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 [email protected] or visit the Doctoral Academy website.
• For researchers at any stage of their career, researcher development opportunities are organised by Research Culture and Environment, within the Research and Innovation Services Directorate.  These include a programme of workshops, that have been specifically tailored to the needs of research staff.  Details of all events can be found on the Research Culture and Environment website.  These events will complement the programme of events that Talent & Development run for all staff.
• In May 2024, the University of Dundee was awarded £1 million from the Wellcome Institutional Fund for Research Culture (IFRC) over 24 months. This funding will support our ongoing efforts to cultivate a positive and supportive research environment. Our IFRC-funded projects aim to break down barriers, facilitate career transitions, and build an inclusive, interdisciplinary research community. For more information, please visit the Wellcome Trust IFRC projects webpage.

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

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 and fed back to the Research People, Culture and Environment Sub-committee, which feeds into the University Research Committee. If you would like to get involved with the forum, please contact [email protected].

RIS Newsletter 

On the last Thursday of the month the RIS newsletter will be published, which will include announcements from our directorate on upcoming development opportunities. Please look out for these and sign up on the Research Culture and Environment SharePoint site.