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Welcome to this month's ECR Newsletter where you will find key information on the following’:

• RDRC Courses
• ECR Liaison Forum
• Online Writing Groups for ECRs
• Doing Research with Artists - drop in session
• Research Software Engineers (RSEs) Group
• Researcher Led Initiatives (RLI) Award Winners 2022
• Beyond the Brick Campus: Building more inclusive academic structures
• Thinking about your Career?
• Responsible Metrics and how to get involved
• Research and EDI Gender Deep Dive
• Research Grants and Funding
• How will RIME affect you?
• Exeter Research Networks - Launch.
• Latest Events and Opportunites
• and much more!

Please direct any questions you may have to researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.

Previous copies of Newsletters can be viewed by clicking here.

All courses are delivered online (please click on the course title for info and to book your place).

ECR Core Programme:-
GW4 - Being an International Academic - meet the panel - 18/05/2022 (12.30 pm - 2 pm).  See below for full details.
Doing Research with Artists Drop-in Session - 18/05/2022 (10.30 am - 11.30 am).
Overcoming Imposter Feelings - 14/06/2022 (9.30 am - 12.30 pm)
GW4 - The Academic Recruitment Panel - 14/06/2022 (12.30 pm - 2 pm).  See below for full details.
Participatory and Engaged Research - 3 part course on 24.6.22; 1.7.22 and 15.7.22 (all 10.30 am - 1.30 pm).

Research and Innovation Essentials Series:-
Open Research - Publications, data and beyond - 22/09/2022 (10 am - 11.30 am)
Connecting with External Partners and Creating Opportunities - 22/09/2022 (2 pm - 3 pm)

Researcher-Led Initiatives
Beyond the Brick Campus: Building a more inclusive academic culture - 06/06/2022 (11 am - 4 pm); 08/06/2022 (12 noon - 4 pm). See the Researcher-Led Initiatives section below for details.

If you register for any of our above sessions, it is expected that you will attend. If you are not able to attend please log in to the ‘iTrent’ online system to remove your name from the relevant activity before it is due to take place. You will be expected to attend for the whole session and for ease of administration, attendance registers will be taken at the end of each session. Should you need to leave a session early or you experience ongoing technical issues, please email ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.

Monday 16 May 2022 (10 am - 12.30 pm).
The ECR Liaison Forums are a fantastic opportunity for Early Career Researchers to meet and discuss what their community needs from the University. The forums typically meet four times a year and have representation on various boards across the University, to take ideas and requests forward. If you would like to be involved please register here.

"Having structured writing time that is set aside forces me to focus on writing when usually other things take over."

"I found this session incredibly useful for providing focused writing time for research. This can be difficult to find within a typical week and I hope to attend more of these sessions in the future."

"It was well structured and gave opportunity for short break in between."

These are just a few of the testimonials received from those who have attended these online groups.

These sessions follow a model where:-

• An Informal, dedicated support space is created for ECRs and Academics, in one virtual room, for you to be able to work without distractions.
• Time is structured into a series of working and discussion slots.
• The opportunity to learn from each other, share strategies, experiences, working goals and best practice is actively encouraged and facilitated.

​You can attend for as long as you need to!

Groups have started back up again after the Easter break - all running 10 am - 12.30 pm - Click here for dates and details of how to join this group.

To make things easy, these sessions can be accessed via the same Teams link - click here.

We are looking to expand our team of facilitators so if you would like to find out more about becoming a facilitator please contact ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.

The next drop-in session will take place on Wednesday 18 May 2022 (10.30 - 11.30 am). These sessions are for ECRs wanting to work with creative practitioners in their research but are unsure where to start, or what the process involves.  Sarah Campbell, Associate Director for Arts and Culture will be on hand to guide you through how to progress your idea about working with artists and who to ask for help.  To find out more and to register, click here.

Do you need help with designing and approaching your coding tasks?

Are you having problems with bugs or other software engineering issues?

Would you like help to understand the next steps and places to go for getting additional help?

The University’s centralised Research Software Engineers (RSEs) group assists our research community with complex and bespoke research software needs. The RSE group is part of the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

The group consists of Research Software Engineers who help develop, maintain, and extend research software. The RSEs are software engineers with science backgrounds and therefore well placed to understand the constraints of academic research and associated software engineering. In addition to various programming languages, the RSEs have expertise in code management and structuring, testing, HPC and distributed computing.

To contact the team, email ResearchSoftwareEngineeringGroup@group.exeter.ac.uk outlining the support you need and the urgency of your request. The RSEs have dedicated every Wednesday between 11:00 – 13:00 to answer as many ECR and PGR enquiries as they can. Depending on the complexity of your query, the team will either arrange a Wednesday Teams appointment with you, or will answer your query via email.

The RSE’s also host a Slack channel where you can ask questions and receive answers from a community of knowledge: https://idsai-rf-rse.slack.com/

Are you a Research Software Engineer (RSE), or in a similar role? If so, the RSE Group would like to invite you to their monthly social!
Wednesday, 25 May 2022 (11 am) - to be repeated every four weeks.
Where: Innovation Centre Café, Streatham Campus

If you'd like more information on our socials, please get in touch with Fliss Guest. For more information on the RSE Group, visit our webpage.

After a very competitive award process, we are very pleased to announce the 2022 Winning Initiatives and the Lead Award Holders, as follows:

• Building a Better Research Culture with LEGO Serious Play - Caitlin Kight
• Beyond the Law - An Interdisciplinary PGR Network - Madeleine Millar
• Cornwall EDI Seminar Series - Rosie Layfield
• Shiny futures: Transforming engagement with our research using R-Shiny web apps - Daniel Sankey
• Beyond the Brick Campus: Building a more inclusive academic culture - Kristine Hill
• Reinstating the gardening and craft sessions at the St Luke’s Volunteer Garden - Zhivko Zhelev
• Transdisciplinary Consciousness Conversers - Eirini Ketzitzidou Argyri
• Yoga @ LSI - Helen Eachus
• Enhancing compassion and creativity to optimise wellbeing and performance - Carl Bescoby
• PGR Wellbeing Cafe - Raghini Rajaram

Congratulations to all those whose applications were successful.  These projects are now underway; keep an eye out for announcements and invitations from the project groups!

What are the RLI Awards all about? - to find out more about this annual fund click here.

Beyond the Brick Campus: Building a more inclusive academic culture
This activity is a Researcher-Led Initiative that has been funded by the University of Exeter Researcher Development and Research Culture team. You can register here for a series of workshops and to join a forum of peers interested in ongoing collaboration, networking, and sharing of resources.

The Researcher Development and Research Culture team recently received funding from Research England to support the development and enhancement of research culture related activities across the University of Exeter.

Funding was made available to current Early Career Researcher Networks (ECRNs) to enhance and promote their activities, re-establish network activities or to create new ECRNs in departments that do not yet have an established ECRN.

After a competitive award process, we are very pleased to announce the successful networks and the Lead Award Holders, as follows:

• Corporate Social Responsibility Researcher Impact Network (CSRRIN) – David Wallace-Hare
• Biosciences Early Career Research Network – Adam Porter
• Compassionate Creativity Culture Club – Carl Bescoby
• The European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) – Chloe Asker
• CEC Penryn Early Career Researcher Network – Daniel Padfield
• ECRN-CEMPS & Penryn – International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) - Liu Qinglan
• The Living Systems Institute Early Career Research Network - Nela Nikolic
• Combined Network Activities - Biomedical ECRN, Sport & Health Sciences ECRN (CMH - St Lukes Campus) CEMPS ECRN (Streatham), CEMPS ECRN (Penryn), ESI (Penryn) - Nicola Jeffery / Chloe Place

Congratulations to all those whose applications were successful!

The award holders are now busy organising activities and events; please keep an eye out for announcements and invitations!

The GW4 Alliance of the most research intensive universities in the Southwest have organised a series of free lunch time career panels for Early Career Researchers and Postgraduate Researchers undertaking doctoral programmes. ECRs and PGRs from Exeter will be able to join researchers from Bath, Bristol and Cardiff for online events in May and June giving insights into career opportunities within and beyond academia. The events will draw together academics and alumni from across the four institutions and will give you the opportunity to meet and network with other researchers from across GW4.

