Category / RKE development framework

Online training opportunity: Writing for The Conversation

Would you like to build a media profile and take your research to a global audience?

Find out more about writing for The Conversation and have the chance to pitch your article ideas to one of their editors in an online training session on Wednesday 7 December.

BU is a partner of The Conversation, a news analysis and opinion website with content written by academics working with professional journalists.

The training session will run by one of The Conversation’s editors and will take place from 2pm – 3pm over Zoom.

It is open to all BU academics and PhD candidates who are interested in finding out more about working with The Conversation.

Learn how to consider the news potential of your expertise, make your writing accessible and engaging to a diverse range of audiences, and pitch your ideas.

Why write for The Conversation?

The Conversation is a great way to share research and informed comment on topical issues. Academics work with editors to write pieces, which can then be republished via a creative commons license.

Since we first partnered with The Conversation, articles by BU authors have had over 8.8 million reads and been republished by the likes of The i, Metro, and the Washington Post.

Book your place via Eventbrite

Find out more about our partnership with The Conversation on the Research Impact, Engagement and Communications Sharepoint site

Upcoming research communication training opportunities

Find out how engaging with the media can help lead to research impact and learn more about working with The Conversation in upcoming online training sessions:

Engaging with the media for impactWednesday 23rd November, 2pm – 3.30pm (online)

Explore how working with the media can raise the profile of your research and lead to impact. Take away practical tips on talking to journalists, tracking the impact of media coverage and finding the best ways to reach your target audiences.

Book now

Writing for The Conversation – Wednesday 7th December 2022, 2pm – 3pm (online)

BU is a partner of The Conversation, a news analysis and opinion website with content written by academics working with professional journalists. Find out more about writing for The Conversation and have the chance to pitch your article ideas to one of their editors.

Learn how to consider the news potential of your expertise, how to look for story hooks and angles from the news or your research, and how to write a quality pitch.

Book now

The sessions take place as part of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Framework (RKEDF) – advance booking is essential.

To find about more about research communications and to book onto the upcoming sessions, please visit the Research Impact, Engagement and Communications Sharepoint site

Research Leadership Training Programme – Open for nominations

Following on from the successful pre Covid Research Leadership programme, (consistently rated 4+ out of 5), we are running a similar face to face programme in 2023. This programme supports the development of all academics including Early Career Researchers, Mid-Career Academics, Senior Research Leaders and Associate Professors.

 

Participants will :

  • Be helped to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to lead teams to successfully deliver funded research projects, in line with stakeholder and funder requirements.
  • Gain an understanding of effective team leadership and team working within a research context in order to be able to devise strategies to get the best out of teams in the challenging environment of research.
  • Be equipped with an understanding of their strengths and limitations in order to be confident in developing their leadership skills in line with their career stage and future aspirations and be more confident to expand their funded research activities.

 

Quotes from previous cohort(s):

“Totally relevant to tasks we have to undertake and very enjoyable learning experience”, (Early Career);

“Excellent workshop, learned a lot of useful information I didn’t know”, (Mid-Career); and

“Fantastic tools were given for future leaders both in research and academic leadership”, (Senior Research Leader).

 

There is a MS Forms here. The deadline is the 9th December 2022.

Please be aware that is NOT a course on bid writing.

 

If you have any queries, please contact RKEDF@Bournemouth.ac.uk

Impact and Funding Bids workshop -Thursday 7th November

There are still places available for this online workshop, facilitated by Eva Papadapoulou, Research Facilitator and Amanda Lazar, Impact Advisor.

Writing about impact in a grant application can be challenging. However, a strong description of the benefits you hope your project will have on society and the economy, and the means you will take to get there, can make all the difference between getting funded or not.

The RKEDF online training session will help you understand what you need to include for the best chance of success and look at the different ways impact may be considered within each call.

Since the UKRI removed the Pathways to Impact sections of grant applications, they actually expect impact to be even more embedded within funding bids. So, how do you write about impact in grant applications? And what counts as impact?

This session is aimed at researchers at all stages of their careers but is likely to be especially useful for ECRs preparing their first funding bids.

Book your place

 

New Research Impact, Engagement and Communications Sharepoint Site!

We are proud to launch our new Research Impact, Engagement and Communications Sharepoint site!  

This is your one stop shop for all things impact, public engagement and research communications within RDS. 

On the site, you will find resources for communicating your research, increasing its impact and engaging the public with your research. 

You’ll find links to RKEDF training sessions, guides to impact, public engagement and research communications along with information about useful contacts within RDS and news about the REF. 

The site is easily navigable and is divided into three sections: 

 Research Impact: 

This section outlines how we can help you to plan, accelerate and evidence the impact of your research and includes resources, contact details of our Impact Advisers and links to useful information on impact pathways, the REF and impact training. 

Public Engagement with Research: 

In this section, we explain how we can help when you want to engage with the public to share your research. The ways to do this are many and varied but ultimately, high quality public engagement has huge benefits for BU, for society and for you – the academic. Here you can find links to advice, training and funding along with the contact details of our Public Engagement team and details of how to join the thriving BU Public Engagement Network.  

Research Communications: 

Here, we offer you support and guidance on the different ways of sharing your research with different audiences. This includes working with the media (including our partnership with The Conversation), writing for the web and using social media. 

The site will be updated regularly and has been designed to be as user friendly as possible. Please make sure you bookmark and keep checking back regularly for updates and news. 

 

 

BU’s Early Career Researcher Network

Support and skills development for early career researchers at BU

The BU Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network is designed to support early career researchers and PGRs at BU, offering general advice and support as well as tailored workshops for skills training and career development.

