Hello Everyone,
Welcome to the March 2021 issue of the Sussex Researcher.
We kick off with the news around a recent meeting that took place between ECRs and HR regarding the university's decision not to take part in the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) during second lockdown. The Research Staff Office would especially like to thank all ECRs who attended and took part. For those who were unable to attend, please check out the news story below for a viewable recording of the meeting along with a written summary. In terms of training provision for research staff, there are a number of items we'd particularly like to draw your attention to:
Finally - we just want to remind you that the Academic Promotions round is open until March 15th, and that Research Fellows are eligible to apply.
Best wishes,
The Research Staff Office
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- Preparing for leadership & management
- Improving your communication & writing
- Personal effectiveness
- Career development
- Understanding the academic context
- Mental health & wellbeing
- Data Management Skills
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Research Staff Office Events
Keeping up to date in your field - Tuesday 9th March, 12:00-13:00
Using DMP Online to write your data management plan - Wednesday 10th March, 14:00-14:45
Supporting PhD Students: Practical Tips - Thursday 18th March, 14:00-15:30
Making your research data available to support your publication - Friday 19th March, 10:00-11:00
How to Peer Review Manuscripts for Journals - Wednesday 24th March, 10:00-12:30
Pitch perfect: public speaking, networking & engaging - Wednesday 7th April, 10:00-13:00
Understanding Open Access publishing - Wednesday 7th April, 12:00-13:00
Attracting your own research funding - writing and applying for fellowships - Thursday 8th April, 14:00-17:00
Making your work more visible - Monday 12th April, 12:00-13:00
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Events organised by other teams
Making the most of your Elements profile - Monday 8th March, 12:00-13:00
Introduction to Management - Developing your management skills - Tuesday 9th March, 10:00-11:30
Effective Mentoring Skills for Mentors - Tuesday 9th March, 10:00-11:30
Microsoft Teams - Meeting Top Tips - webinar - Wednesday 10th March, 12:00-12:45
The Productive Researcher: how to keep writing - Thursday 11th March, 11:00-12:00
How to delegate effectively - Thursday 11th March, 12:00-13:30
Giving Effective Feedback - Tuesday 16th March, 10:00-11:30
Figures, images and visualising information - Tuesday 16th March, 13:00-16:00
One-day academic writing retreat - Thursday 18th March, 9:30-16:30
Becoming a Mentee - How to get the most from mentoring - Tuesday 23rd March, 10:00-11:30
How to edit your own writing - Wednesday 24th March, 13:30-16:30
Making the most of your Elements profile - Thursday 25th March, 12:00-13:00
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ECR Meeting with HR regarding Job Retention Scheme on 26th February Covid-19 crisis poses a unique set of challenges for those who are early in their research career and on fixed term contracts. Since the start of the pandemic, you will likely have been experiencing the upheaval and uncertainty of balancing the demands of family and caring responsibilities with a vastly changed landscape around your workload and ability to carry out tasks. At a recent Research Staff Representatives meeting, ECR representatives from different schools shared their concerns over University’s decision not to take part in the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme during this second lockdown. As a result of this discussion, the Research Staff Office organised for the HR Deputy Director, Keith Hart, to meet with ECRs across all schools to discuss their views about the university decision in a meeting that took place on Friday 26th February. The meeting was also attended by the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research, Prof Keith Jones, along with Heads of Schools from Psychology, Life Sciences and BSMS. The aim of the meeting was to provide an opportunity for ECRs to gain a greater understanding of the University’s decision to not take part in the JRS scheme during second lockdown, and to discuss what mitigating strategies can be put in place moving forward to deal with related concerns or issues facing the ECR community.
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Share your views in review of governance effectiveness at Sussex An external body has been appointed by Council and by Senate to undertake a review of the effectiveness of governance at the University of Sussex. To ensure appropriate independence, the review will be undertaken by management consultancy Halpin Partnership, who are experienced in the area of higher education governance and were appointed following a public tender process. The review will consider how effective the governance of Sussex is by focusing on key areas such as:
- decision making and accountability
- how we engage students and staff in the governance of the University
- the respective roles of Council, Senate and the relationships between them
- the culture of governance and its alignment with the University’s values
- ensuring the University can be agile, resilient and ready for the future
Halpin are keen to hear from all parts of the University; you can email comments to sussexreview@halpinpartnership.com at any time during the review consultation period, from 5 March until 28 May. The review process will also include one-to-one interviews; virtual discussion group sessions for members of Senate, staff and students; observations of committee meetings; a benchmarking exercise, and a review of key documents.
