Hello Everyone,
Welcome to this November 2019 issue of the Sussex Researcher.
We are are particularly excited to tell you about two sets of activities / initiatives this month:
Firstly, we are delighted that, together with some of our "sister" groups across the University, we will be supporting Sussex Researchers to engage with the annual international initiative that is "Academic Writing Month". Check out the news item below to:
- find out more about #AcWriMo;
- set, publicly state, and update progress on your personal writing goal for the month via an accountability spreadsheet;
- engage with the suite of provision the University has put on this November - December to support you in your writing efforts.
Secondly, we are thrilled to launch our new Research Staff Office area on Canvas where we have begun to develop and deploy a range of e-learning materials and self-help resources to support you with your careers (whether that involves remaining as a researcher in academia, or looking further afield).
Finally - as always, we invite you to get in touch with ideas and feedback - why not come along and join us for a free lunch in the Meeting House on Tuesday 5th November to meet and talk with us face-to-face?
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Best wishes,
The Research Staff Office Team (Hayley Cordingley and Alex Aghajanian)
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Workshops & Events - Autumn term
- Preparing for leadership & management
- Improving your academic writing
- Personal effectiveness
- Research skills development
- Understanding the academic context
- Mental health & wellbeing
- Community events
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Events organised by other teams
Using reference management tools - Zotero - Tuesday 5th November, 14:00 - 16:00
Understanding publication metrics - Wednesday 6th November, 11:00 - 12:45
Overcoming Perfectionism and Imposter Phenomenon - Wednesday 13th November, 13:30 - 16:30
The Joint Clinical Research Office - Wednesday 20th November, 14:00 - 15:00
Understanding and Using your Strengths - Tuesday 26th November, 09:30 - 16:30
Practice Research and REF2021 - Wednesday 27th November, 10:30 - 17:00
Finding Balance - In the Mind-Set - Thursday 28th November, 09:30 - 12:30
Managing your research data - Monday 2nd December, 10:15 - 13:00
Mental Health Awareness - Tuesday 3rd December, 09:15 - 12:45
Managing Mental Health at Work - Tuesday 3rd December, 13:15 - 16:45
Early Career Fellowships in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - Wednesday 4th December, 13:00 - 14:00
Figures, images and visualising information - Tuesday 10th December, 10:00 - 13:00
Posters: designing, presenting and networking - Tuesday 10th December, 14:00 - 17:00 |
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Featured Event RSO Monthly Lunch - Free buffet in the Meeting House 12:30 to 13:45 As mentioned in our last newsletter, the RSO are very pleased that for 2019-2020 we are able to host a buffet lunch for members of Research Staff on the first Tuesday of every month (during term time) - put it in your diaries now! Sometimes we have a theme (for example: October was a welcome to new starters event; December will focus on engaging and networking with our international researchers), and other times we will be more organic. This November, we are having a general networking and well-being lunch. There will not be any formal presentation / speaker, but come along and informally:
- Share in a free buffet lunch with your peers and the Research Staff Office
- Build your social and support network within the Research Staff community here at Sussex
- Get away from the lab / office / writing project to get a bit of a breather / "time out"
- Be able to talk about issues, find help, share top tips and/or contribute ideas of things you would like to see put in place at Sussex (possibly on the theme of well-being)
- Play with Hayleys Cuttlebug and Letter, Number and/or Seaside motif dies to really get your head in a different place for 30 mins or so!
All staff on Research-only contracts are welcome at all events - just sign up so we can order in the right amount of food.
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November is Academic Writing Month (#AcWriMo)... ...and the University has organised some extra support to help you with your writing! What is AcWriMo? Set up in 2011, AcWriMo is an annual web-based writing event, challenging participants to meet a self-set writing goal during the month of November. The essence of AcWriMo is that individuals make a personal decision to engage and commit to:
- Set yourself one or more writing goals. These might be to achieve a certain wordcount, put in a particular number of hours, or reach certain milestones on one or more writing projects
- Make those goals public. Traditionally this was done by using a publicly viewable “accountability spreadsheet” (e.g. we have organised one for 2019 on Google docs), however some people simply use the social media hashtag #AcWriMo.
- Plan an approach for the month. Make sure you have done enough preparation to write a lot: carve out some time slots to dedicate to writing; think about whether you want to spend this time in a different location (the Hive is a great place to really focus on getting to grips with your writing).
