Finding Partners outside of Academia

Wednesday 14^th Dec, 2pm

Canterbury Campus, Room TBC

Working with those beyond academia has become increasingly important in recent years: forming strong, productive links with non-academics helps to develop, inform and disseminate your research. But how should you identify suitable partners, and how can you make sure that your relationship is mutually beneficial, long-lasting and sustainable? This session will be led by Janine Coomber and Kimm Sutter from Kent Innovation and Enterprise (KIE). KIE is the sister service to Research Services, and provides help and support in forging links outside of the University to exploit the findings of your research.

How to Write a 4* Article

Prof Mark Reed

Last week Prof Mark Reed, Professor of Socio-Technical Innovation at Newcastle University and the man behind Fast Track Impact, tweeted some thoughts on how to write a 4* paper for the REF. Here he explains his thinking in more detail.

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How do you write a 4* paper for the Research Excellence Framework (REF)? It is a question I’ve asked myself with some urgency since the Stern Review shredded my REF submission by not allowing me to bring my papers with me this year to my new position at Newcastle University.

Obviously the answer is going to differ depending on your discipline, but I think there are a few simple things that everyone can do to maximize their chances of getting a top graded research output.

Using Social Media to Support your Research

30 November, 2pm

Medway Campus, Room TBC

Technology is changing the way we access information, and how we communicate. Nowhere is this more apparent than in academia. Social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and blogging platforms such as Blogger and Wordpress, are increasingly being used to raise profiles, to disseminate research, and to make links with potential collaborators and participants.

The latest ECR Network session will look at how we can make best use of social media tools to support our own research. Presented by three experienced researchers, the workshop will focus on:

•  Using Twitter to talk about your research and engage with others beyond your School – Dr Mark Burnley, Sports & Exercise Sciences

• Using Facebook to recruit research participants and manage a project – Dr Kate Bradley, SSPSSR

• Using a range of tools, including Kudos, ResearchGate and Impactstory, to disseminate your research, track your impact, and improve citations – Dr Nigel Temperton, Medway School of Pharmacy.

The event is free and open to all, and refreshments will be provided. However, places are limited, so do let me know if you wish to come along.

How to Get a Job in Research Management

A surprisingly large part of my work involves recruitment. I recruit for my own team, of course, but I often sit on other people’s interview panels, and I quite enjoy the experience.

I enjoy the snapshot you get of other lives and the choices people have made. I like that element of detective work that goes on when you look at someone’s CV and covering letter. Why have they decided to go for this job? Why did they change direction there, or only stay in that job for a few months? Would they be able to turn their hand to what we want them to do?

And I also like seeing my organisation from outside. Like a foreign press news story about the UK, it’s quite interesting to see how we are perceived by the rest of the world. Recruitment gives you an insight into how jobseekers see you.

What I find amazing, however, is how many people get the basics wrong. Now remember: we’re recruiting people for a service that is, essentially, about helping people prepare applications. We therefore set quite a lot of store by your ability to, well, prepare an application. If you are thinking about applying for a job in this increasingly professionalised world, take the time to get the basics right. For me, these basics have a lot in common with those necessary for external funding applications.

University Research Prizes: Call for Nominations

Prof Philippe De Wilde, the DVC Research & Innovation, has today issued the call for nominations for the 2017 University Research Prizes.

The Research Prizes were launched in Kent’s fiftieth anniversary year (2015), and have already recognised a wide range of outstanding research across the University. Details of the winners from 2015 and 2016  are available via the links. 

This year we are aligning the categories more closely to those offered by the touchstone of excellent research in Europe, the EuropeanResearch Council (ERC).

Global Challenges and Newton Fund: a Half Day Workshop

At a time when many funders are freezing or limiting their spending, the Government is investing heavily in research collaboration with developing (or ODA recipient) countries. This is primarily through the Global Challenges Fund and the Newton Fund. Following information days on both of these last year, this GROW event is an opportunity to talk about your plans with award holders, reviewers and funders, as well as other applicants. In addition, the workshop coincides with a visit by a small delegation of colleagues from Malaysian universities and Ministry of Higher Education. The full programme is given below.

The workshop is free and open to all at Kent and Eastern ARC partners, and refreshments (including lunch) will be provided, but places are limited and offered on a first come first served basis. Please register here.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. 

The Dark Art of Costing

Professor Massoura-McGonagall instructing colleagues in the dark arts

Sometimes costing a grant application can seem like a dark art, full of unfamiliar terms, complex algorithms, and strange exclusions.

The latest Grants Factory session sought to demystify the process, clearly setting out what you can and cannot apply for, how the calculations are made, and how Research Services can help.

It was led by Dr Andrew Massoura and Dr Jane Benstead. Between them they have an encyclopedic wealth of knowledge about how costing works. Based on this, here are my eleven key points for understanding the dark art of costing research proposals.