Sussex Research Hive Seminar Tennie Videler

Vitae Website PGR Tips PGR blog to be launched Research staff and careers sections RS blog: UKRSA: events Champions the personal, professional and career development of doctoral researchers and research staff.

Events Leadership in action March Collaborative researcher March Advancing in academia Research staff conference 3 November

Researcher development framework

What do researchers do? first destinations of doctoral graduates by subject

doctorates awarded from UK universities in 2007: ~ graduated from first degree ~ doctoral graduates ~ UK domiciled Source: The Higher Education Statistics Agency Some numbers:

Numbers by subject The numbers per subject varies from single figures up to an average of 735 per year in medicine.

What do doctoral graduates do?

Proportion employed as researchers - 35% overall This varies from 7% for theology to 71% for some biological subjects.

Numbers employed in the education sector- 49% overall This varies from 28% for psychology doctoral graduates to 79% of those in modern languages.

Employed as research staff in higher education- 23% This varies from 6% for theology to 43% for biology, biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics.

varies from less than 1% in physics, chemistry, and microbiology to 56% in law. HE lecturering and teaching 14%

What do researchers do? career profiles of doctoral graduates

40 inspirational careers stories My doctorate changed my life. It opened doors, and it also opened my mind. I take on challenges now, in my life and my career, because I have faith in my own abilities. Cora Beth Knowles (doctorate in Latin literature)

What do biomedical science doctoral graduates do?

Clinical and pre-clinical medicine

Career profile: Alastair Wilkins Consultant neurologist and senior lecturer in neurology My doctoral research was useful and a necessity for my current job. I understand the processes of research and some of the workings of higher educational organisations.

Pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacy

Career profile: Catherine Martin Researcher at the Medical Research Councils clinical sciences centre Attaining a doctorate gave me an enormous sense of achievement and a tremendous boost in confidence

Nursing

Career profile: John Baker lecturer at the school of Nursing Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester The doctorate has been pivotal in developing my academic career, as a result of my expertise in this area and collaborations I have started.

What do researchers do? doctoral graduate destinations and impact three years on

Occupational clusters HE research non HE research HE teaching and lecturing teaching outside HE other common doctoral occupations other

Clusters by qualification

What are the other doctoral occupations? This cluster includes: health professionals (accounting for 18% of the cluster), functional and production managers and senior officials (25%); Engineering professionals (14%), ICT professionals (10%), business, finance and statistical professional and associate professional roles (15%)

Occupational cluster by discipline

Income by discipline

Recession Postdoctoral unemployment may rise to 6% This means 94% of doctoral graduates do find employment

UK Research Staff Association The UKRSA provides a collective voice for research staff across the UK by working closely with Vitae to nurture research staff associations and inform policy

Were still at the start in January 2010 volunteers identified at the Vitae research staff conference and members of the NRSA committee of members of research staff and representatives of stakeholder organisations

Communities Support local and regional research staff associations (RSAs) maintain online social networking resources for research staff (RS) provide links to resources for RS that are developed by partner organisations research projects to survey opinion and develop additional resources for use by UK RS

Policy Represent the interests and views of RS in interactions with relevant national bodies Provide input on policy affecting RS Inform RS of relevant policy issues

Publications

A guide to research staff associations a core resource for anybody wishing to set up an RSA sell the benefits of an RSA

Why set up an RSA? practical support to RS influence university policy networking and collaborative opportunities develop skills of committee members

Impact: Institutions RSAs have been consulted on: Concordat implementation fixed term contract policy training needs of research staff (95%!) RSAs facilitate training and achieve high engagement

Influencing policy 5 national committees 4 national organisations represented on our committee invitations to provide the research staff voice at national events Invitation to Brussels to discuss setting up European RSA Published two (influential!?) reports on RSAs

Impact: Committee members RSA had made RS voice heard (83%) 50% had achieved some level of change 50% acted with more confidence as a researcher 28% enjoyed research more

Supporting research RS told us that being a researcher means undertaking great research! Local RSAs are successful in doing this UKRSA online communities

What next? More research, resources and publications Regional cooperation Europe

Contact me: Contact UKRSA: