There are a wide range of opportunities to support your development and progress your career. These include a range of workshops mapped to Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework, and signposting to resources and support networks.
The Head of Department (HoD) development programme aims to equip new HoDs, through a tailored programme of blended development interventions, with the knowledge, underpinning understanding and associated skills and behaviours aligned to the role.
The programme is appropriate for newly appointed HoDs, deputy HoDs and academics who may be considering applying for the role within the next year.
The development programme comprises the following elements outlined below. Dates for any upcoming events/workshops are shown.
The induction event aims to clarify the role and expectations of the academic leader, within the context of the University strategy and to prepare new HoDs for the different leadership and management aspects of the role. The induction workshop facilitates networking, sharing practice and action planning with colleagues from different areas and provides the opportunity to hear from senior academic leaders and current HoDs about their personal approaches, challenges and lessons learned in respect of the role.
One-to-one coaching is available for all HoDs to support you in your role. Information about Coaching can be accessed via the coaching webpages.
To book a coach please contact: Jean Bennett
Mentoring can support your learning and development throughout your career, particularly when you take on increased responsibilities such as the HoD role. A mentor can help you to think through strategic decisions and reflect on issues that you encounter. Its benefits include improving your understanding of the working environment, skills development, increased motivation and boosting confidence.
To access a mentor please contact: Jean Bennett
The workshop series covers the essentials that incoming HoDs, Associate Deans and Professional Services Directors need to know.
The Research Support Office provide information and guidance specifically for HoD's, please see the useful documents linked from this webpage.
For specific advice and guidance please contact your faculty contacts. The Faculty Research Development Partnership Manager will conduct an induction with all new HoD's.
For general enquiries regarding HoD development, please email OD.
A Managers Handbook has been developed to support senior academic and professional services leaders and managers to feel effective in their role, with appropriate signposts for further information and support. The handbook will be useful if you are a new Head of Department and will be a key point of reference beyond.
There is a comprehensive range of resources available in the Management Resources - self-directed study section.
The Leader@Lancaster programme recognises that leaders are found across the University in different roles and at different levels.
The Leader@Lancaster programme aims to develop leaders to:
Do you lead a defined area of work, activity or project that requires you to delegate to others who are not necessarily in your team? Does your role require you to influence others across your department, faculty or the institution? If you answer yes to these questions, the Leader@Lancaster programme is likely to be appropriate.
The programme is typically (but not exclusively) aimed towards leaders in grades 6 and 8.
If you are looking to develop your management skills then you may like to consider the Manager@Lancaster programme designed for managers with operational line management responsibilities for staff, typically (but not exclusively) aimed towards managers in grades 6 - 7/8 and is appropriate for both Professional and Academic staff.
The programme consists of the following elements:
A one-and-a-half-hour introductory workshop
The completion of a 360 degree appraisal and personal feedback of the results
Four half day workshops
Three one-hour small group discussion forums between the workshops to reflect on the learning from each workshop. These groups will be facilitated by the course tutor and will enable more detailed discussion of the topics that have been covered.
Introductory workshop: 17th January 2024 9.30am - 12pm (Face to Face)
Workshop 1- The Leadership Challenge: 8th February 2024 9.30am - 1pm (Face to Face)
Discussion Groups: 28th February 2024 (Online) Time slots will be allocated to you once the programme has begun.
Workshop 2- The Inclusive Leader: 12th March 2024 9.30am - 1pm (Face to Face)
Discussion Groups: 18th April 2024 (Online) Time slots will be allocated to you once the programme has begun.
Workshop 3- Leading Change: 8th May 2024 9.30am - 1pm (Face to Face)
Discussion Groups: 20th May 2024 (Online) Time slots will be allocated to you once the programme has begun.
Workshop 4- Leading with Impact and Influence: 19th June 2024 9.30am - 1pm (Face to Face)
Coaching session - This will be about a month after the final workshop. Time slots will be allocated to you once the programme has begun.
Consolidation Event - 18th July 2024 10am-12pm (Face to Face)
Applications for this cohort are now closed. To express your interest in future cohorts, please contact OD.
Applications for this cohort are now closed. To express your interest in future cohorts, please contact OD.
This workshop is appropriate for anyone that may need to have one-to-one conversations such as about poor performance, student conduct, or negative attitudes.
At the end of the workshop you will be able to:
The sessions are to be held online via MS Teams. Please click on one of the links below to book your place.
There is a comprehensive range of resources available in the Management Resources - self-directed study section.
Manager@Lancaster is a development programme with a difference. Tailored to the needs of Lancaster University managers the programme supports and challenges managers to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to build and develop high-performing teams.
