Careers open day at HR Wallingford

Location: Howbery Park campus, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Time/Date: 24th April 2013, 09:30 – 16:00

HR Wallingford, an independent research and consultancy organisation specialising in civil engineering and environmental hydraulics, would like to invite you to come to an open day to find out more about what they do.

With a world-class staff and an international reputation for innovation and technical excellence, HR Wallingford are looking for exceptional candidates to enhance their existing teams.

As well as hearing about some of their recent research and consultancy projects, you’ll have the opportunity to be shown around their unique facilities. You’ll get to meet some of their most recent recruits and learn about their experiences since joining HR Wallingford.

Places are limited – to book your place, please contact Sarah Moxon at­ s.moxon@hrwallingford.com or tel 01491 822364 by Wednesday 17 April 2013.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional & Urban Policy and the Regional Studies Association invite postgraduates and early career researchers interested in European Cohesion Policy to apply to present their research in the form of a poster at the 11th OPEN DAYS 2013 European Week of Cities and Region, which will be held in Brussels from 7 to 10 October 2013.

The competition showcases the ongoing research and results from projects undertaken by Early Career Researchers on Cohesion Policy topics. Applicants are short-listed on the basis of up to 1000 word abstracts, and six finalists will be selected.

Each finalist will be awarded a place on the OPEN DAYS Master Class along with two nights of accommodation and travel to and from OPEN DAYS.  The overall winner will receive €750 and the runner-up will receive €250. All finalists will receive honorary membership of the Regional Studies Association for one year.

The deadline for applications is 31 May 2013.

Further information

Evaluation of EURAXESS Project – Researchers’ Community

The European Commission has launched an evaluation of the EURAXESS project (2008-2012) – Researchers’ community.

EURAXESS – Researchers in Motion is a one-stop shop for researchers seeking to advance their careers and personal development by moving to other countries. In addition to the information on training and jobs, this electronic gateway is the entry point to a wealth of practical information on living, working and relaxing in the European countries involved.

 The EURAXESS website is composed of 4 main sections devoted to 4 specific initiatives for researchers:

• EURAXESS Jobs is a stress-free recruitment tool where no charges apply.
• EURAXESS Services is a network of more than two hundred Service Centres located in 40 European countries. These Centres help researchers and their family to plan and organise their move to a foreign country. This free personalised assistance helps researchers tackle issues such as accommodation, visa and work permits, language lessons, schools for their children, social security and medical care.
• EURAXESS Rights provides all information regarding the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The Charter provides a framework for the career management of researchers, while the Code promotes open and transparent recruitment and appraisal procedures. Together they are aimed at developing an attractive, open and sustainable European labour market for researchers.
• EURAXESS Links is a network for European researchers working outside Europe. Here they can find extensive information about research in Europe, European research policies, career opportunities in Europe, international collaboration and trans-national mobility. It also provides interactive web tools promoting networking amongst European researchers living abroad. EURAXESS Links is established in the US, Japan, China, India and ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations; includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand)

 The European Commission is now reviewing its offering to researchers and would greatly appreciate your feedback. The result of the survey will help to better understand how EURAXESS services can be tailored to fit the needs of the researchers and will form the basis of planned improvements.

The survey results are confidential and will not be used for purposes other than this evaluation.

Deadline: 29 March 2013 at 12:00 (Brussels local time).

Please click to complete the survey 

 

The European Commission has launched an evaluation of the EURAXESS project (2008-2012) – Researchers’ community.

The European Commission is now reviewing its offering to researchers and would greatly appreciate your feedback. The result of the survey will help to better understand how EURAXESS services can be tailored to fit the needs of the researchers and will form the basis of planned improvements. The survey results are confidential and will not be used for purposes other than this evaluation.

Deadline: 29 March 2013 at 12:00 (Brussels local time).

Further information:

Deloitte and The Evaluation Partnership:

Lydia da Silva Gaspar – email: ldasilvagaspar@deloitte.com 

Valentina Cilli – email: vcilli@deloitte.com 

Click to complete the survey

I knew there was something else…

Bookings are open for the British Science Communication Conference! There is an early bird discount and everything. The conference aims to:

• Address the key issues facing science communicators across sectors
• Bring together the diverse group of people involved in public engagement: universities, charities, science centres, learned societies, science festivals, science policymakers, science media, etc.
• Share ideas
• Learn about best practice and new developments
• Develop practical skills
• Network and form new professional relationships

Over 400 people attended last year, so it’s a good opportunity to meet people, and would be of interest to anyone thinking of a career in science communication, or who wants to be a more engaged researcher (and who doesn’t?).

Details on the website!

Management consultancy is often a popular choice for doctoral career changers, involving, as it does, good research, analytical and communication skills. There are also lots of opportunities to specialise in a particular sector that perhaps relates to your research – we know two biosciences postdocs who have recently moved into management consultancies that specialise in pharmaceuticals and in R&D, for example.

If you fancy finding out more about management consultancy, there are a few approaches to try. You can do some desk-based research through our occupational pages, to find out more about the facts of the role and the industry. You can do some desk-based networking through our Graduate Connections database, which contains profiles of graduates in different jobs (including 93 PhD graduates), who you can email to ask for advice and information. Or, you can go one step better and actually hear direct from consultants themselves. We’re holding an Insider’s Guide event next week, featuring two guest speakers from different consultancies. There will be opportunities to network with them afterwards (including the all-important tea and biccies), which I would highly recommend – it never hurts to network, even if you’re shy, and this is a great opportunity to practice (the presenters are here to talk to you too after all).

More details about how to sign up on our events pages.

Research Councils UK (RCUK) and the four UK Higher Education funding bodies have commissioned CFE and partners from HECSU and Sheffield University to carry out research into the value and impact of doctoral training.

The aim is to develop understanding of the difference doctoral graduates make in the workplace and the extent to which doctoral training drives innovation and growth. Good evidence on this is vital to inform decisions on future investment in doctoral training.  The results will also provide a valuable resource for those who advise doctoral students and graduates about career choices.

RCUK want to contact anyone who graduated with a doctorate between 2003 and 2006.  Please support this important project by forwarding information on to doctoral graduates or other contacts and networks that may be able to help. Your support will be pivotal to the success of the project.  Please feel free to make use of the attached flyer. For further information and to register your interest in study, go to www.cfe.org.uk/doctoralimpactstudy or contact Rachel Moreton: 0116 229 3300, rachel.moreton@cfe.org.uk

SciScreen at the Tyneside Cinema is a new season of films which gives audiences the chance to learn about the science behind popular films

They are currently looking for more ideas from Newcastle University staff and students – for SciScreens over May-August ahead of the British Science Festival. In the SciScreenings, presenters give a short 15 minute introduction to a film, before taking Q&A from the audience following the screening.

If you would like to take part, please drop a note to Rose Wu by Friday 15 March, outlining your choice of film and how it relates to your work, the spin you would take in presenting it etc.

You can also see more here. Successful Proposals will also get a poster designed especially for their film choice by local design group Roots and Wings – to be displayed in the Tyneside Cinema!

Upcoming SciScreens:

March 19th 2013: Time Code, Dr Quoc Vuong and Dr Adrian Rees, Institute of Neuroscience

April 25th 2013: The Dish, Dr Andrew Fletcher, School of Mathematics & Statistics

Fulcrum Arts and Research –a new North East based organisation – are looking for researchers to work with them collaboratively to develop and deliver art events which communicate scientific ideas, and potentially generate research data – see below!

Fulcrum Arts and Research is a new North East based organisation delivering high quality, useful and entertaining participatory arts events which communicate scientific ideas and generate new research data. We create playful, intelligent opportunities for members of the public to participate in, and gain a deeper understanding of, current scientific practice and debate. Working with practitioners from a wildly various range of disciplines we collaborate to create performances, exhibitions, films, zines, conferences and workshops; introducing new audiences to research and generating understanding, debate, participation and fun….

Call out: Researchers interested in public engagement through the arts.

Time commitment: initially attendance at one 2 to 3 hour meeting / workshop with the company. By May 2013 we hope to have found 2 to 4 researchers who will collaborate with the company regularly / for a least one substantial project.

