Early Career Researchers Hub   :   ECR Training and Development

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

Spotlight On ... CEDARS!

ECR Researcher Development Programme

Learning and Development Opportunities: University of Exeter and Beyond

Research Grants, Funding & Competitions

Research Culture

Research & Researcher Networks

Research & Researcher Blogs

Organising an Event & Need Help?

Health, Wellbeing & Support

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

Previous copies of Newsletters can be viewed by clicking here. If you have something that you'd like to share in future Newsletters, click here for copy deadline dates as well as submission guidelines.

Calling all researchers!  You will have already received a unique URL to complete the CEDAR Survey (created by Vitae - formally known as the CROS and PIRLS surveys). This is a chance for you to let the University know how well we are doing when it comes to supporting our researchers. The survey is open until Friday 16 June 2023 and should only take around 15-30 minutes to complete. We will donate £1000 to the charity of choice for the faculty with the highest response rate.

Kenneth has been in the RDRC team delivering 1:2:1 Careers Coaching sessions to PGRs since November 2021.  We are now delighted to let you know that he has also now secured the role as Careers Coach (ECRs) (replacing Kate Foster) as from June 2023.

Kenneth is a qualified and experienced career coach, lecturer and learning and development professional with a wide range of experience within the university sector and within further and adult education.  To book a Career Coaching 1-2-1 please contact: ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.

Tuesday 13 June (4 pm – 5 pm).

Anna Wysocki (UC Davis) will present her paper 'Statistical Control Requires Causal Justification', which overviews (a) the ramifications of choosing inappropriate control variables and (b) how to choose appropriate ones by proposing a causal structure. We will hear about key concepts in causal inference (eg, directed acyclic graphs) and how they inform the variables we include in our statistical models. In particular, the session will focus on the problems that can arise when inappropriately controlling for variables in our statistical models and provide practical recommendations to avoid inappropriate statistical control.  This activity is a Researcher-led Initiative that has been funded by the University of Exeter Researcher Development and Research Culture team.

Wednesday 14 June 2023 (2 pm - 3 pm)

This online careers event for Postgraduate Researchers and Early Career Researchers is on the theme of health and well-being, organised by the University of Exeter in partnership with GW4 (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter).

Speakers based in Exeter, Bristol and Plymouth will provide the latest updates on research and potential areas for work both within and outside of academia, on the following themes:

• immersive technologies including the use of Virtual Reality in supporting fragile mental health;
• long term approaches to measuring physical health and well-being and the Exeter partnership with digital health company Activinsights;
• latest advances in combatting antibiotic resistance in community settings;
• the arts sector in supporting and promoting health and well being.

If you have questions, contact k.a.howgill@exeter.ac.uk.

Thursday 29 June 2023 (1 pm - 3 pm)

The Justice and Violence Studies Network will be running an internal (hybrid) event on Streatham in Amory C417; it will be an informal meeting to promote the Network and to facilitate further discussions and research. There will be tea and cake!

The Justice and Violence Studies Network aligns with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 16 to ‘promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions.’ Using their expertise in qualitative, quantitative and evaluative methods, and the experience (including lived experience) of others as appropriate, network members assess and evaluate policies and practices to better understand how and why people are subject to violence and injustice and the most effective methods for combatting these issues.

The University has received funding to support the introduction of sustainable initiatives across our estate. This funding is supporting the work of four key workstreams, one of which is the introduction of a Funding Scheme available for the implementation of local projects or purchases in order to support the embedding of sustainable practices in both our teaching and research spaces.

The application will be reviewed by a panel of technical and sustainability staff. There is no specific deadline, as there is funding available for both 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. The panel will convene regularly to discuss new applications.

We have to ensure that any projects proposed for this financial year are able to be completed in this financial year (end of July), so make sure to consider lead-times when making your proposal.
For questions contact Emma McArdle (e.mcardle@exeter.ac.uk)

The deadline for EOIs : Monday 19 June 2023

The Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (IDSAI) is pleased to announce that the next call is now open for applications to the IDSAI Pilot Research Awards scheme.  We can support 4 projects from August/September 2023, for 6 months 0.5 FTE, at least 2 of which should include external partners to allow for impact through collaboration.  We invite applications from across the University to the scheme, with two Principle Investigators from within the University from different disciplines, and relating to the use of data science and AI.  We welcome applications that include external organisations such as companies, charities and policy organisations.

Thursday 29 June 2023
(deadline for image submission - 9 June 2023 @ 5 pm)

The Engineering Research Image Competition event will take place at the Streatham Campus Forum. It aims to highlight the creativity and innovation within the department's engineering research, including projects in Renewable Energy at the Penryn campus. Selected images will be showcased during the event.

Participants are required to read the eligibility and judging criteria before submitting a research image and a description. The deadline for submission is 5 pm, Friday 9 June 2023.

If you have any enquiries, please contact ENGRIC@exeter.ac.uk.

The UK Research Office (UKRO) will hold an information webinar series for organisations interested in applying to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks (DN) 2023 call. This call opened on 30 May and will close on 28 November 2023.

These sessions will provide attendees with all information needed to submit a successful application to this call, from the eligibility criteria to the available budget,  the submission and evaluation criteria, and practical guidance on writing a proposal.

Attendance is free of charge, but registration is mandatory.  It is strongly recommended that individuals attend all three sessions.

In short, wrong!

We advocate the responsible use of metrics at the University of Exeter – and what’s more – failing to do so could breach our commitments to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment.

But why does this matter? Responsible metrics is about ensuring fair research assessment and selecting indicators which provide a balanced view. Failing do to so has ramifications from the choice of research pursued to failed career progression.  Watch our animation.

Next meeting for your diary:-
Tuesday 1 August 2023 (10 am - 11.30 am).

All ECRs can attend an 'ECR Liaison Forum' (ECR LF).  The LF's continue to develop and now act as a formal route for PGRs and ECRs within the ECR Networks to feed into University strategy. Dedicated ECR Reps feed ‘to and from’ the ECR Liaison Forums from several strategic boards, steering and working groups, including the Research and Impact Executive Committee (RIEC), and other steering and working groups such as the Concordat Steering Group. If you'd like to come along, simply email researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk asking to be added to the ECR LF list and you will be invited to future meetings.

Wednesday 14 June 2023 (2 pm - 3 pm) - Virtual delivery.

Daphne Jackson Fellowships support returners across all areas of research. They provide the retraining and mentorship needed to successfully return to research after a career break of 2 years or more taken for family, caring or health reasons.

Our Fellowships offer individuals the opportunity to work on a research project on a part-time, flexible and salaried basis in universities, research institutes and industry across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

In the fast-moving world of research and innovation, highly qualified and skilled individuals who take a career break often find themselves lagging their peers when returning to work. It can be very difficult to find suitable employment that fully utilises their specific knowledge and experience.

Friday 16 June 2023 (11 am - 12 noon) - Virtual delivery.

Join this session facilitated by Dr Francesco Paradiso (University of Wolverhampton) and meet colleagues who have been successful in attracting research funding. This session is a great opportunity to hear success stories and get insights and tips that will make your next research funding application more competitive. Additionally, there is ample opportunity to ask questions and gain new knowledge of crucial aspects of research funding. This session is open to all researchers.

The DCWFR is a network providing workshops and seminars to upskill researchers in women focused research across disciplines. To become a member of the network sign up here.

Friday 30 June 2023 (10 am - 4 pm) - hybrid symposium where you’ll have the opportunity to share research, to register your attendance complete this form.

To sign-up to their June workshops follow the links below:

• Friday 9 June (12 noon - 1 pm) - A guide for ECRs on funding in women focused research by Dr Cordelia Freeman - Register here.
• Tuesday 13 June (3 - 5 pm) - How to study the menstrual cycle: collecting, preparing and analysing menstrual cycle data by Dr Katja Schmalenberger.  Register here.

To stay up to date follow us on twitter @dcwfr_network and for any questions email dcwfr.network@gmail.com.

This is a Researcher-led initiative funded by the University of Exeter Researcher Development team.

Friday 30 June 2023 (2 pm - 3 pm).  Virtual delivery.

An informal, recurring one-hour session taking place on the last Friday of every other month.

ECRs face many challenges, many of those enhanced by the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.

We are looking for PhD and Early Career researchers to contribute to Exeter’s Research & Innovation blog and write posts that are based on three questions about your work.  If you would like to find out more please email digitalteam@exeter.ac.uk.

We are currently updating and developing the ECR Hub webpages so that we can improve the information and support we provide you. Our aim is to make the Hub a one-stop-shop to help reduce the time you spend searching for key information and support, along with streamlining our communications to you.

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.

The University of Exeter is a member of the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse, a leading national charity in this field, whom we have worked with on our website guidance. We also have a network of trained 'Domestic Abuse Awareness Champions' available for colleagues to approach confidentially. If this is happening to you, please do confide in your manager. Together you can complete a ‘Support Assessment’ and there is ‘Guidance for Managers’ about this. There is also support via a dedicated external Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) at First Light. Please do explore our website for all information and support available, including the domestic abuse hand signal (pictured). Please remember you are not alone.

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