The programme incorporates a range of activities that are practical and highly relevant to the managers role. The programme has been running for several years and has consistently received excellent reviews and has supported managers in enhancing their practice and finding solutions to common management challenges.
Manager@Lancaster is designed for staff with operational line management responsibilities, typically (but not exclusively) aimed towards managers in grades 5 - 7/8. and is appropriate for both professional services and academic staff.
Your responsibilities should include formal line management of staff that typically includes the recruitment and induction of staff and conducting PDRs.
For team supervisors and those aspiring to be a line manager in the future there is a Stepping into Management workshop.
Please ensure that you have the full support from your line manager before applying for this programme. There is a significant time and effort commitment, to attend workshops and to complete the variety of activities associated with the programme. However, the payback is equally as great, as the phrase goes… ‘you get out what you put in’. Please note that you will have to do some work outside of the workshops in order to complete the presentations, we recommend you start this as soon as possible after starting the programme.
Consolidation event: 16th July 2024 10am-12pm (Face to Face)
Applications for this cohort are now closed. To express your interest in future cohorts, please contact OD.
Consolidation event: 21st January 2025,10am-12pm (Face to Face)
Applications for this cohort are now closed. To express your interest in future cohorts, please contact OD.
How do we organise events in this new and ever-changing climate? While a number of the key principles of events management remain in place, we have had to adapt our working practices to plan, deliver and evaluate successful online events.
Join Dr Anna Mackenzie, lead for the University’s central Events Team to discuss events management (for any size and all types of events, whether for academic or professional services purposes), share experiences, learn about new innovations to events at Lancaster, and above all hopefully gain some confidence! We will introduce you to the cross-University Events Network, signpost you to resources to support planning, and answer as many questions as possible. Bring your questions, musings and challenges to workshop with the group in a supportive environment and learn from each other.
Book Wednesday 8th May 24, 1pm-4pm
There is an events network Teams group for advice and guidance and to post your questions on event management questions.
The role of the PI (and CoI) is a vital one, both for the success of the University itself, but also in enhancing and supporting the career development and personal growth of the researchers, postdocs and PhD researchers employed within any given research project.
The new concordat to support the career development of researchers (Sept 2019) identifies three areas to which PIs (and universities more generally) must pay specific attention:
To support our PIs a specifically tailored session which offers a practical mix of Lancaster-based information and leadership considerations is being held. This will be linked both to the new Concordat, grounded in good research practice and based on feedback from existing PIs about the needs and gaps that they have identified in their own practice.
There are currently no dates scheduled for this session. To register your interest please contact OD.
Programme outline:
This re-designed programme has been developed around the UKCGE framework and will help you consider student-supervisor relationships and explore how to manage them more effectively. It will focus on the expectations of both parties; how to build and maintain supervisory relationships and strategies for dealing with potential problems.
Your questions and concerns will be addressed, and you will be provided with a toolkit for proactively managing your side of this important relationship.
We will encourage you to reflect on your existing skills and to share best practice with others, building a support network for the future.
You will need to commit to both half-day workshops and the follow-up peer coaching activity.
Please note you will need to commit to both half-day workshops meaning you are only required to register once.
There are currently no dates scheduled for this programme. To express your interest in future programmes, please contact OD.
Building on the success of the gaining academic promotions programme held last year, we are delighted to announce the programme will run again this year, under the new name preparing for promotion: academic, research and teaching staff. This programme is aimed at giving academic, research and teaching staff the best chance of achieving academic promotion.
This programme covers all stages of academic career progression. With strong input from the Athena Swan, Race Equality Charter and EDI teams, and the Faculty Offices, this programme has been designed to ensure academic promotion is available to all staff, and to encourage staff that have been underrepresented in the past to put forward academic promotion cases.
The programme will consist of a welcome by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Steve Bradley, an Institutional update by Phill Dixon, Director of People and Organisational Effectiveness, presentations on the promotions criteria, case studies and faculty input.
For more information visit the Preparing for Promotion Webpages.
Please contact OD if you have any queries or would like to register your interest.
For researchers, much professional development and advancement is linked to successfully delivering projects. Any post-doctoral or early–career researcher will have had to organize, analyse and present an enormous amount of information, set goals, reviewed progress - and probably worked with others to encourage them to do the same. However, for many researchers and research leaders, these actions are not often contained within a cogent Project Management framework.
This programme offers two linked sessions (and a small amount of preparatory and interim work) that will equip researchers with practical tools and new ways of thinking to help them manage projects with confidence. At all times the programme will be contextually rooted in the realities of academic research management.
