ruth Neiland, said “Collaboration, interdisciplinarity, innovation and leadership have been key, underpinning principles of Scottish Crucible for the past 10 years, and its Alumni are thus well placed to tackle a multiplicity of science and societal challenges and expand the boundaries of research and innovation in Scotland and internationally.”
Scottish Crucible is the premier leadership and development programme for Scotland’s “Research Leaders of the Future”. It inspires participants to be more ambitious, creative and collaborative in this research, establishing connections and collaborations beyond their own discipline and exploring ways their research can have wider impacts on society, culture and the economy: https://scottishcrucible.org.uk/
For further information, contact:
Scottish Crucible Directorate
Research Futures Academy
Heriot-Watt University
Research Futures Academy contact details Research Futures Academy is the new name for the Centre for Academic Leadership and Development.
If you’d like to contact us, please email or telephone as shown below or pop into our new Admin Office - LBB G.04. We look forward to hearing from you!
