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 ...

ECR Researcher Development Programme

Learning and Development Opportunities: University of Exeter and Beyond

Research Grants, Funding & Competitions

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.

Just a reminder that our Images of Research competition is open and closes 5 January 2024! The competition - now in its tenth year - has received hundreds of entries over that time, showcasing the breadth of research undertaken at the university through a single, visually-engaging image and short, jargon-free description. Entries will be displayed across all three campuses. We’re hoping to display further afield in the Spring too. To celebrate the competition’s 10th year, there will not only be prizes for the top three entries, but a special Arts and Culture commendation will also be awarded, enabling the recipient a permanent online exhibition.  

Read our blog to hear from last year’s winner and others involved in the competition.

The deadline to submit entries is Friday 5 January 2024; further information including how to enter and submission guidance can be found on our website.

The Images of Research Competition is one of the ways we seek to support our Early Career Researchers. You can find out more about how we support a positive research culture on our Research Culture SharePoint site.

The Researcher Development Core Training Programme for ECRs is a development programme specifically designed for Early Career Research staff (ie, staff on research contracts grades E to G), across all campuses of the University of Exeter. Upcoming courses:-

Applying for non-Academic Jobs - 07/12/2023 (1 pm - 2.30 pm)
Sharing Research Data - 11/12/2023 (10 am - 11 am)
Essentials of Leadership - 12/12/2023 (1 pm - 3.30 pm)
Introduction to Version Control and Git (2 part course) - 12/12/2023 & 19/12/2023 (1 pm - 4 pm both sessions)
Introduction to R - (3 part course) - 09/01/2024, 16/01/2024 & 23/01/2024 (all 10 am - 1 pm).
Applying for Academic Jobs - 16/01/2024 (10 am - 11.30 am)
Depositing your Work to ORE - 24/01/2024 (10 am - 10.45 am)
An Introduction to Research Ethics Review - 25/01/2024 (10 am - 12 noon)
Regression with R - 26/01/2024 (10 am - 1 pm)
Developing Effective Networks for Research Projects - 30/01/2024 (10 am - 11.30 am)
Publishing in Open Access - 06/02/2024 (1.30 pm - 2.15 pm)
Essentials  of Leadership - 21/02/2024 (10 am - 12.30 pm)
Focus Space - takes place virtually every Monday and Thursday (10 am - 12.30 pm).

Unsure of your future career direction either within Academia or beyond Academia? Kenneth Howgill, (Careers Coach for Researcher Development and Research Culture), is available to offer 1:2:1 Career coaching appointments for ECRs.  50 minute online appointments are available for you to book on by clicking here.  

Kenneth can offer advice and discuss how to manage and plan your career and has timeslots through to December.  If you have any queries, please contact ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.

Tuesday 12 December 2023 (11.30 am - 1 pm)
Streatham Campus, Knightley Boardroom.

This event is an opportunity for researchers with early-stage grant proposals to present their project to an audience of academics and professional services staff. The audience will then provide constructive feedback in the hope of increasing the chances of a successful application. This is a great opportunity for any academic, particularly ECRs, to gain support and advice from senior colleagues. A focus will be on the UKRI's new Catalyst and Curiosity Award schemes, though proposals for any AHRC grant will be considered for presentation.

Deadline to Register : 2 January 2024

Dates: 9 January (Part 1), 16 January (Part 2) and 23 January 2024 (Part 3) (all 10 am - 1 pm)

R is a programming language and software environment primarily focused on performing statistics, data analysis and visualisation. This course will provide an all-purpose introduction to the R programming language and may provide an accessible entry to computer programming in general.  Throughout the workshop learners will be taught using RStudio and introduced to best practises from the beginning including how to document your work in a script. Over three sessions you will learn how to import, manage and process data for statistical analysis and visualisation.  At the end of the workshop the participants will have a solid understanding of how to run R commands and the properties of R objects, providing a solid basis for self-guided learning of more complex analyses. 

Deadline to apply: Friday 12 January 2024

The creation of an ‘Impact Community of Practice’ within the University, will strengthen and further develop our impact culture and share knowledge of research impact generation, evaluation and evidence collection. This Impact Community of Practice (ICoP), an idea which developed from consultation with colleagues involved in impact-related activity, is aimed at fostering peer-to-peer support, sharing best practice and impact literacy across our institution.  To guide the Community of Practice, we are looking to appoint a Steering Group and are inviting applications from across all departments and career stages.  Applicants will be selected based on a combination of career stage representation, faculty representation and impact experience/background.  If you are not able to join the ICoP Steering Group, but would like to be kept updated about future ICoP activities complete this form to join the mailing list.  Contact impact@exeter.ac.uk if you have any questions.