The two remaining events will consist of the following themes. More information on the panellists, the topics covered and how to book can be obtained by clicking on the course titles below:

Being an International Academic - meet the panel – Wednesday 18 May 2022 (12.30-2pm)

The Academic Recruitment Panel – Tuesday 14 June 2022 (12.30-2pm)

Note, the above events are not being publicised beyond our academic community and will not be featured in the general Eventbrite events programme so only bookable through these links.

The series of panels have been organised by career consultants working with PGRs and ECR from the four partner institutions and aim to provide researchers with real life insights from practitioners on the range of opportunities available. Do take advantage of these unique opportunities to gain first-hand knowledge from those with experience of working both in academia and in roles outside of the university sector.

Do you care that your research is assessed fairly, in its entirety and not based on narrow measures such as where you have published or how many times you have been cited? Responsible metrics is about ensuring that our research culture celebrates all research and research outputs and looks beyond blunt quantitative measures to assess quality. As a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), we are looking for PGRs and ECRs to join our Responsible Metrics Champions Group, in order to help ensure that this important agenda translates into our own university policy and practice. Those in the early stages of their research career have the most to gain from responsible metrics, so we’re keen to ensure that we have PGRs and ECRs represented on the group. If you’d like to find out more, or think you may be interested in joining the group, please contact Becky Euesden r.s.euesden@exeter.ac.uk.

In advance of the meetings (and for those who cannot attend), we are asking people to complete an anonymous questionnaire about your experience as researchers to help us structure the discussion and provide further data to help us understand the needs of the research community. The questionnaire will be open until June so there is plenty of time to contribute. You can complete this questionnaire at http://ex.ac.uk/researchedi.

We have also set up a mailing list to share bi-monthly updates about this work. All senior research leaders have been added to this list automatically, and anyone else can join at http://ex.ac.uk/redimailinglist.

Open Innovation Platform - 2021/22
Applications are welcomed on a rolling open call basis until the fund is fully allocated.
Two complimentary funding schemes to accelerate the translation of your research into economic and societal benefit by engaging and collaborating with external partners or by advancing the commercialisation of your research.

Link Fund - Awards of up to £3,000 to support the creation of ‌links with new external organisations where there are clear opportunities for collaboration or to develop innovative ways of engaging with existing partners

Collaboration Fund  - Awards of up to £15,000 to support short term collaborations with external organisations to translate existing research into advances in new or existing products, services, policies or practice.

For more information about the above, click here.

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MRC Confidence in Concept top-up Funds
Submission deadline Monday 16 May 2022 (4 pm)
We are pleased to announce that the University has been awarded further Medical Research Council (MRC) Confidence in Concept (CiC) top-up funds. For more information and to apply, click here.

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New funding call
Wellcome ISSF funded TREE are delighted to launch a new pump priming initiative to support interdisciplinary research. Find out more details about the initiative and how to apply online.

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ECR Fellowship funding opportunity
InterAct has recently launched a new Fellowship aimed at supporting early career researchers (ECRs) seeking to engage with the Made Smarter and InterAct agendas.  Find out more by clicking here.

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Check out the Research Toolkit webpages for more opportunities.

Research and Impact Management Environment (RIME) is a new suite of systems to support our academic community and professional services with the management of research across the whole life cycle. If you have missed any of the information that's been circulating, please visit the SharePoint site.

Exeter Research Networks Internal Launch
Exeter Research Networks are being officially launched! The DVC for Research and Impact, Prof. Neil Gow, will introduce the networks and the VC Prof. Lisa Roberts will speak about the vision for this initiative. More details here.
Contact for enquiries: researchnetworks@exeter.ac.uk.

