The More the Merrier

Approaches to the design and delivery of professional development for researchers in UK higher education institutions

Authors

  • Taryn Bell Organisational Development & Professional Learning, Baines Wing, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1642-2588
  • Francina Clayton Building Research and Innovation Capacity Team, The Stables, University of York, York, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5956-5626
  • Megan McLoughlin Building Research and Innovation Capacity Team, The Stables, University of York, York, UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v11i3.1537

Keywords:

professional development, research culture, higher education

Abstract

Researcher developers today are expected to be able to support researchers at a variety of different career stages, all of whom have increasingly varying needs and identities. Some postgraduate researchers identify more as staff than as students, postdocs may struggle with transitioning to independence when they hold no independent position, while established researchers face the ‘muddle in the middle’. For both researcher developers and for universities, this raises the question: is it better to develop provision, which is as inclusive as possible, or should we focus on tailoring provision to more specific needs and communities?

In this paper, we will reflect upon our own experiences developing provision for specific audiences (e.g., Research Fellows) as well as more general ones. We advocate for a ‘more the merrier’ approach, forging cross-institutional collaborations and networks to provide a breadth of opportunities including those for broad and specific groups.

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Author Biographies

  • Taryn Bell, Organisational Development & Professional Learning, Baines Wing, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Researcher Development Adviser

    Organisational Development and Professional Learning

  • Francina Clayton, Building Research and Innovation Capacity Team, The Stables, University of York, York, UK

    Researcher Development and Culture Manager

    Building Research and Innovation Capacity Team

  • Megan McLoughlin, Building Research and Innovation Capacity Team, The Stables, University of York, York, UK

    Head of the Building Research and Innovation Capacity Team

A crowd of happy people

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Published

2024-08-08

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 3 (2024): Special Issue: Research Culture

Section

Critical Reflections

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Taryn Bell, Francina Clayton, Megan McLoughlin

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