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

• RDRC Programme.
• Online Focus Space for ECRs.
• 1:2:1 Careers Appointments.
• Software Training.
• Two Upcoming Public Engagement Events for ECRs.
• Learning & Development Opportunities : UoE and Beyond.
• GW4 Crucible 2023 - Leadership Development Programme.
• Research and Researcher Networks.
• Images of Research Competition - winners announced!

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.

ECR Core Programme

Writing World Leading & Impactful Research Papers - 18/10/2022 (1.30 pm - 3 pm)
How to Manage Your Career - 18/10/2022 (10 am - 12 noon)
Getting Stuff Done - 01/11/2022 (11 am - 12.30 pm)
Writing Targeted Grant Proposals - 02/11/2022 (9 am - 10.30 am)
Mapping & Marketing Your Skills - 02/11/2022 (11 am - 1 pm). 
Networking for Researchers - 08/11/2022 (1 pm - 2.30 pm). 
LinkedIn for Researchers: Developing and Using Your Profile - 16/11/2022 (1.30 pm - 3 pm)
Applying for Jobs Beyond Academia - 30/11/2022 (2 pm - 4 pm)
Questionnaire Design - a very basic introduction! - 01/12/2022 (9 am - 10.30 am)
Overcoming Imposter Feelings - Support for Researchers - 06/12/2022 (9.30 am - 12.45 pm)
Applying for Academic Jobs - 13/12/2022 (10 am - 12 noon) 

Research and Innovation Essentials Series

Accessing Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Industrial Studentship Opportunities - 15/11/2022 (10 am - 11 am)

These online sessions run from 10 am - 12.30 pm most Mondays and Thursdays - 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.

Unsure of your future career direction either within Academia or beyond Academia? Kate Foster, (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.

Kate can offer advice and discuss how to manage and plan your career and has timeslots from 1 November onwards.  Should you wish to meet her before then, please contact ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.

Introduction to 'R' - Beginner to Intermediate (4 part course) - 26 October, 2, 9 & 16 November 2022 (all 1 pm - 4 pm) - Hybrid
Registration closes 20 October 2022.

'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.

This course will cover:

• how to use Rstudio to create scripts and run R based programmes.
• definitions of fundamental programming terminology and concepts such as variable, function, for loops that is transferable to other programming languages.
• the different objects for storing data and the importance of different data types.
• how to read in data, manipulate it and save the output.
• how to perform some basic inferential statistical tests.
• how to visualise data in commonly used figures.

Introduction to Python (2 part course) - 16 & 23 November 2022 (both 10 am - 1 pm) - Hybrid
Registration closes 9 November 2022.

Over two sessions learn the fundamentals of Python, one of the most popular programming languages and be introduced to a variety of applications.

This course will cover:

• the basic data types in Python how to declare them.
• the basic principles of control flow and for loops.
• what a function is and how to define one that takes user-specified parameters.
• how to perform simple analysis and visualisation of a table of data.
• which fundamental concepts are relevant to other programming languages.

Public Engagement and Involvement with Research - 18/10/2022 (10 am - 3.30 pm) - for PGRs/first stage Early Career Researchers who are new to planning and delivering public engagement with research projects.  Attendees are encouraged to bring an idea for an Engaged Research project they would like to develop.

Planning your Public Engagement with Research Project - 19/10/2022 (10 am - 3.30 pm) - for ECRs from fellowship to first standard grant, who would like support to develop a grant application for an Engaged Research project.

Registrations are via a MS Form - to register your place/s, click on the course title above.

Public engagement can lead to developing better quality research, improved research impact and has mutual benefits to researchers and publics.

The course, developed by the Translational Research Exchange @ Exeter (TREE) will look at the benefits of public engagement with research, the processes involved and what funders are looking for. Researchers from TREE and across the university will share their expertise of public engagement and involvement in health research and interdisciplinary projects.

There will be opportunities to plan your project and receive support and feedback from facilitators and the Modelling Advisory Group Public Involvement and Engagement (MAGPIE).

Artificial Evolution 2022 (EA 2022)
31 October, 1 and 2 November 2022 (Exeter)
The Biennial International Conference on Artificial Evolution (EA 2022) will celebrate its return for its 15th anniversary in Exeter, and for the first time in England.  Click here to find out more.

