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ECR Newsletter - September 2026
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Spotlight On ... Time to Celebrate our AMAZING Postdocs!
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Postdoc Appreciation Week 2026
Monday 21 - Friday 25 September 2026
Postdoc Appreciation Week 2026 (PAW) is a celebration of the fantastic contribution postdocs and researchers make towards research and academic life in general. It's a special time to showcase, recognise, and celebrate their efforts, and thank them for all they do and we look forward to celebrating with UoE.
National Event being held on Monday 21 September 2026 (10 am - 12 noon) 'The Changing Landscape of Postdoc Careers' ONLINE. See below.
Join us for some great events that we hope you'll enjoy and you can find out more by reading the sections below.
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đź“… Date: Monday 21 September 2026
⏰ Time: 10 am (expected finish time before 12 noon)
đź“Ť Venue: Online & FREE!
With everything seemingly up in the air, this year's theme will be "The Changing Landscape of Postdoc Careers". Come join us for a session that starts with exploring/understanding your academic journey using creative language play, followed by a skills workshop that lets you start your future exploration, before wrapping up with a discussion panel+live Q&A with representatives from funders UKRI and British Academy about the current/changing landscape of academic funding. To be expected: creative poetry, self-exploration, and honest takes!
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How to Manage Your Career
Tuesday 22 September 2026 (11 am - 12.30 pm) Online
Led by Kenneth Howgill, Careers Coach, this course offers practical and interactive career management advice for Early Career Researchers (ECRs). The tools and techniques introduced in this session will be applicable to managing a career within research, but also to those participants wishing to investigate a broader career path outside academia.
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Discover your Leadership Voice
Tuesday 22 September 2026 (1.30 pm - 3 pm) Online
This session, led by Steve Foster of Foster Leadership, will help participants to understand and celebrate who they are as individuals, team members and leaders, alongside celebrating the contributions they make to their academic field. By using a framework that transforms how individuals and teams communicate, a culture can thrive where all personalities and voices are celebrated.
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Visual Literacy – How to Read and Construct Images
Wednesday 23 September 2026 (10.30 am - 12 noon) Online
We carry cameras with us everywhere, and nearly 5 billion photos are taken daily! But how many of those photos are well constructed and tell a great story? This session, led by experts Sarah Campbell and Clare Hearn, will introduce you to the basics of how images are structured, drawing on historical artworks and contemporary advertising, and then offer practical guidance on strengthening the communication impact of your own images.
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Championing The Researcher Concordat - a contract to support your career development
Thursday 24 September 2026 (11 am - 12 noon) Online
Join Prof. Angus Buckling, Dr Chris Wood and Dr Peter O'Rourke in this informative workshop on the Researcher Concordat! This is an important tool in the armoury of
researchers as it sets commitments to YOUR career development in stone. The University of Exeter is signatory to the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, and this session will champion how the Concordat can provide researchers with leverage and direction.
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Careers Beyond Academia – Alumni Panel Session
Thursday 24 September 2026 (2 pm - 3.30 pm) Online
We are delighted to be joined by an exciting line-up of Exeter Alumni working in diverse fields!
Chaired by Dr Peter O'Rourke, hear from four Exeter doctoral alumni who have gone on to use their researcher skills in a diverse range of jobs and sectors including Biological Safety Officer, founder of a consultancy firm, founder of a quantitative research and AI company and a Research & Programme Officer.
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Dr Harriet Bare (PhD Molecular Biology, 2016).
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Dr Georgina Crossman (PhD Politics, 2010).
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Dr Jordan Moore (PhD Mathematics, 2021).
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Dr Jane May Morrison (PhD Human Geography, 2022).
Each panellist will give a brief overview of their career steps after completing their research degrees at Exeter, and reflect on how their research backgrounds and skills have led to their current positions. There will be time for Q&A.
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Research Staff Development Programme
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UNIque Programme for Women Researchers
7 & 21 October; 4 & 18 November and 2 December 2026
Are you a woman researcher wondering what comes next in your career, or how to move forward with greater confidence?