This focused programme will equip delegates with professionally applied project management skills and an overview of various project-planning tools and techniques. The phased sessions will help participants to build a toolkit and an approach to projects that they can use with their own work and teams immediately and in any future projects. However, we will not be addressing issues specific to the administrative and financial systems at Lancaster.
In the first session, we’ll tighten up the essential elements of Research Project Management and equip participants with a series of tools to help with:
In the second session we’ll build on the material covered in session one, and explore
Book Wednesday 5th June and 12th June 24, 9.30am-12.30pm
Please note to get maximum value out of the programme you are required to attend both sessions. Therefore your registration will sign you up for both sessions.
This bespoke researcher and academic induction and development programme is for all those new to research at Lancaster. This interactive session will cover the essentials of working at Lancaster and follow with the opportunity to network with other new researchers to create connections for the future.
From attending this session, you will come away with:
*Please note this programme does not replace any faculty or departmental induction but will enhance any local offering by giving direct access to support networks available to you.
Wednesday 22nd May, 10am-12.30pm (Face to Face)
The research funding: what you need to know for success series is of relevance to early career researchers, research staff, academics and PIs who are new to Lancaster or those who wish to have a reminder of best practices and support available.
Research funding: what you need to know for success
From exploring the research funding landscape and identifying relevant opportunities to adhering to funder requirements and conducting your research with integrity, this series offers an overview of the research lifecycle and ensures you are connected with key contacts who can help you at Lancaster. The series is of relevance to early career researchers, research staff, academics and PIs who are new to Lancaster or those who wish to have a reminder of best practices and support available.
Wednesday 8th May 1pm - 4.30pm Dr Alison Stowell, LUMS
This workshop is designed for any member of academic or research staff from any discipline. This session will expose you to:
Wednesday 15th May 1pm – 4.30pm Professor Jess Davies, FST
All sessions will take place in person.
Workshops 1 and 2 are independent of one another however we recommend applicants attend each session where possible to understand the full range of support and advice available to them with the research grant application process.
We are running termly information sessions for Research Grant Holders to support you in navigating the internal processes associated with running a research grant.
We will be joined by colleagues from across professional services teams, and we will be covering a range of topics including:
Please note that you are required to attend both workshops, therefore you will only need to register once.
There are currently no dates scheduled. To register your interest in future session, please contact OD.
A new series of reflective and interactive events to inspire and motivate those who lead research at Lancaster. They look at leadership at different levels and complement existing programmes.
Designed as a pathway with options for those with a variety of experiences, the series starts with a reflective workshop aimed at those just moving into research leadership, and those aspiring to leadership roles, helping them to explore their personal ambitions and create a development plan. There are two ‘stories’ sessions with input from a range of research leaders and a bespoke session for Lancaster’s Professoriate.
These sessions are aimed at different audiences, if you are in doubt as to which might be most appropriate for you, please contact OD for further information.
All those aspiring to move into leadership in a research environment and those who have already started their journey.
Providing researchers with the space to reflect on, consider and develop their personal research leadership development plan. Drawing on a range of experiential and interactive activities, the workshop adopts a values- and strengths-based approach to help researchers identify how developing effective research leadership can benefit them within their personal research environment.
Note this workshop is heavy on the self-reflection and is not intended to provide information pertaining to leadership funding or awards, although such information might be shared by attendees.
There are currently no dates scheduled. To register your interest in future session, please contact OD.
Who for? All Professors
Lead by the Senior Leadership Team including Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellors and other guests.
Come together with other senior members of the institution and share thoughts on the key strategic priorities. Each session will be hosted by a member of the senior leadership team, giving them a chance to share with you the latest priorities for their areas. With time for discussion and idea sharing this is an opportunity for you to explore how you might increase your influence and impact.
The workshop will provide attendees with a space to reflect on, consider and develop time management strategies for themselves. Drawing on a range of experiential and interactive activities, the workshop adopts a values- and strengths-based approach to help attendees identify how developing effective time management can benefit them within their personal research environment.
While the exact content of the workshop will partly depend on the needs of attendees on the day, we aim to ensure that after attending the workshop, attendees will:
There are currently no dates scheduled for this workshop. To register your interest please email OD.
The University’s aim is that all candidates have a positive and equitable experience at all stages of recruitment and selection process.
This workshop aims to ensure that participants are equipped with the understanding, knowledge and skills to undertake fair and equitable recruitment and selection, ensuring that all candidates have a positive experience, and the best candidate is ultimately selected.
All panel chairs and all members of the recruiting panel are required to participate in Recruiting the Best training prior to engaging in any recruitment activity at the University.
Panel chairs need to attend the Recruiting the Best workshop. The workshops are held throughout the year. Panel chairs that have previously attended a workshop are required to take the Recruiting the Best online refresher course every three years to be kept abreast of best practice and legislative changes.
Panel members can participate in Recruiting the Best training in one of two ways. They can either attend the Recruiting the Best workshop, if places are available, or they can complete the Recruiting the Best online refresher course as an alternative.
The refresher online training is to be completed every three years to be kept abreast of best practice and legislative changes.'
This workshop ensures that all those involved in recruitment:
The sessions in 2023/24 will be a full day and held face to face. Please click on the links below to book your place. Please note that places on these events are limited and in high demand. We ask that you only book a place if you have recruitment activity coming up in the near future.
You are recommended to read the Lancaster University Recruitment & Selection Guidelines, available on the people section of the staff intranet and prepare any questions this raises – there will be a short opportunity with a HR Partner within the workshop to help you answer these.
During this interactive online workshop you will reflect on your career choices and progression to date and consider how to strategically position yourself for success in the future. We will be offering two sessions one aimed specifically at the career of an Academic and one aimed specifically for the career of a Researcher
This academic career development session will cover
Tuesday 23rd April, 9.30am-12pm (Online)
This Researcher career development session will cover
Tuesday 23rd April, 1pm-3.30pm (Online)
Visit the Career Management microsite to take stock of where you are now in your career and help you to plan for the future.
Researchers are expected to take ownership of their career, identifying opportunities to work towards their career goals and cultivate their independence. This includes engaging in a minimum of 10 days professional development (pro rata) per year as stated in Vitae’s Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the University’s Code of Practice.
Prosper’s ultimate goal is to open up the huge talent pool that exists within the researcher community, by using an open-access portal to offer career support and guidance. It is a new approach to career development that unlocks researchers’ potential to thrive in multiple career pathways
Prosper is an interactive tool co-created with employers, and has resources, to help you:
This resource is open to all researchers and those who support them.
Find out more about this partnership between the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester and Lancaster University, see the Prosper website.
The Change and uncertainty toolkit aim to enable us to understand how we typically respond to change and uncertainty and offer some tools and techniques to develop our resilience.
Lancaster University is fully committed to the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers. Our vision is for a fully integrated research community within which our exemplary research staff are provided equally exemplary opportunities to contribute, develop and progress. This is underpinned by a Code of Practice for Lancaster’s researchers, researcher managers and for the Institution itself.
The Concordat Implementation Group is the body that promotes and champions the Concordat agenda and monitors the delivery of Lancaster’s action plan. Lancaster's commitment to the Concordat has received European recognition in the form of the prestigious HR Excellence in Research award, first awarded to the institution in 2011.
The Curriculum and Education Development Academy (CEDA) team helps translate university educational strategy into excellent teaching practice and student learning experience at Lancaster and its strategic partners. Visit the CEDA webpages to find out about teaching development programmes and qualifications, curriculum design advice, and teaching development workshops.
The Engagement learning and development portal features toolkits, digital guides, videos and case studies to support the engagement activities of Lancaster University staff.
Aimed at researchers and professional services staff with a responsibility in this area, the portal is a one-stop-shop to support staff in delivering engagement and partnership activities including how to run events, working with the media, communicating research findings, influencing and negotiating and engaging with policymakers. It demonstrates how engagement can help further your career and has signposting to the teams and individuals at the University who can support your engagement activity.
An online course in Ethical Research for staff is available. The full course explores the theory of research ethics before taking you through the practical application of ethics in research.
Completion of the core modules will be reflected in your HR record (PeopleXD) and you will receive a digital badge. In addition, there are a range of optional units that may be useful to your research.
The Ethical Research - for postgraduate researchers course has different requirements. Courses are also available in Research Integrity and Research Impact.
The courses collectively support the enhancement of research culture at the University.
An online course in Research Integrity for staff is available. The course supports the upholding of the highest standards of rigour and integrity in research.
Completion of the core modules will be reflected in your HR record (PeopleXD) and you will receive a digital badge. In addition, there are a range of optional units that may be useful to your research.
The Research Integrity - for postgraduate researchers course has different requirements. Courses are also available in Ethical Research and Research Impact.
The courses collectively support the enhancement of research culture at the University.
LinkedIn Learning provides access to over 21,000 online learning courses, taught by industry experts. It is available to staff at Lancaster Bailrigg, Ghana and Leipzig campuses. LinkedIn courses support skills and personal development across a broad range of topics, particularly in the areas of technology, business and creative skills.
