
Three | 2020
A selection of current news items for managers of Early Career Researchers.
Management matters
Higher education in pandemic times. The Higher Education Research and Development journal has published a special collection of essays reflecting on the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic and imagining the future of the sector.
Ref: Higher Education Research & Development, Volume 39, Issue 7, 2020 (Open Access)
Academic assessment principles... The Hong Kong Principles throw down a new challenge to universities to promote quality across a wider range of research-related activities.
... and assessment practices. In parallel, Science Europe's July 2020 report into research assessment offers a useful tour of best practice, further support for qualitative criteria and recommendations for adjusting processes.
Quality is hard to measure. The distractions and distortions that can emerge when university metrics over-emphasise quantitative performance.
Making integrity integral. An EU-funded study on improving research integrity has produced clear recommendations and a website with resources to support institutions in putting plans into action. As an example, the Berlin Institute of Health is three years into its QUEST programme to enhance the trustworthiness, usefulness and ethics of research.
Mentoring impact. Good mentoring is not only critical to the 'human face' of research, it's great for academic culture and productivity too.
Mentor development. While some research mentors are born good, the rest need training - and there are good free resources to hand.
Animosity in academia. Good leaders make enemies, the better and more senior they get.
Research matters
Insights into the lives of postdocs. Nature's first global postdoc survey gathered views from ECRs in 93 countries on their own situations and their quality of life, including mental health issues.
Set-back for open access. Withdrawal of European Research Council support risks derailing the open-access publishing initiative, Plan S.
Access to abstracts. The Initiative for Open Abstracts (I4OA) is partnering with Crossref to make summaries of research papers readily searchable and free to read, with 52 publishers signed up so far.
10 years of retractions. After its first decade of investigating and profiling problematic publications, Retraction Watch takes stock of the landscape.
Writing support. A reminder of the multiple benefits of writing groups for early career researchers.
Digital documentation. The benefits of digitising research notebooks, and different approaches to the task.
Research-industry partnerships. A run through the types, and potential benefits for ECRs, of industry collaborations and where to start, including an introduction to the digital partnering platform, IN-PART.
ECR careers
Toughing it out. ECR job applicants and hiring committee members highlight issues at play in the current academic job market.
Redefining success. A newly-funded postdoc reflects on her journey and concludes that the way academic success is currently measured is not fit for purpose.
Skills for all trades. A personal take on the varied and highly transferrable skills needed to be a successful ECR.
A broader career view. With academic jobs at an even greater premium post-COVID, more universities might look to internships as part of doctoral programs.
Finding the 'future professional self'. A seasoned scholar argues an outsider's perspective can provide vital support and motivation for postgraduate students.
Personal press
Balancing admin and research. Strategies for sustaining a research agenda while pursuing an admin career in academia, and avoiding burnout.
Life skills. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to test our resilience in a range of ways, a profile of some skills and mindset adjustments to help manage adverse events.
Ban the impostor! A research mentor on ways to manage a relentless 'inner critic', and a biomed engineer shares how she confronts her feelings of inadequacy.
Intuition before logic. If the idea of a career 'fit' sounds too restrictive, consider 'career feel' and the instincts of your well-trained gut.
Forks in the career road. The most helpful response to, 'option A or option B?' may be, 'what about C?'
Your 'dent in the universe'. Thinking about how you want to be remembered can bring useful clarity and purpose to life now.
The professional look. Excuses are fading for our video-comms set-ups to look accidental, so what should we aim for?
Taming the Beast. Not all the suggestions here for managing email will work for everyone, but even one will help!
Serious research
One index to rule them all'. Introducing a true measure of research impact (at least this index makes you smile...!).
Goodbye 2020, welcome 2021 (...with open arms!)
After a truly challenging year for everyone we are looking forward hugely to 2021 and a return to a more normal life in the not-too-distant future. Our training offers for the new year are:
- Postdoc Career Success online program: starting dates to suit your institution and postdoc participants.
- Career Control for Researchers online program: training in career planning for your PhD candidates running twice in 2021, from 12 April to 4 June and 5 October to 26 November.
- Workshops: until face-to-face events are possible again we will offer all of our workshops virtually at a time that suits you.
Please get in touch to discuss how we can help you support your junior researchers.
We hope you find this brief news digest helpful.
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