Research topics: Any science based topics, but the company is particularly interested in collaborating with researchers who are working on / have expertise in: ageing, ASD’s / developmental / learning disabilities, wellbeing, neurobiology, social change through enterprise, women and STEM

For more info please contact: info.fulcrumgroup@gmail.com

I’ve been delivering a few workshops to PhD graduates recently, where I chat to the participants about different approaches to career planning. Some people like the rational approach, where you carefully assess who you are and what you want, before researching the labour market to see what kinds of jobs you can do. Other people like the ‘planned happenstance’ approach, whereby chance events and encounters direct their career thinking (this is based in chaos theory).

Now, the rational planning approach has a lot to recommend it: it appeals to researchers because it involves a lot of research; it helps you get to know yourself (I think self-awareness is the foundation of all good career decision-making); and it makes you feel as though you are actually doing something about your career, instead of waiting around or putting it off. The downsides, of course, are that you can wrap it around yourself like a cosy blanket and never move away from your lists and your computer, because there is always a bit more research you can do. Fatally, though, I think that the rational approach can be a bit diagnostic – you get your list of what you know about yourself and what you know about the job market, and expect it to ‘diagnose’ you with the one perfect career that matches all of your criteria. And when it doesn’t? Well, that’s where doing a bit more research comes in…

See, cosy isn’t it? I know lots of people who end up on the diagnostic merry-go-round, thinking that if they just check Prospects again, or do just one more career quiz, the answer will come to them. And it means that you can get away with never actually putting yourself out there, taking a chance on asking to meet someone to find out more about their job, or even (gasp!), putting in an application and seeing where it takes you.

Of course, planned happenstance has its problems too – you can end up waiting for things to happen instead of taking the initiative yourself, and it’s easier to lose sight of what you really want from your career, as you just go with the flow.

I realised yesterday that pretty much everyone I know has got their job through some combination of the two approaches. When I career-changed, I did a lot of rational planning to work out that I liked giving advice and support and wanted to teach at a university, but without being a researcher. Tootling around the university’s redeployee’s register one day, I noticed a maternity cover post in the Careers Service, and the rest is history. I never had a plan to be a Careers Adviser, but here I am.

So, I was on my way back from the medical school yesterday, and wondered what to do when I’m training people on career development, as I don’t like the pitfalls and inflexibilities of rational planning, or the “well, it’s out of my hands” temptations of planned happenstance. I don’t really know anyone that has had a clear plan, other than medics, and not everyone is a planner, so I’m starting to think that, as Careers Adviser, it’s perhaps not very helpful for me to talk to people about the importance of career planning any more! And then I started wondering about the notion of career preparedness as an alternative to career planning. Naturally, this made me think of the Scouts, with their motto “always be prepared” (it’s a tenuous link between career planning and cub scouts, but I think it works!). I looked up their motto when I got back to the office and, to paraphrase, it means:

Knowing the right thing to do at the right moment, and having the willingness to do it.

To which I would also add:

Knowing the right thing to do at the right moment, and having the right tools and the willingness to do it.

After all, what self-respecting Scout leaves the house without a Swiss army knife, a compass and a bit of string in their pocket?

I haven’t it all through yet, but it seemed to me that the notion of being ‘career prepared’ means that you have thought about who you are and what you want from your career, so that you know the right thing to do when the opportunity presents itself. It means that you have been proactive at doing things that will help you either get to where you want to be, or that are things that will make you seem more employable (your compass and your string), and be open to opportunities when you see them (being willing). So it;s more flexible than career planning, because you have a more open attitude, and more proactive than planned happenstance so that you’re less likely to be swept off course by chance and find yourself drifting away from the things that are important to you.

For a researcher, this might mean that you know that you are passionate about your subject and want to do more. You might want a career in academia, so you start gathering together your specific tools – your publications and poster presentations – but also prepare yourself for the unexpected by engaging in broader development opportunities, like community outreach, or attending development courses, or talking to practitioners at conferences as well as the profs.

As  say, it was just a little thought that popped into my head yesterday when I was having a walk, so I haven’t thought it all through yet, but I would be interested to know what you think. Does being career prepared seem more sensible than making a career plan? Does it better capture the different ways that people think about their careers? Or am I just talking a load of old drivel?

Thoughts, critique and ideas most welcome!