*Apologies for cross-posting
Dear Colleagues,
Bellow, please find the latest news from Vitae.
Best wishes,
Beata
News for staff supporting researchers
We are pleased to announce that joining HEFCE in its initiative to improve equality and diversity in researcher careers in HEIs are the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (DELNI). The involvement of all the funding bodies in this project underlines the importance of equality and diversity and support for Concordat throughout UK.
Events relating to the project are running at the following locations:
- Leeds - 13 May
- Bristol - 19 May
- Warwick - 20 May
- Scotland - June (date tbc)
- National conference
- London - 3 June
By the 21 April you will be able to access the following online:
- following sector feedback via the survey and specialist input from the Equality Challenge Unit, an updated final version of the Researcher Development Framework will be available. The top level Researcher Development Statement, including the domains, sub-domains and descriptors are already confirmed.
- an updated version of the downloadable excel professional development planning tool will be available. This will take into account the minor adjustments to the Researcher Development Framework language and will have updated functionality
- the methodology used by Vitae to map learning materials and programmes to the Researcher Development Framework will be published
- a report on the top level results of the Researcher Development Framework
New improved Database of Practice launches second week May
In response to feedback from our stakeholders, we have revisited the Database of Practice (DoP) to make it more user friendly for those wishing to contribute profiles of good practice and those searching for examples of good practice.
The focus has been on improving the overall performance of the database - decreasingloading times, improving the search functionality and introducing some improved ways of exploring practices. The new versionwill be searchable by and incorporate the Impact Framework and Researcher Development Framework. It will also have an auto-save function for adding and editing practices.
Look out for the relaunch of the DoP scheduled for week commencing 9 May 2011!
News for researchers
'What's up doc?' is a new blog which provides a forum for postgraduate researchers to share experience, give information and tips on matters relevant to them in a fun, yet informed way.
As part of the launch we will run a free blog training day in Birmingham on 12 May. Apart from learning what makes a good blog post, we will also explore how to increase your online profile. To apply:
We will select applicants based on this and reimburse reasonable travel expenses. Places are limited.
EVENT! Places still available on the next
Audience: postgraduate researchers
Location: Bournemouth
The course is 3 days long and open to 80 postgraduate researchers. Do not miss out!
The Collaborative Researcher programme has recently been piloted in Nottingham, with 35 participants representing both postgraduate researchers and research staff. The programme explored individuals own strengths, the importance of collaboration, how to spot opportunities and how to embark on the complex process of collaboration. Feedback from the course has been extremely positive, and some exciting discussions about collaborative projects are already underway.
One participant reported that "I would now actively look for collaboration in my project. Also I would do the following things differently; management of project, building effective research time, application for funding, dealing with difficult people in my group, collaboration with in and outside of university."
The course will be held again later in the year, with more details to follow.