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Intro to Rapid Evidence Assessments
Wednesday 16 – Thursday 17 November 2022 (9.30 am – 1.30 pm)
Applications close 30 October 2022 (midnight)
Free Policy Engagement Training for ECRs!  Policy@Exeter is partnering with leading training providers to deliver this exciting training session on how to engage with policymakers.  Learn how to develop timely Rapid Evidence Assessments that can be used to inform decision making.  Click here to register.  If you have any questions, please contact M.Altoe@exeter.ac.uk or PolicyEngagement@exeter.ac.uk.

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Whose responsibility is social welfare? Interdisciplinary approaches to community welfare and social justice
Monday 27 February 2023 (10 am - 4 pm), Cheltenham.
The purpose of this event is to bring together ECRs in the South West and potential community stakeholders to explore the issue of responsibility for key public services, and to establish links for future collaboration. We aim to produce themed working groups to take forward further collaborative activity and welcome ECRs from a variety of disciplines including, but not limited to: sociology, education, social work, health and social care, and criminology. Find out more and register for the event here. Reasonable travel and accommodation can be provided by the British Academy.

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Join the UKRSA to help shape the future for researchers
We are looking for new members to join our committee and help shape our next five years.

Do you have something to say about the issues researchers face? We are a volunteer organisation whose mission is to empower researcher staff to take control of their careers and contribute to national policy. To get involved, please contact Alison Tidy (alison.tidy@nottingham.ac.uk) or at UKRSAVitae@gmail.com

Opportunities currently available:-

• UKRSA representative on the HR Excellence in Research award
• UKRSA representative on the Researcher Development Concordat Steering Group and Executive Group
• Regional UKRSA champions
• National PostDoc Conference 2023 steering group
• Collaboration with the ICORSA with their projects such as the RAISE Project; The OPUS Project and The SECURE Project.

Expressions of interest deadline: 25 October 2022.
Find out more and apply today!

Are you a researcher with an interest or expertise in data and digital?

GW4 Crucible brings together 30 competitively selected future research leaders from across the Universities of Exeter, Bath, Bristol and Cardiff, to explore how to enhance your career by working with researchers in other disciplines on a themed research topic.

The 2023 theme is ‘Our Data and Digital World – opportunities for transformative interdisciplinarity’. Harnessing the power of data, AI and digital approaches while challenging its misuse will necessitate innovative, multifaceted investigations from interdisciplinary teams that span anthropology to programming and psychology to statistics.

This hybrid programme comprises:-

• two in-person residential (two-day) labs,
• four online masterclasses.

You will explore working in an interdisciplinary and collaborative way and will have the chance to connect with expert guest speakers, enhancing your professional networks and visibility.

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.

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British Academy : Practice Research Networking Day
Wednesday 26 October 2022, Plymouth
The Practice Research Networking Day will bring together South West based early-career researchers with an interest in practice research. The aim of the event is to encourage networking, offer space for discussion on practice research and identify strategic goals for the community. It will also encourage new collaborations and initiatives in the network. Find out more and register for the event here. Reasonable travel and accommodation can be provided by the British Academy.

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British Academy : Networking for Equality in the Workplace: Bringing Research and Industry Together
Tuesday 17 January 2023, UWE, Bristol
The Networking for Equality in the Workplace event will bring together ECRs in the South West with an interest in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) together with organisations to explore how fairness and diversity can bring significant advantages to an organisation. The workshop aims to explore possibilities for future collaborative work with policy and practice partners, as well as help ECRs disseminate their research. Find out more and register for the event here. Reasonable travel and accommodation can be provided by the British Academy.

The British Academy ECR Network: in 2021, The British Academy in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation launched an Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network for the humanities and social sciences. The Network is researcher-led and inclusive, accessible to all researchers regardless of their funding source or background. The Academy is working with the University of Birmingham, the GW4 Alliance, University of Sterling and the University of Glasgow to deliver the Network across the UK.

Thank you to all the Early Career Research staff who entered this year’s Images of Research competition. Ines Lange scooped the first prize for this image titled ‘Reef Rehab’ (see picture to the right). Second prize went to Luis Huckstadt for ‘Crabeater Seals from the Sky’, with 3rd going to Rachel Nesbit for ‘Pandemic Play.’ Congratulations to you all! The judges enjoyed reviewing all the images and their descriptions. Professor Andrew McRae, Dean of the Doctoral College and competition judge commented:

‘Communicating complex research to the public is now more important than ever, and an image can make a world of difference. The top entries this year caught my attention by demonstrating the central issue of the project, and placing the researcher within the frame. They showed what researchers are doing, and why.’

Competition entries from this year’s competition are available to view in The Forum from 10-19 October.

For information on a range of current grants and funding, check out the Research Toolkit webpages. 

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.

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.