- Share / discuss your progress through the month - using social media and/or the accountability spreadsheet. Consider signing up to one of more of the free coaching events/fora set up for the month – e.g. Katy Peplins resources and community
- Work really hard and don’t get distracted! Some tricks to maintain momentum might be to buddy up with someone else (either in person, or virtually); think about using the Pomodoro technique to help you measure/keep track of your progress
- At the end of the month, publicly declare your results. By doing this the whole writing community can celebrate the collective achievement, but also know what didn’t work and learn from each other about how to improve (goal setting / time management / being realistic) for the next writing projects.
How do Institutions engage with it? Different Universities encourage and support their researchers / academic staff to engage with AcWriMo in different ways (e.g. a group of Universities have collaborated to run WriteFest 2019). Here at Sussex the RSO, RDP and Hive are all putting on a range of special events to support our researchers to improve, and achieve, their writing goals through November. What is the RSO doing? 1) We have organised to deliver a range of special webinars and workshops to support you with various aspects of your academic writing:
2) We have arranged a limited number of 1:1 " coaching for writing" opportunities to help researchers with specific academic writing goals - see next item in this newsletter 3) We will be highlighting support from our sister groups across the University, and arranging various "pop-up" events through Nov-Dec on topics related to Academic Writing. Monitor our @SussexResearchr twitter feed, and open your e-mails to see what's going on!
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Free 1-2-1 writing coaching sessions for research staff Are you struggling with a publication deadline? Do you need help with time management or developing a more effective writing process? If so, you might benefit from 1-2-1 coaching. The RSO has engaged experienced facilitator and coach Dr Catherine Pope to deliver a limited number of coaching sessions to Research Staff at the University of Sussex - at no cost to yourselves. What areas can I get coaching on? Typical topics addressed in these coaching sessions are: Planning your writing; Developing a schedule; Finding motivation; Improving focus; Overcoming perfectionism Topics that are not covered are: Grammar or style; Writing in English as a second language; Writing in specific disciplines; Analysis / methodology / theory What is the format of the coaching sessions? The sessions last one hour and are conducted by phone, over Zoom, or in person at Catherine’s office in central Brighton*. How do I apply for a session? Interested parties need to complete the online form which the RSO will review. As spaces are limited, a coaching session is not guaranteed. The first tranche of successful applicants will be notified on the 7th Nov. If spaces remain / become available after that time, a second review will take place on 14th Nov and the second tranche of successful applicants notified. How do I book the session? If your application is successful, you will receive a link to book your session directly with Catherine. Appointments are available at different times between 8th Nov and 10th Dec - all sessions must take place by 10th Dec. What happens if I can't make the session after all? You can change or cancel your appointment online. However, if you are no longer able to attend and do not cancel at least 24 hours in advance, you may be charged £90. *If you would prefer a face-to-face appointment and are unable to travel to central Brighton, please contact RSO to arrange a session on campus.
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Canvas area launched for Research Staff We are very pleased to announce the launch our new Research Staff Office area on Canvas. The goal of this site is to give you a suite of resources available "on demand" to help you with your personal and professional development - to help you identify and succeed in your future career, whether that is in academia or elsewhere. We have structured the site in two different ways to help you access relevant information easily:
- According to career themes
- According to category of materials
 We hope you enjoy accessing this site, and as always we welcome feedback from our community on making this area even more useful to you!
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Community news - Research Staff Gathering at the School of Education & Social Work Thanks to those of you who attended the ESW Research Staff Gathering event organised with the Research Staff Reps ( Anna Ridgewell and Birgul Kutan) on the 17th of July. We were delighted that so many of you could make it, that you said you enjoyed yourselves :) For anyone that couldn't make the event, or are in a different school and interested to know about the RSO introductory slidepacks - please feel free to view this from the "useful slidepacks" section in our canvas area. We’re keen to hear if there is appetite for more events: social, professional development opportunities or both - get in touch with us if you are interested in having something similar for your school or group!
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Community news - "Lunch and Learn" Seminars on Consultancy and Intellectual Property During the month of October, and in response to a request from the Research Staff in the Engineering & Informatics, the Research Staff Office hosted two "brown bag" seminars aimed at introducing what is consultancy and its benefits as well as understanding intellectual property and patenting. Feedback from participants included: "It was useful to learn that the university encourages consultancy and how the process has now been made more user friendly."