UNIque is an inspiring 8-week development programme that has already supported hundreds of women researchers to take ambitious and meaningful next steps. It is designed for those who want to grow but feel held back by uncertainty, limited confidence, or too many competing possibilities. Whether you are considering a fellowship, promotion, a move into industry, or your future in academia, UNIque provides dedicated time and support to reflect, plan and make decisions with confidence. This online programme, delivered by Dr Emma Williams, encourages you to stop waiting for permission, step into leadership, and take ownership of your career direction. It also helps participants reconnect with
their strengths, values and authentic voice. Alongside personal development, UNIque offers a supportive community of women who understand the challenges of research careers and can share experiences, encouragement and insight.
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1:2:1 Careers Appointments with Kenneth Howgill – Researcher Development Careers Coach (ECRs)
Unsure of your future career direction either within Academia or beyond Academia? Kenneth Howgill, (Careers Coach for Researcher Development), is available to offer 1:2:1 Career coaching appointments for ECRs. 50 minute online appointments are available for you to book on.
Kenneth can offer advice and discuss how to manage and plan your career. If you have any queries, please contact ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.
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'Focus Space' - Improve Your Productivity'
We would like to give you a warm welcome to our regular 'Focus Space' online sessions which run from 10 am - 12.30 pm Mondays and Thursdays - Click here for dates and details of how to join this group. Participants do not have to stay for the whole session - you can dip in and out as you please! To make things easy, these sessions, open to research-active staff, can be accessed via the same Teams link.
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. Facilitating is considered part of 'teaching practice' for Fellowship levels of the Higher Education Academy!
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Calling all Early Career Researchers: Images of Research Competition 2026
Deadline for Entries : Monday 5 October 2026
It’s that time of year again to dig out that image that perfectly encapsulates your research and share it with the wider world! The picture to the right is last year's runner up (ECRs) = Nicholas Clifton & Alice Franklin - 'Synergy'.
Our Images of Research competition provides Early Career Researchers with the opportunity to gain valuable experience communicating your research to a non-specialist audience.
The competition has received hundreds of entries over the years and showcases the breadth of research undertaken at the university through a fantastic array of images and short, jargon-free descriptions. You can view past entries and the winners, as well as gain some inspiration for entering this year’s competition, in our Images of Research booklets.
Entries will be displayed online and at the Forum, Streatham Campus early in the New Year, and winners promoted through social media. We are also hoping to display in Cornwall.
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.
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Other Learning and Development Opportunities: University of Exeter and Beyond
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Research – Industry Networking Event: Transforming Ideas into Action
Friday 25 September 2026 (10 am - 1.30 pm)
Streatham Campus, Creative Quadrant
Opportunity for Early Career Researchers to meet business professionals who are actively seeking research-informed solutions to address industry challenges.
This free event is funded by Research England, (travel costs and lunch/cakes covered). If you're an ECR in the following areas, please consider registering your interest.
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Sustainable practice;
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Leadership and culture;
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Marketing;
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Digital transformation;
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Business strategy.
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National 10 Development Days Festival for Research Staff
Monday 28 September - Friday 16 October 2026
We are excited to announce the launch of the inaugural National 10 Development Days Festival for Research Staff, taking place from 28 September to 16 October 2026!
Created by King's College London in partnership with 14 UK higher education institutions, including the University of Exeter, this free online festival celebrates and promotes the minimum 10 professional development days available to research staff across the UK.
As a signatory to the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Research Staff, the University of Exeter is committed to supporting its researchers to engage in a minimum 10 development days each year (pro-rata for part-time colleagues).  
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Human Tissue Act (HTA) Training Dates
Are you removing, storing or using any human tissue for research or teaching? The Human Tissue Act (HTA) training is mandatory for anyone working with human tissue samples at the University of Exeter. The next session is on Tuesday 29 September 2026 (10 am) - online.
If you plan to collect informed consent as part of your research, you need to attend the Informed Consent training, also held on Tuesday 29 September 2026 (11.15 am) online.