Postgraduate Pedagogies Journal: Call for Cover Artwork
Deadline for Submissions : 17 May 2022 to postgrad.pedagogies.journal@gmail.com
We're looking for a Doctoral Researcher or Early Career Researcher with an eye for design to create the cover of our 2nd volume!
Criteria: you must be a current PGR or have completed Doctoral level in the last 3 years. You must also currently be UK based.
Top prize: Artwork chosen for the cover +£200
2x runners up: £50 each + artwork inside the journal
Artwork specifics:
• JPEG Format
• 300dpi
• 31.2 x 21.6 cm
• Please submit 180dpi
Submissions to postgrad.pedagogies.journal@gmail.com

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Immersive technologies: innovations, applications and opportunities
Wednesday 18 May 2022 (9.30 am - 1 pm) - Plymouth Immersive Dome
It is free to attend and we are organising transport shuttle links to help people get there:  just get to Plymouth train station in time for 9.15am and we will provide transport to get you to the Dome (and back again when it’s all over!)

Sessions will include:-

• Leading interaction designers with expertise in UX, creative ideation and leadership.
• Developments and applications of immersive technologies within healthcare
• Immersive innovation within creative industries, heritage and visitor experience
• An interactive panel discussion with those working in the world of AV, VR and mixed realities.

For more information and to book your place click here.

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The British Academy Early Career Research Network Launch - South West
Thursday 19 May 2022 (10 am - 3.45 pm) Time may be subject to change.
Please note that this event is for members of The British Academy Network.  You can sign up here.
Please note a South West Launch event to mark the launch of the ECR Network in the South West, with the launch of our South West Hub, but will also provide an opportunity for ECRs, British Academy Fellows and others to come together. The day will feature a variety of formal and informal sessions for learning and knowledge exchange. This will be taking place on Thursday 19 May 2022 at 10 am – 3.45 pm (time may be subject to change) at the M Shed in Bristol. More details will be announced in due course.

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Data Visualisation: How to Effectively Communicate with your Data
Thursday 26 May 2022 (9.30 - 4.30 pm) - via Zoom
Do you know how to effectively communicate with your data? Do you understand the psychology of how your audience interprets the data that you present to them? Do you know why pie charts are problematic and that you should (almost) never present a chart or graphic in 3D?
This online course, facilitated by data visualisation specialist and trainer Dan Isaac, will discuss the key principles of effective data visualisation and will inspire you to tell better stories with your data. Creating effective data visualisations is no longer a task for highly technical specialists and design professionals. In the modern workplace, we are all responsible for the data that we produce and learning how to effectively communicate with this data can be an invaluable asset.  Course fee: £180+VAT per delegate. Further details and registration can be found here.

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Soapbox Science Exeter – call for speakers
Soapbox Science Exeter is taking place on Saturday 11 June 2022 on the Quayside Plaza, Exeter. We are currently looking for female scientists to speak at this year’s event.  Get details and apply.

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Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (IDSAI) research event
27 June - 1 July 2022 (9.30 am - 5 pm)
IDSAI invites you to join in celebrating the best of Data Science and AI at Exeter by hosting a week long series of talks, research project presentations and training opportunities at the Streatham and Penryn Campuses.

Sessions are open and accessible to all Exeter staff and students and the wider IDSAI community. We are currently putting the programme together. Please keep an eye on our website for further details including how to register and how to get involved.

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The Environmental Intelligence Grand Challenge 2022 by UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Environmental Intelligence
11-15 July 2022 
This event is a week-long hackathon using data science and AI to solve environmental challenges posed by our partners: Friends of the Earth, World Wildlife Fund, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Cool Earth, with others. Interdisciplinary teams will work together to develop solutions before presenting their ideas at the end of the week – good solutions will be adopted by the partners so it is a good chance to make an impact with some scientific creativity!

The event will run 11-15 July 2022 and will be held on campus at University of Exeter. We are seeking participants: postgraduates, PhD students, early career researchers and academics. Check out our event webpage and then register your interest using EventBrite.

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Collaborative Workshop for PhD Students and Early Career Researchers in Labour Law, Migration & Asylum, Human Rights, and Public Law
Deadline for submission of abstract - Wed 25 May 2022.
This workshop will  be held on 13 July 2022 at the University of Bristol.The workshop is open to anyone working in one or more of the relevant subject areas who:

• Is currently undertaking a PhD or other research degree; or
• Is within four years of the award of their PhD (or equivalent training) in July 2022; and/or
• Is within two years of their first academic appointment in July 2022.

