Development for research leaders

Researcher development for Research Leaders is the support and opportunities for PIs and for PGR Supervisors to enrich your skills and working relationships, foster your talents, and accelerate your professional prospects. Every researcher is unique, and similarly every supervisory and line management partnership is unique. We recognise that development opportunities are everywhere, and we ecourage you to take part in development activities that are right for you. This might include:

  • Completing mandatory training 
  • Engaging with peer communities
  • Attending bitesize training
  • Doing reflective practice informed by reading scholarship on supervision and research leadership
  • Getting recognition for your leadership
  • Undertake leadership development programmes such as Talent Lab
  • Giving and getting mentoring

The University of Glasgow is committed to investing in opportunities for everyone to engage in personal, professional and career development, fostering engaging, fair, and collegial cultures in which colleagues help each other to succeed. One way that this commitment is shown is our 

Aligned to the University's commitment to implement the Researcher Development Concordat, all researchers are expected to spend a minimum of 10 days/year (pro rata), engaging with activities, experiences and opportunities which support their professional and career development. 

Researcher Development at Glasgow

These initiatives, programmes, and support for research leaders across the University of Glasgow are led by the Research Culture and Researcher Development team within the Research Services Directorate.  Our provision is underpinned by six priority themes:

  • Career Direction
  • Connection and Belonging
  • Researcher Integrity
  • Engaged Communication
  • Constructive Conversations
  • Innovative Ideas

We map all our provision to University strategy, the requirements of research funders, and sector frameworks such as the UK Good Supervisory Practice Framework the Concordat to support the career development of researchers, and the Vitae Researcher Development Framework.

 

First steps

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Do Mandatory Training

Mandatory training ensures that everyone is equipped with the shared knowledge and skills to uphold the safety, wellbeing and cultural integrity of the University. Mandatory training is all self-paced, and largely completed on Moodle. Successfully completed training will pull through to your HRCore record.

Connect with others

A peer and community support model underpins our belief that research thrives when everyone is supported to be at their best, and to be part of an engaging, fair, and collegial environment in which people help each other to succeed. 

Cultivate a reflective practice

In order to benefit from continual professional development, you need to cultivate a reflective practice.  Paying attention to your everyday leadership of researchers, reflecting on it in light of your values and knowledge, and reflexively trying out best practice, leads to new insight. 

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Understand your Concordat obligations

Glasgow is a signatory to the Concordat for the Career Development of Researchers (often abbreviated to the Researcher Development Concordat, or the Concordat). This includes obligations for Institutions, Funders, Managers of Researchers and Researchers, notably to support 10 days pro rata of professional development for all researchers. Glasgow considers this to encompass both PGRs and Research Staff.

Familiarise yourself with key policies and processes

Make sure you know the institutional strategies, policies, and processes that you need to work to in your leadership of PGRs and Research Staff. These will relate to research practice (such as fieldwork, intellectual property or responsible research), to check-points (such as APRs, Vivas, P&DR, or promotion), and to human resources (such as benefits, equality and diversity). Here are a couple of places to start: 

Explore the ecology of development

Choose what you need from the Researcher Development Team’s support for supervisors and PIs. We offer bitesize as well as longer programmes. Also keep an eye out for courses, mentoring or events offered through your college, CDTs, Funders, or your professional body or learned society.

Engage with specialist blogs

Scholarship on research leadership is growing rapidly. Follow key blogs to understand the changing landscape and cultivate reflective practice. For example: