Researcher development

Researcher Development refers to all of the learning and development opportunities that you experience throughout your time at the University of Dundee. It provides you with a wide variety of skills and talents that you can directly apply to your current research and enable you to have a diverse and dynamic ongoing career.

The strong interdependencies across training and support are evidenced in the areas of professional development, research integrity, public engagement, open research, knowledge exchange and research culture. 

Researcher Development is offered in many Units and Directorates across the University, as well as at School level. Depending on what stage of your research career you are at will depend on what Unit you will interact with the most.

• For Postgraduate Researchers (PhD, Professional Doctorates and Research Masters), the Doctoral Academy will support and help you navigate all aspects of  your research degree journey. If you would like to chat with someone within the Academy, please contact doctoralacademy@dundee.ac.uk or visit the Doctoral Academy website.
• For Early Career Researcher or Academics as well as PhD Students, Researcher Development within the centralised Learning and Development Unit at the University, Talent and Development design and deliver a bespoke training and development programme for these audiences. All these workshops are aligned to the researcher development framework as set out by Vitae.
• For Senior Researcher and academics, as well as the development programme mentioned above, there is a range of Organisational Development activity that is undertaken each year
• For all Researchers, Research and Innovation Services provide support and development for grant applications and funding.

Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers (RDC) 

The Concordat to support the career development of researchers (RDC) has three defining Principles covering Environment and Culture, Employment, and Professional and Career Development. For each of these Principles, the Concordat outlines the key responsibilities of the four main stakeholder groups: researchers, managers of researchers, institutions, and funders. These responsibilities are cast as obligations, given the pressing need to improve standards and to ensure a consistency of experience for our researchers across the UK. Some of these obligations will take time to implement, while some may need to be adapted or, occasionally, might not be appropriate for particular signatories given the nature and mission of their organisations. It is also recognised that some of the areas of most concern to researchers, such as the prevalence of fixed-term contracts and enforced mobility, will require long term systemic changes, which can only be realised through collective action across stakeholders. 

• View resources on the RDC

Training and Development opportunities 

The University of Dundee is dedicated to supporting the development of research staff through its investment in their on-going training and development.  A wide range of training opportunities are available to all members of staff via our online resources and programme of workshops. 

The Researcher and Academic Development programme is made with the development cycle of researchers in mind. This is commonly known as the Researcher Development Framework (RDF).

• View a list of Training workshops for Researchers across a multitude of areas

Research Staff Forum 

The Research Staff Forum (RSF) is a group consisting of both Research and Academic Research staff. The aims of this group are to address and consult on issues facing the research community. The Forum is a place where ideas for new initiatives for researchers can also be discussed. If you would like to get involved with the forum. Please contact the Researcher and Academic Development officer.

Research Newsletter 

Every 2 months the Research Staff Newsletter is published. The aims of this newsletter are to help connect the research community with opportunities and events. There is also an opportunity for Researchers to be highlighted in the newsletter and to showcase their research in the Researcher Highlight. If you would like to showcase content for the newsletter, contact us.