Courses vary in length from a few minutes to several hours and are broken down into bite-size video modules. There is no limit to the number of courses you can take, and you can pause a course at any point, picking up where you left off when you next login.
For information, please see LinkedIn Learning guidance.
Dr Kay Guccione (Glasgow University) writes an open-access blog for doctoral supervisors.
Requesting and tracking the 10-development day entitlement for those on a research only contract. E.g. Indefinite with an end date.
Lancaster has launched a new centralised reporting mechanism for requesting and tracking the 10-development days researchers are entitled to, under the Researcher Development Concordat. This will replace any local systems and help with reporting under the terms of the Concordat action plan.
All researchers, research managers, PIs, CoIs etc should make themselves and their staff aware of the new process. Researcher staff will be able to request a development day using the HR self-service portal ‘PeopleXD’ and for managers/PIs to approve these development days.
These instructions will help you use the new reporting system.
Please see the Researcher development days guidance for guidance on how to make the most of your 10 Researcher Development days.
This personal professional development activity falls outside of any agreed development for researchers to undertake their roles and should be discussed as part of their PDR conversation focussing on longer term career objectives.
The Lancaster Code of Conduct shows the responsibilities of the 3 stakeholder groups – the Institutional commitment, the responsibilities of the research manager and the expectations of the researcher, under each of the Concordat themes.
Any questions to OD@lancaster.ac.uk
A new collection of essays provides valuable insights into the lived experiences of early career researchers and potential solutions to the difficulties they face. Written by early career researchers and published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and the British Academy, they cover such topics as parenting as an early career researcher, chronic illness and disability, intersectionality, and the importance of supportive networks and mentors. As a collection, it adds new layers of complexity to our understanding of precarity, and reinforces the importance of recent work by the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) on Support for Research Staff.
In an increasingly competitive academic environment, having a social media presence is a valuable source of engagement and promotion of your scholarly work. Despite the endless possibilities, using social media for your scholarly communications can be a challenging task. Andy Tattersall, an Information Specialist at The School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at The University of Sheffield, will bring you up to speed with essential skills and offer top tips for using social media in a scientific context.
This programme is open to all LU academics and research staff who have an existing social media presence:
These sessions are designed to work as standalone workshops but can also be attended as a programme.
Workshop 1: Twitter and online reputation management
In this session we will begin by looking at Twitter as a tool to reach new audiences that include your academic peers, publishers, members of the general public and anyone else who would benefit from hearing about your research. We will explore the number one tool for communication by academics and go beyond the basics to show you how to navigate the Twittersphere and maximise your efforts using tips and tools to increase your impact. Finally, we will look at the thorny issue of reputation management and how to stay on the right side of social media and research communication. Following sessions will build upon this by showing you how to make professional-looking content to share across your social media platforms.
(Online)
Workshop 2: social networks, video and animation creation
In this session we will build on the Workshop 1, we will go beyond Twitter and help you decide which other platforms to invest your time in. We will look at how you can make improvements to your various online profiles to increase your visibility and maximise your networks. For the majority of the workshop we will explore the more creative elements available to academics and research support staff when communicating their work. We will look at the possibilities of using video and animations as a way to create new outputs that can be accessed by wider audiences as well as showcase a few free and low cost tools that can be learned easily and applied to most research outputs
(Online)
Workshop 3: podcasts, research blogging and working with the media
In this session we will look at some of the creative ways academics can proactively engage with wider audiences. The session will begin by showcasing how podcasts can be a cost-effective way to communicate a myriad of different outputs. The session highlights free tools that you can use to record, edit and host your very own podcast as well as the technical and ethical implications for doing so.
The second part of the session will cover writing for blogs and lay summaries and how to turn your complex academic paper into a short form, easier to digest article that can potentially gain media attention. We will also look at how AI might be able to help with these kinds of activities. Finally we will show how best to communicate your research across the media, the importance of owning the conversation. The session will teach academics and professional support staff how to engage with these mediums in a way that will demystify and build their confidence.
(Online)
Workshop 4: infographics and altmetrics
In this final of four sessions we will explore infographics and how they can be used to help disseminate research. We will look at a few platforms for creating illustrative and eye-catching static and interactive content and show how easy it is for someone to create their very first eye-catching data driven or qualitative poster. Finally, we will tie things together by looking at altmetrics and how they can be employed to get a better understanding of how your research is being received across the media and social networks among other avenues of communication.
(Online)
Workshop 5: we are here to support: voices from the communications team
Delivered by colleagues from our in-house communications team, this information session will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the types of service and processes in place to support academic media engagement. This session will cover:
(Online)