HTA Mandatory Training : Monday 15 January 2024 (11.15 am - 12.15 pm)
HTA Informed Consent Training : Monday 15 January 2024 (12.30 pm - 1.30 pm)

These online sessions are open to ECRs and PGRs.  For those who are just starting a research project involved in human tissue they must attend the Mandatory session.  If Resarchers will be taking consent, they need to attend the Informed Consent training as well.  Equally, anyone who has attended the training over two years ago but is not currently involved in taking samples or consent, is welcome to attend either session as a refresher.  We do encourage this, but it’s not compulsory.  Email hta-return@exeter.ac.uk for a Team meeting invitation.

Deadline to Register : 19 January 2024
Date : Friday 26 January 2024

Regression analysis is a fundamental statistical technique used to model the relationship between multiple variables. It is a very flexible tool that can handle a range of different data types (continuous, binary or categorical) and address both complex and simple research questions. In this hands on workshop you will learn how to fit a range of regression models with R, how to interpret the output and the link between regression and other common statistical tools.

Tuesday 19 March - Wednesday 20 March 2024

AI UK is back in-person and online for its fourth edition!  AI UK is a showcase of how data science and AI can be applied to society's biggest challenges, with a focus on The Alan Turing Institute's grand challenges, defence and security, environment and sustainability, and transformation of healthcare. The stage programme and exhibition of demonstrations will be announced closer to the event, keep an eye on the AI UK website for the latest updates.

Do you find it difficult to find time to think, write, or plan your next paper/grant?

Then join our Focus Space sessions, held on Mondays and Thursdays 10 am – 12.30 pm!

These sessions are held online, via Teams, and are facilitated by a group member. We are a supportive group of colleagues from across the University at all career stages, with the shared goal of wanting some space to focus on our research and writing.  You do not need to join for the full session, and you can join a session when it is convenient for you.  Click here https://bit.ly/3MfhOEi to join (your request will be approved by the researcher development team).  Alternatively, you can email researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk to ask to join the Teams channel.  Sessions are open to all academics at all career stages.

Call opened : Thursday 2 November 2023
EoI : 4 December 2023 (a few days flexibility is allowed).
Deadline full applications : Monday 15 January 2024.

The Institute for Data Science and AI (IDSAI) issue calls twice annually for funding for seed-corn research awards.  The awards provide fully-funded time of a postdoctoral researcher to support early-phase development of ideas for innovative, interdisciplinary data science and AI research.

Call opened : Wednesday 15 November 2023
Deadline Date : Wednesday 31 January 2024
The application process for the next round of funding for the FX Creative Exchange is now open! 

The FX Creative Exchange is an exciting transdisciplinary £4000 incubator programme supporting collaborations between early-career/emerging researchers across Falmouth and Exeter Universities around the themes of ecology, creativity, sustainability, and environment.

There will be funding for one project in 2024. 

Image : "Looking for Technomyrmex albipes, The Eden Project'. From the FX Creative Exchange pilot project 'Mapping Emergence' between Falmouth University Lecturer in Photography Dr Catarina Fontoura and Dr Thomas O'Shea, Research Fellow at the University of Exeter © Catarina Fontoura, 2023.

Deadline Date : Tuesday 12 March 2024

Apply for a funded fellowship at an international institution  Fellowships are available institutions in USA, Japan and China.  You will receive £1,000 for travel and visa costs (£1,200 for travel to Japan and China) and £1,925 for each month of the fellowship. You can apply for two to six months of funding.

Opens : Wednesday 10 April 2024
Deadline : Wednesday 11 September 2024

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD and who wish to acquire new skills through advanced training, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility. MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships will be open to excellent researchers of any nationality.

Tuesday 12 December 2023 (3 pm - 5 pm) via Teams.

Interested in engaging with the arts in your research on food?

Exeter Food—in collaboration with Arts & Culture (University of Exeter), Creative Arc, and the Co-Production Oracle—is organising a workshop for Exeter Food network members who would like to work more closely with creative practitioners (from any artform) but are not sure where to start. We will share case studies to provide inspiration; introduce you to useful people at the University who can help shape your ideas; talk about pathways to funding; and provide a short workshop to give you a taste of this work in practice.

Next meeting for your diary:-
Wednesday 7 February 2024 (10 am - 11 am).

The Network Meetings 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.  Action Notes from the last meeting held on Wednesday 4 October 2023 are below.

Tuesday 20 February 2024 (2 pm - 3 pm)

In this game changing session, you’ll look at how to increase your stature, deliver compelling messages that really resonate with your audience, create connections, and earn respect, whether you’re delivering a live or an online presentation.

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.

We know how distressing the ongoing situation in Israel and Palestine is, and the particular impact this is having on those in our community with family, friends, loved ones and other connections in the region. Our thoughts remain with all who are affected.  Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) Spectrum Life has established a dedicated contact number to support those directly or indirectly affected by the situation in Israel and Palestine. They can provide in-the-moment support to any colleagues and their dependents over 18 years old.  The team of counsellors are available to talk to confidentially 24/7 and can be accessed as often as you wish. You can also call for advice on supporting another team member or colleague. All calls are confidential. You can reach this dedicated line and speak to a counsellor by calling: 0800 6525008.

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.