About the session
Building on the obligations for researchers under the Researcher Development Concordat, this workshop will focus on how you can prepare for a successful future, in whichever career path you choose.
Researchers will actively participate in discussions around the barriers they face in engaging with professional development planning, consider their role with its many different aspects and expectations, and explore the types and topics of development that they value and work for them.
Who is it for?
- Early Career Researchers (including Postdocs)
- Mid-Career Researchers
- Managers of Researchers
- Research-related Professional Services Staff (including research support administrators, researcher developers and career development professionals)
- Others eg: stakeholders from industry, funding agencies, policy influencers, editors, etc.
Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Better understand their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations around professional development planning
- Question the barriers they perceive when prioritising their career and professional development
- Think creatively about how they can progress their career and development goals
- Feel positive about their future and avenues for success, in whichever field they choose.
Get to know your facilitators
Dr Katie Wheat, Head of Engagement and Policy at Vitae
Dr Katie Wheat is Head of Engagement and Policy at Vitae, leading world class researcher development to realise the potential of researchers. Through her leadership of Vitae membership and Vitae Connections events, as well as work to support the Researcher Development Concordat, Katie engages with stakeholders across the research ecosystem to advocate for the importance of researcher career and professional development for the benefit of individuals, and ultimately society.
Particular areas of interest include demonstrating the impact of researcher development and addressing pervasive barriers to a healthy research culture, such as equality of opportunity, precarious employment and wellbeing. Her role in Research integrity: a landscape study provided an opportunity to explore these barriers in the context of research integrity, as well as the relationship between integrity and culture.
Before joining Vitae in 2014, Katie was a postdoctoral researcher in psychology and cognitive neuroscience at Maastricht University, during which time she co-founded the #ECRchat online peer-mentoring community for early career researchers.
Dr Mathew Tata, Engagement and Policy Project Manager at Vitae
As a key contact for the member community across the world, Dr Mathew Tata works at all levels to engage them in Vitae initiatives, consultations, and events. He advocates for the development of researchers and leads on the co-production of new resources and engagement activities. Passionate about improving research culture, he facilitates topic-based working groups collaborative networks, including the UK Research Staff Association.
Before joining Vitae, Mathew was a postdoctoral researcher in cell and molecular biology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. In this time, Mathew chaired both the university- and national postdoc associations, as well as serving as a board member in the international researcher advocacy NGO 'Eurodoc'. He is particularly motivated by resolving precarity and advancing EDI in the research system, and champions researcher development as a means to enabling positive wellbeing and fulfilling careers for researchers.
Session video
Download the Career Development and Professional Planning Toolbox contributions from the session (PDF, 1.2MB)
Download the Preparing for a Successful Future handout (PDF, 1.1MB)
Further resources
Vitae is a not-for-profit programme and a global leader in supporting the professional development of researchers, visit: www.vitae.ac.uk for more resources like this.
All NPDC21 listed resources including presentation slides and top tips are freely available. Please ensure you acknowledge the author(s) and/or source when using them.
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