Hello Everyone,
Welcome to the June 2020 issue of the Sussex Researcher. We hope you all have been keeping well and safe in these times.
In terms of training provision for our research staff, there are a number of items on we'd particularly like to draw your attention to:
Also in this edition, many of you may have already heard about the University subscription to LinkedIn Learning, which contains more than 10,000 courses to help you discover and develop technology-related and creative skills. To help you get started, the Research Staff Office have put together collections that may be useful for early-career researchers for easy access.
And finally, we were so pleased to see so many of you at the Early-Career Researcher Forum that took place on 20th May, were research staff met alongside professional service colleagues to share their questions about furlough, return to work, and professional development support. For those who were not able to attend, please check out the news story below for a viewable recording of the forum.
Best wishes,
The Research Staff Office Team (Hayley Cordingley and Alex Aghajanian)
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- Preparing for leadership & management
- Improving your communication & writing
- Personal effectiveness
- Career development
- Understanding the academic context
- Mental health & wellbeing
- Community events
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Research Staff Office Events
Careers beyond research: applying your skills outside academia - Tuesday 23rd June, 10:30-13:30
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Early-Career Researcher Forum - 20th May 2020 In view of the difficulties and uncertainties inherent in Covid-19 situation, the Research Staff Office organised an Early-Career Researcher (ECR) Forum that took place on Wednesday 20th of May, in order to hear the views of the research staff community about what additional support would help in navigating this difficult period. The meeting was chaired by Prof Sarah Guthrie, Head of School of Life Sciences, and included representatives from HR and other professional services colleagues. Questions were answered about return to work and furloughs, and information was provided about the university support available to research staff during this period.
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LinkedIn Learning - What's in it for Research Staff? Would you like the opportunity to develop a wide range of research and transferable skills through expert-led online courses? LinkedIn Learning is an online library that houses over 10,000 high quality tutorials on a range of topics that can contribute towards your personal and professional development. All the tutorials are delivered by specialists and are very reliable. Head over to the IT Services website to log in – and view the intro video by Alexander Butler who explains the things you need to know the first time you log in. Course Collections for Research Staff The Research Staff Office have curated some collections of courses to guide research staff to potentially useful resources. Once you have activated your institutional LinkedIn Learning account, each link below should take you directly to the relevant collection of courses:
- Communication Skills
The collection focuses on enhancing your communication skills, from tips on presentation skills, professional networking, and public speaking skills
- Productivity and Time Management Skills
This collection focuses on task and project management techniques and includes courses on time management techniques
- Quantitative Research Skills
This collection focuses on quantitative research methods, statistics training, and stats software packages. It includes courses focusing on SPSS, R, Python Statistics, and Tableau.
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Views sought on the impact of Covid-19 on researchers and the UK research base The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has commissioned Vitae, supported by UKRI and Universities UK, to gather evidence to understand the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on the activities of researchers and research groups. This evidence will inform BEIS’s consideration and design of potential interventions to help protect researchers, research institutions and facilities, and in the longer term reinforce the research base and sustain research and innovation activity in the UK. All researchers employed in UK universities, research institutes, charities and companies are invited to respond to the survey. . The survey will be open until Tuesday 9 June.
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Opportunities / External events
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Online Course on Supporting PhD Students Are you a PhD supervisor or about to become one? If so, this online course provides you with practical tips, resources, and ideas for improving the supervisory relationship. Through videos and activities, the course addresses the key challenges of supporting research students throughout their PhD towards successful completion. Topics include coaching techniques, academic writing, and managing the impact of mental health issues. The course comprises:
- 25 short videos for you to watch at your own pace
- Captions and transcripts throughout
- Downloadable templates
*The Research Staff Office have negotiated free access for a limited number of research staff at the University of Sussex. Please contact the Research Staff Office to obtain a free access code.
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Free Learning Programmes for Early Career Researchers Are you an early-career researcher embarking on your first article? Or are the mid-career challenges of juggling competing pressures more of a pressing concern? How Researchers Changed the World podcast, in partnership with Global research publisher Taylor & Francis Group, have designed two free learning programmes to help you supercharge your research career, boost your impact and help you discover how your research can change the world.
When you sign up you’ll receive a chapter via email each week. You can then explore the chapter at the time that works best for you. Over 12 weeks those chapters will build into an indispensable guide you can continue to use throughout your research career.
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Lockdown toll on research & wellbeing revealed by response to Covid-19 survey SMaRteN and Vitae, on behalf of the sector, have surveyed doctoral researchers and early career research staff in UK universities about the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions since 16 March 2020 on their working lives. The survey was launched on 16 April and to date 4,800 researchers have responded, consisting approximately of two thirds doctoral researchers and one third research staff. Key findings include:
- 70 per cent of respondents are worried about their finances
- Two thirds are very worried about their future plans
- Half report being very stressed about their work
- 40 per cent of the staff say their research contract ends during 2020
- Only 12 per cent of final year PhDs were provided with an option to extend their studies
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Physicist creates fifth state of matter from their living room A physicist has created the fifth state of matter working from home using quantum technology. Dr Amruta Gadge, Research Fellow from the Quantum Systems and Devices Laboratory, successfully created a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) at the University of Sussex facilities despite working remotely from her living room two miles away. Dr Gadge was able to make the complex calculations then optimising and running the sequence from her home by accessing the lab computers remotely. She said: “The research team has been observing lockdown and working from home and so we have not been able to access our labs for weeks. But we were determined to keep our research going so we have been exploring new ways of running our experiments remotely. It has been a massive team effort. *Broadcast news story by Neil Vowles
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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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The Humanities and Social Sciences Tackling Global Challenges Programme 2020
Awards of up to £50,000 and for 24 months in duration are available. The British Academy welcomes submissions at all levels of funding up to £50,000, including below £10,000. All projects must begin before 15 March 2021.
Deadline for Applications: 1st July 2020
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Sir Henry Dale fellowships
These support postdoctoral researchers who aim to become independent scientists leading their own groups addressing an important research question within their scientific remit. Fellowships are tenable for five years and usually provide around £1.2 million, including salary and research expenses.
Deadline for Applications: 10th September 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 include an award of £300,000 over four years and a fellowship supplement of £2,500 per year for personal support.
Deadline for Applications: 29th September 2020
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