"Encouraging that the university recognises consulting as an important source of income and to see someone enthusiastic about it trying to drive changes" If you would like to access a video recording of the seminar on intellectual property and patenting (as well as access the slide pack) then self-enroll to our Canvas area and click on the "recordings of face-to-face events" section at the bottom of the homepage!
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University news - University of Sussex appoints two Deputy PVCs of Research (0.5 FTE each) Two outstanding academics from the School of Engineering and Informatics have been given key leadership roles supporting Sussex’s research and business engagement activities. The University is pleased to announce that Professor Sriram Subramanian and Professor Anna Barnett have been appointed joint Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellors of Research. Professor Subramanian’s role will be focused on building grant capture and research performance while Professor Barnett will specialise in business engagement and industrial strategy. They will work alongside Professor Gordon Harold in his capacity as Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Excellence Framework). Both Sriram and Anna will be in their roles as Deputy PVCs for Research at 0.5 FTE each.
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University news - New Dignity and Respect Policy at Sussex The University launched the new Dignity and Respect policy at the recent VC Open Forum. Adam Tickell, Vice Chancellor said: “This policy is something I have wanted us to develop since I joined Sussex and it complements our core values of kindness, integrity, inclusion, collaboration and courage that we set out in Sussex 2025 and that we seek to embody in all we do.” The policy sets out that:
- The University takes a zero tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination, bullying and harassment, and violence
- All allegations of discrimination, bullying, harassment and violence will be dealt with and treated as a serious matter
- Disciplinary action will be taken if necessary
- Our community know what behaviours are expected of them
- We will monitor and review our performance on promoting dignity and respect, and the effectiveness of this policy on an ongoing basis
- We will hold ourselves to account with an annual assurance report provided to Council
To find out more about the policy and how to get involved, look at the new Dignity and Respect web pages where you can find out more about the new dignity champion roles, complete the online Diversity in the Workplace training, and find out how to seek advice should you have an issue you would like addressing.
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Opportunities / External events
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Sussex's Festival of Social Science events:
2nd - 9th Nov The ESRC have announced their programme of events for Festival of Social Science – a series of public engagement events that are social science-focused – all of which will take place across the UK between 2-9 November 2019. There are over 450 events being held across the UK. Events will cover a wide range of topics - AI, mental health, sexuality, parenting, weather, gender, ageing, love, death, economics and education, to name but a few. Eight upcoming events will showcase University of Sussex projects and researchers as part of the Economic and Social Research Councils (ESRC) Festival of Social Science. These events were supported through the University of Sussex ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. Events include:
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Three VITAE surveys that you may wish to participate in...
Close on 6th, 20th and 29th Nov 1) Researcher perceptions of incentives and disincentives for research integrity - by 6th Nov Vitae, in partnership with UKRIO, have been commissioned by Research England to conduct a study exploring what motivates researchers to maintain high standards of research integrity. The study aims to understand pressures, incentives, disciplinary norms, and personal motivations that may affect the way research is carried out. Researchers at all career stages, including doctoral candidates from all disciplines, based in the UK, are invited to participate in this large-scale survey. Complete the survey here ( closing date Wednesday 6 November 2019) 2) Review of Staff Development and Support Provision for Academic Research across UK Higher Education Institutions - by 29th Nov This survey is open for research-active academic staff, regardless of career stage or level of engagement, across the UK’s Higher Education Institutions and results will provide an evidence-based outline of the current position across the UK to help improve training, support and professional development in higher education. The survey will help identify examples of good practice that can be shared and mainstreamed and will also identify whether there are important gaps in researcher development and training provisions at key stages of a research-active member’s career that should be filled. By taking part in the survey , you will help make a contribution to achieving a good and healthy research environment, and helping further embed the reputation of UK Higher Education in an increasingly competitive world research environment. Complete the survey here ( closing date Friday 29 November 2019) 3) Responsible Research and Innovation Networking Globally (RRING) survey - by 20th Nov This survey aims to explore how good practices are established in different research and innovation contexts across the world and we are looking for respondents working in research and/or innovation from research institutes, funders, industry and policy bodies. This global survey forms a part of the EU Horizon 2020 ‘Responsible Research and Innovation Networking Globally’ (RRING) project. Complete the survey here ( closing date Wednesday 20 November 2019)
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Call for Participants: interviews for online course on Research Integrity
1st week of Dec Epigeum, part of Oxford University Press, is seeking postdoctoral researchers, PhD students and early-career researchers for filmed interviews (to be held at the University of Sussex in the first week of December) to be featured in an upcoming online learning course about Research Integrity. Researchers will be expected to talk about their own experiences in a variety of areas, including research planning, data management and publishing. A £50 honorarium is available to participants selected for filming. If you would like to take part, please email rachael.grant@oup.com for further information, including ‘Research Integrity Filming – University of Sussex’ in the subject header.