The network also provides an opportunity to network and form connections – creating a community in which expertise can be shared, and collaborative working encouraged.

It is open to all who identify as being in the early stages of their research career – whether you’re a Postgraduate Researcher, newly-appointed academic, or you’re returning to research.

The network meets monthly, with events and networking opportunities. Upcoming workshops will cover academic publishing, public engagement and impact, and pay and promotion – as well as regular drop-in surgeries where you can pop in for a chat or discuss particular concerns.

The first ECR Network event of the academic year takes place on Wednesday 28 September, with a welcome and surgery session.

There is also a dedicated Brightspace community to share ideas, ask questions and access support and resources.

The ECR network is coordinated by two academic leads, Dr Sam Goodman (FMC) and Professor Ann Hemingway (HSS), and is supported by Research Development and Support (RDS).

Dr Goodman said: “The BU Early Career Researcher Network is a great way to connect with other ECRs from across the university, learn new skills and get access to mentoring, coaching and career development in a crucial phase in your career.

“We cover all the issues facing researchers that we can, from academic subjects like how to publish, how to engage the public and develop impact, through to how to deal with work/life balance and managing imposter syndrome. However, the ECR Network is driven by its members – if there is a topic you need impartial help or guidance with, then this is the forum in which to raise it.”

You can find out more about the ECR network and see the full schedule of events for 2022/23 on the ECR Network page. 

If you’d like to join the network, or you have any questions, please contact: RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk

Upcoming Research Impact Workshops

There are three Research Impact training workshops coming up over the next few weeks:

Anatomy of a case study is a 2-hour in-person workshop in Fusion  – 8th September, 13:00-15:00.

In this workshop we will be examining REF impact case study examples from REF2021 and identifying what makes an excellent case study. There will also be an opportunity to start building your own impact case study.

Getting Started with Research Impact: what is it? is an online workshop – 16th September, 10:00-11:00.

We will look at the impact basics – what research impact is and why it matters in funding applications, for the REF and for your research career. You will find out how to turn your research into impact and how your research can benefit society/the economy.

Evidencing Impact is online – 12th October 14:00-15:00.

We will look at how to evidence your research impact – what counts as evidence, how to find creative ways of getting it, what qualitative and quantitative evidence is needed for a REF impact case study and how to gather and store it.

You can sign up for these sessions here: RKEDF – Workshop Booking Form (office.com)

 

 

 

 

Vitae Conference – Career Development of Researchers

On 29th June, Vitae are visiting BU and running a series of events in one day to promote the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

It’s an exciting day, with sessions including:

  • An introduction to the Concordat, why it matters, and what BU is doing to engage with the agenda
  • Training for researchers on the value of professional development and how to maximise your performance
  • Training for managers of researchers on the role of professional development
  • An informal discussion about where a PhD and a post-doc position can take you career wise (spoiler alert, it’s not just a traditional academic pathway!) and networking.

The Eventbrite sign-up page can be found here – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vitae-conference-2022-tickets-348638736847

It’s a great opportunity for many colleagues, and we hope too a moment to consider the all round amazingness of research and to take some time to celebrate life as a researcher!

We look forward to seeing you there!  

Engaging in professional development – a workshop for researchers

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

On 29th June, Vitae are visiting BU and running a series of events in one day to promote the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

One of the events running 11-1pm will be focused on Engaging in professional development and is a workshop directed at researchers.

The workshop will introduce participants to tools to assist them in managing their own professional development planning, exploring concepts, and techniques to assist them in setting, pursuing and achieving their career goals. It will be based around the Researcher Development Framework (RDF) and how it can be incorporated into their planning to effectively support their career development.

The workshop will explore:

• What we mean by professional development planning

• Why it should matter to researchers

• The core skills and attributes of effective researchers

• How to identify one’s own skills and attributes

• How to approach building a career development plan

By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed an understanding of the key concepts of career development, considered their current skillset, and started to design a roadmap to bridge the gap between the two, using the RDF.

Booking can be made here – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vitae-conference-2022-tickets-348638736847

You can book on one workshop or all day. Other sessions include:

  • An introduction to the Concordat, why it matters, and what BU is doing to engage with the agenda
  • Supporting researchers’ professional development – a workshop for managers
  • An informal discussion about where a PhD and a post-doc position can take you career wise (spoiler alert, it’s not just a traditional academic pathway!) and networking.

 

Supporting researchers’ professional development – a workshop for managers

Photo by name_ gravity on Unsplash

On 29th June, Vitae are visiting BU and running a series of events in one day to promote the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

One of the events running 11-1pm, will be focused on Supporting researchers’ professional development and is a workshop directed at managers but is also suitable for research mentors.

Participants will explore how best to apply the standards laid out in the Concordat as they relate to supporting their team members’ professional development. Using an interactive approach, this workshop will facilitate a discussion around supporting researcher careers, giving participants the opportunity to share advice, good practice and practical tips for helping their team members to take control of their careers by engaging in professional development planning.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be confident in:

• Understanding what we mean by professional development for researchers, and why it matters

• Recognising best practice in supporting others’ professional development

• Applying that knowledge in their own team

Booking can be made here – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vitae-conference-2022-tickets-348638736847

You can book on one workshop or all day. Other sessions include:

  • An introduction to the Concordat, why it matters, and what BU is doing to engage with the agenda
  • Engaging in professional development – a workshop for researchers
  • An informal discussion about where a PhD and a post-doc position can take you career wise (spoiler alert, it’s not just a traditional academic pathway!) and networking.