ResDevInYourPJs

Posted on: 28 August 2020 by Angela Midgley (Length: 428 words - Read time: 2 mins) in Blog posts

Video screen shot
Not quite internet stars! The recording of one of our videos with two of our colleagues – Sally Middleton and Jean Kearsley on Wellbeing.

Dr Angela Midgley takes us through how #ResDevInYourPJs came about as a way of virtually reaching out to the researcher community and Liverpool and beyond.

An example of a slide used in a ResDevInYourPJs session.

A description of one of the videos - an ECR’s journey from Postdoc to fellowship success.

I think it is fair to say that most of us often feel time poor, and that more and more we try and access information in a “bitesized” way. A global pandemic has only added to this and in March 2020 #ResDevInYourPJs was born.

A simple throw away comment by me about how our change in working environment (as most of the University would be working from home) may also result for some in a change in what we wear for work- PJ’s being a potential option. This comment also highlighted that for many our working lives suddenly felt very different and indeed for some created a feeling of isolation.

ResDev In Your PJ’s is a way of virtually reaching out to the researcher community and Liverpool and beyond to let our researchers know that we remain 100% committed to supporting their development and wider researcher community networking.

It has involved twitter check ins, virtual coffee get-togethers and also bitesized videos about a variety of topics.

Why watch the videos?

The videos are informal and sometimes humorous short chats with colleagues and individuals from outside of the University regarding a diverse array of topics, including our Researcher Hub, researchers’ wellbeing, the UoL Research Staff Association (RSA), the Prosper project, Making an Impact, advice for technicians, researcher developers and the journey of a postdoc in obtaining a fellowship. Each video has been between 5-15mins long and all have contained some great top tips. New videos that continue to be released via @LivResearcher every few weeks You can preview the full playlist here.

So what have I learnt?

Well firstly my lockdown hairdo has not always been kind and Hollywood is definitely not calling anytime soon! More importantly however I have found out that:

  • We should try to talk to ourselves like we would our best friends.
  • The many wellbeing resources available through the University
  • How Vitae supports researcher development
  • How to lead a group remotely
  • That postdocs have many transferrable skills that can be invaluable in roles outside of academia
  • and greater insight into how researchers as part of the RSA are having a positive effect on research culture.

I would definitely recommend giving them a watch 😊, by the time the kettle is boiled, you may find you have gained some useful information and top tips (PJs not compulsory but remain an option 😊).

About the author

Dr Angela Midgley is a Research Staff Developer at The Academy at the University of Liverpool.  Angela’s role involves implementing researcher development initiatives and high quality development activities, which are aimed at cascading effective practice and developing the capabilities of all research staff across all career stages and faculties. Angela also works closely with and supports The Academy’s Research Staff Association (UoL RSA) in partnership with UKRSA.

Angela Midgley

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