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LinkedIn: Set up and search Are you considering moving your career away from academic research? Are you curious about what people with similar backgrounds and interests to you have ended up doing - perhaps without people knowing you’ve been looking at them? Do you want to find out more about specific roles / companies / jobs? Or have you simply always wondered what’s the “big deal” with LinkedIn? Uploaded on to our Research Staff Office Canvas Area is a slidepack from a recently delivered LinkedIn mini-workshop. It states that by the end of the slidepack you will understand how to:
- Use LinkedIn as a research tool
- Use LinkedIn as a “shop window”
To access the slidepack you will need to self-enroll to our Research Staff Office Area on Canvas and click on the "useful presentations" icon found at the bottom of the home page.
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Sector initiatives to know about...
Understanding the Academic Context:
Bite-size briefing #1
According to the Biennial Pulse Survey, researchers at the University are quite knowledgeable about some sector initiatives, but are unfamiliar with others - some of which are quite important for academic research careers. So over the next few newsletters, we thought we would give you some "bite-size briefings" to help familiarize you with the 13 initiatives you were asked about in the survey:
- Vitae, a non-profit programme that is part of The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Ltd, states it is “the global leader in supporting the professional development of researchers…”
- Initially supported by specific funds from the UK Government, from 2015 onwards it became self-sustaining via institutions joining a membership programme.
- Sussex University is a member of Vitae, meaning that any member of staff (with a @sussex.ac.uk e-mail address) can register with the organisation for free and access a wealth of online resources and publications to support their professional development and career decisions, as well as find out about and contribute to sector policy and feed into various sector impact/evaluation/research initiatives.
- Vitae holds an annual conference where staff involved in the support of the Research Staff (so called "Researcher Developers" such as the RSO and Doctoral School) meet, discuss policy and share practice.
2) Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF)
- The RDF “describes the knowledge, behaviour and attributes of successful researchers.”
- A number of Vitae member organisations cross-reference the provision they give to their Doctoral and Postdoctoral researchers according to the RDF domains:
- Domain A: Knowledge and intellectual abilities: The knowledge, intellectual abilities and techniques to do research
- Domain B: Personal effectiveness: The personal qualities and approach to be an effective researcher
- Domain C: Research governance and organisation:
- Knowledge of the professional standards and requirements to do research
- Domain D: Engagement, influence and impact: The knowledge and skills to work with others to ensure the wider impact of research
- Within the RSO, we acknowledge the usefulness of the RDF and associated lenses – particularly as a reflection tool to help researchers think about and articulate the skills they have already developed, and potentially identify areas they want to develop further.
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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 |
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Advanced clinician scientist fellowship
This provides clinician scientists with the opportunity to develop independence and leadership in their field of academic research. The fellowship is awarded for a duration of up to five years.
Deadline for Applications: 4th December 2019
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Career development fellowship
This enables scientists without a salaried independent position to set up their first independent cancer research group. The fellowship covers salaries for the fellow, one postdoctoral researcher and one technician, and associated running expenses and equipment costs over up to six years.
Deadline for Applications: 5th February 2020
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Senior cancer research fellowship
This enables scientists to further develop their own research programme in any area of the CRUK’s funding remit, with the exception of clinical trials and drug discovery. The fellowship is tenable for six years or equivalent duration for part-time working.
Deadline for Applications: 5th February 2020
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Research fellowships in science or engineering
These give early-career scientists or engineers the opportunity to conduct an innovative research project of their own instigation. Approximately eight fellowships are available for up to three years, some of which are designated the Brunel fellowship for an engineering project.
Deadline for Applications: 6th February 2020
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Sir Henry Wellcome postdoctoral fellowships
These enable newly qualified postdoctoral researchers to start independent research careers in high quality research environments. Fellowships are worth up to £300,000 over four years.
Deadline for Applications: 15th April 2020
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