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Contribute to open knowledge justice this International Women’s Day! #IWD2021 Calling all Sussex researchers who care about gender equality: contribute to open knowledge justice this International Women’s Day! The theme for #IWD2021 is #ChooseToChallenge . We can choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequity. We can choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements. The Library is inviting you as Sussex researchers to do this by joining us in editing content on Wikipedia through an online collaborative Editathon workshop on Monday 8th March, 13:00-17:00 GMT, via Zoom. No prior Wikipedia editing experience is necessary – Library staff will equip you with the skills and tools for this and together we can make Wikipedia more representative of the diverse range of the knowledge produced by the diverse women of the world! How can researchers make a difference? As researchers, you are experts on your topic and as such you’ve actively chosen to dedicate your time to communicating information. You also have privileged access to world class information resources through Library subscriptions and research communities. We’re inviting you to use this privilege to improve content on world’s most popular open knowledge platform Wikipedia by joining the Women in Red movement. Contribute suggestions for Wikipedia pages that need editing or creating to better represent women via our padlet board . We’d love these suggestions to be drawn from the research interests of the Sussex community!
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Opportunities / External events
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Elsevier Researcher Academy - Free Online Modules on Research Collaborations Research collaborations are becoming increasingly common. Several research grants and career advancement opportunities are directly linked to research collaboration. Collaborations in research come in many forms, including co-authorship, research network building, joint research, and research partnerships. Early career researchers, in particular, stand to gain a lot from collaborations, either by getting involved in existing research groups, or by looking for collaborators whose skills are complementary to theirs. Access these modules and learn learn how (and why) to collaborate with industry, how international collaborations work, and how to create a sustain research collaborations over time.
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Apply NOW for Business Collaboration Fund (up to 5k to support projects) As part of the IAA Business Boost programme, academic Early Career Researchers can now apply for grants of up to £5,000, to enable business collaboration projects. This fund is available to academic staff, who define themselves as Early Career Researchers, working in areas eligible for ESRC funding from across the SeNSS institutions. This funding can cover the directly incurred costs of working on a project that will provide benefit to a business. This fund is a flexible means of enabling a wide range of commercial proposals, some potential uses of the fund may include, but are not limited to:
- Co-produced projects/activity which support the growth of the business.
- Working with the business to share best practice.
- Sharing of data and expertise with the business for the wider benefit of the business.
Projects must be undertaken as soon as possible, and be completed no later than 31st August 2021. This is a rolling call, and applications can be made immediately. You can find out more and apply here.
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Budget 2021: Sunak launches R&D tax review and visa shake-up *Article by Sophie Inge from Research Professional The chancellor has promised to lure “science superstars” to the UK to make the country a “scientific superpower” in his latest budget, where he also announced a review of R&D tax credits and a skilled visa shake-up. To this end, Sunak announced “ambitious visa reforms aimed at highly skilled migrants, including a new unsponsored points-based visa to attract the best and most promising international talent in science research and tech”. The changes would include a reform of the Global Talent Visa system used by researchers, including allowing holders of international prizes, and winners of scholarships and programmes for early promise, to automatically qualify. The budget documents said the government would also review the innovator visa to “make it easier for those with the skills and experience to found an innovative business to obtain a visa”. And there are plans to modernise the immigration sponsorship system to “make it easier to use”, with a delivery roadmap set to be published this summer.
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Research Funding
If applying for funding, remember to check funders' eligibility criteria carefully and discuss the opportunity with your host institution/department prior to preparing any applications.
Do look at Research Development webpages for guidance around applications
For more information about ECR Fellowships, check out our new webpage:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/staff/research/researchstaff/funding/fellowship-opportunities
For Coronavirus information for research grant applicants & grant holders check out:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/staff/research/development/covid-19 |
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University research fellowships
These enable early-career scientists who have the potential to become leaders in their field to build an independent research career in the natural sciences. Fellowships are awarded for five years, but extensions may be awarded for three additional years.
Deadline for Applications: 7th September 2021
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Dorothy Hodgkin fellowships
These enable early-career scientists who require a flexible working pattern due to personal circumstance to take the first step into an independent research career. Fellowships last for five years.
Deadline for Applications: 10th November 2021
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