Coffee Connect
Coffee Connect enables you as research staff to connect in an informal way and meet colleagues from across the university. The networks you build through Coffee Connect will help you to navigate the university and increase your awareness of what research looks like in other areas of the university. It is also a chance to develop your practice by sharing your research with researchers in and out of your field.
This initiative lies within our 'Connection and Belonging' priority for Researcher Development. Find out more about our six priority themes.
Signing up to Coffee Connect means that you will be randomly matched with other researchers for short, monthly chats over the beverage of your choice. To be included in the monthly match pool, you only need to sign up once. If at any time you would like to opt back out, or pause your involvement, at any point you can do so by getting in touch.
The pairs are announced at the beginning of each month, then it is over to you to set up a meeting at a convenient time and place. We encourage you to approach it in any way that is meaningful to you. No feedback, no reporting, just a break with a colleague.
In 2023 we paired 538 of you at random from across the University. For 2024 we are piloting the option for you to select to be paired within your College. This is in recognition that sometimes the conversations you want to have are local. If you were already in the monthly match pool and want to try a local pairing just sign up again and indicate your new preference.
Need more information get in contact with the Researcher Development Inbox.