Supporting early career researchers to reach their full potential

A new university wide career development package.

200 early career researchers (ECRs) across the Faculties of Biological Sciences and Medicine and Health will benefit from a university wide project aimed at enabling staff to achieve their career ambitions.

This new package of support, funded by Research England, will support researchers through a programme of four key activities led by a team of postdoctoral researchers, Dr James Warren, Dr Laurin McDowall and Dr Jessica Swanson, in partnership with Organisational Development & Professional Learning and Research and Innovation Services at the University of Leeds. 

It will involve the development and dissemination of comprehensive resources to enable research outputs, opportunities to acquire additional professional accredited qualifications, such as chartership, and an industry-led event.

This new package of support will empower early career researchers to control their own career paths from their very first day at University of Leeds.

Overcoming career barriers

When ECRs start their initial short-term contracts, they must quickly become productive in their research. 

Often they feel overwhelmed, miss out on development activities and fail to engage with their career development until it is too late.

Feedback from existing ECRs through the FBS Postdoc Association suggested early career support could lead to increased uptake of existing training, greater confidence in making decision about their careers, and improved chance of quicker career progression. 

Supporting ECRs

As part of the programme, a new and comprehensive resource covering life at the University such as HR, finance, IT, purchasing and travel, will help researchers understand university processes to deliver their research. 

Up to date information on the career support available from the University, such as help to develop fellowship applications and build skills which cut across both academia and industry, will also be included. 

An industry-led event will showcase research partnerships with industry and facilitate conversations between ECRs and industry representatives to build their network and support them in their research and career planning. 

ECRs will also have opportunities to acquire chartership (CSci), an internationally recognised qualification, which demonstrates professional competency and knowledge in science. Chartership status can help researchers to stand out to future employers and may lead to a wider range of roles across leadership and management.

An event aimed at showcasing CSi and Fellowship opportunities has already attracted over 60 early career researchers.

Once all these initial activities are complete, project leads have ambitions to expand this offering to a further 1,300 ECRs across the university.

Leeds' ethos is that all career directions matter. This project is a wonderful opportunity to develop collaborations between OD&PL, RIS and FBS that allow our research community to explore a wide range of careers, in or out of academia. The project team are already thinking about how we can expand the project to other Faculties - watch this space!

Building a positive research culture 

This initiative is just one way in which the Faculty is building a positive working environment to enable world-class research. FBS events, such as like Coffee and Careers mornings for example, are already helping ECRs discuss career pathways with senior alumni and staff. Ongoing surveys through the Postdoc Association are also capturing views on ECR needs to develop future initiatives. 

“Not only will be this support individual research journeys, but it will help to build the University’s positive research culture by fostering future mutual support among research groups, including technicians, PGRs, and undergraduates,” added Dr Warren.