You should attend these training sessions even if the human tissues that you work with are later rendered acellular (for example, plasma or urine). This helps ensure that all researchers at the University understand their responsibilities under the Human Tissue Act and feel confident in meeting those obligations. If you have previously completed this training but have not stored samples or taken consent in previous two years, then you should re-attend. Please contact the HTA team on HTA-return@exeter.ac.uk for further enquiries or to book your place.
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Exploring the Future of Digital Identity in Healthcare
Thursday 8 October 2026 (11 am - 2 pm)
Mastek UK Head Office in Reading
FREE & lunch/travel included!
The Developing Business Aware Academics (DBAA) project is partnering with Mastek, a leading digital engineering company, to host this researcher workplace visit and networking opportunity. The event is open to researchers with relevant interests.
The development of digital health identity will be explored via discussion on:-
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Future directions for UK health policy.
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Healthcare law and regulation - boundaries for implementation and compliance across organisations.
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Clinician and patient perspectives - trust and sensitivities.
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International precedents for digital health identities and lessons from other sectors.
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What is Mentoring and how can it be of benefit?
Mentoring allows established professionals and less experienced professionals to meet and engage with one another, offering both parties the chance to progress, learn new skills and fulfil true potential.
The university has a mentoring platform and all ECRs are encouraged to sign up to be either a mentor, a mentee, or both! Mentoring is a valuable developmental activity.
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Research Grants, Funding & Competitions
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Epilepsy Research Institute - Now Open for Preliminary Applications!
Preliminary application deadline for all award types : Monday 28 September 2026 (4 pm)
We’re welcoming proposals across a broad range of epilepsy research areas, and we have different award types to support researchers at all career stages.
You can find full details about our grants below
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Dr Andrew Cunliffe has created this Funding Finder platform which signposts hundreds of funding opportunities that will be of interest to current community members looking to undertake research, fieldwork, conference visits or exchanges with our partner organisations worldwide. It has easily searchable listings and awards ranging from ÂŁ100 to ÂŁ10,000,000.
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New Pivot-RP Searches for the ECR Community
As part of ongoing work to develop our university-wide support for fellowship applicants and active fellows, we have established two curated Pivot-RP searches targeted at this ECR community that can be readily accessed and tailored to individual’s needs. Guidance on how to do this can be found on the button below.
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Research & Researcher Networks
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The British Academy Elevate Programme - NOW OPEN!
Deadline for Applicatons - 28 October 2026
FREE and delivered through a blend of online and in-person sessions.
This is an exciting opportunity for early career researchers to build the skills, confidence and networks needed to create meaningful real-world change through research.
It is more than professional development; it is a chance to strengthen your voice as a researcher, connect with a supportive and inclusive community, and prepare for future opportunities both within and beyond academia.
Participants can access:
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Leadership and professional development training;
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Workshops on publishing, funding and career development;
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Networking opportunities with researchers across the UK;
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A recognised development record through the getTWOit Skills Passport.
Learn more about the programme - it provides a valuable opportunity to develop professionally, expand your network, and enhance your future career prospects.
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ECR Community on Viva Engage
Have you noticed the University community for ECRs on Viva Engage? Lots of ECRs have already been added and if you are not on there, you can join. This is a collaborative online space to share and discuss ideas, ask questions and keep up to date with the latest activities, events and opportunities.
Have your voice heard and shape our community and ECR culture. Join the conversation now by sharing your first post!
This page is maintained and moderated by the Researcher Development team.
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Health, Wellbeing & Support
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Supporting Colleagues with Connections to Conflict-Affected Regions
The University understands that this may be a particularly difficult and uncertain time for colleagues with loved ones in regions affected by conflict, violence, and humanitarian crises around the world.
Please remember that wellbeing support is available to you if you need it. Our Employee Assistance Programme, Spectrum Life, is accessible 24/7, offering free and confidential support, advice, and counselling to all colleagues and their dependants over 16. You will also find a range of useful resources for support on our  Colleague Wellbeing webpages.
The University's Global Incidents webpage will be updated with further advice for colleagues as appropriate.
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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.
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