Participants do not need to be members of the SLS to participate. We particularly welcome submissions from underrepresented groups  – the SLS’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion policy can be found here.

There will be up to 15 places available for PhD and early career presenters. The expected format is five panels, each formed of three presentations for around ten minutes, with a discussant to comment on each set of three papers. Panels will be formed thematically based on the content of submissions, and will aim to cut across the different subject sections to encourage dialogue.

Those interested in attending should submit an abstract of 200 – 300 words through a form that can be found here by Wednesday 25 May 2022. Each proposal will be considered on the basis of academic merit. Contact Philippa Collins (philippa.collins@bristol.ac.uk) and Natalie Sedacca (N.Sedacca@exeter.ac.uk) if you have any enquiries.

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Event hosted by a Turing Network Development Award (TNDA) University
6-9 September 2022
The University of the West of England (UWE) are hosting an International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks in September 2022. To find out more click here.

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The British Academy - ECR Network : Monthly Online Coffee Hour
Takes place on the last Friday of every month.
This Coffee Hour aims to give ECRs the space to speak to one another. This could be about similar issues faced, general work/life discussion points or research projects, just to name a few. Click here for more information.

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Policy Engagement Training Programme
Policy@Exeter, the University of Exeter’s policy engagement initiative, has partnered with seven sector-leading training providers to bring you an exciting suite of practical and engaging workshops over the spring and summer. The programme aims to equip Exeter researchers from all disciplines and at all career levels with the skills and tools needed to confidently engage with policymakers locally, nationally and internationally.  To find out more and sign up, visit Policy@Exeter’s Events and training page.

Early Career Research Networks (ECRNs) are designed to help support our Early Career Researchers in the beginning stages of their career. The ECRNs are designed to help raise awareness of new developments in a particular field: new tools, processes, leaders, training programs, and services. They are also an opportunity for collaborative problem solving and to get advice from your peers. To find out more about the Networks and who your Network Rep is click here.

You can also get the latest Concordat updates and events by signing up to their newsletter when registering with their website.

Already registered and want to receive Vitae News? Contact Vitae direct

See the latest news update on the Concordat here.

This COVID quick reference guide. This has been developed to help colleagues find key pieces of COVID 19 information and links quickly. It also includes information on what will happen in the event of COVID 19 case(s).

Please remember to check the University Travel Policy for Colleagues before booking any travel for work purposes. The information covers both international travel and trips within the UK. Find out more click here. If you have any concerns, please do contact researchrestart@exeter.ac.uk and the research restart panel will be happy to discuss any bespoke issues that require further support and consideration.

Library Search is your key gateway into the print and electronic resources available to you via the Library. It is available 24/7 from your desktop or device, wherever in the world you are located.

It will enable you to find recommended readings and search across a wide range of full text resources to discover materials on your research topics.

If you're organising an event and don't know where to start, take a look at the Corporate Events webpage where you will find lots of useful information and advice including an Events Planning Toolkit!  If you would like to contact the Events Team for further advice email eventenquiries@exeter.ac.uk.

Find out how the University can support Early Career Researchers by clicking here.  The page includes support from the University, Spectrum.Life as well as a list of networks to support staff wellbeing.

Colleague Grief and Bereavement Group
The University Chaplaincy and Staff Wellbeing teams have launched a Colleague Grief and Bereavement Group - a support network for colleagues experiencing any form of Grief or Bereavement. The group is a safe space for sharing/listening and practical/reflective activities, rather than a counselling environment. We have now set dates for groups at both campuses until the end of the year. Please click here to find out more and register your interest in attending. This group is open to all staff regardless of your worldview or religious faith. Further support is available here.

Spectrum Life
If you’re finding things tough at the moment, please don’t forget we can all make use of our free and completely confidential Employee Assistance Programme, Spectrum Life, available 24/7 365 days a year for you, your partner or spouse and any dependents over the age of 16, still living at home.