Researchers Programme

RESEARCHERS PROGRAMME

KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUTURE

RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

PASSING ON KNOWLEDGE TO THE FUTURE

The CIPF researcher development programme: A guide for predoctoral researchers

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the CIPF Researcher Development Programme, is to support you in your research Programme at the Centre and to give you access to the development of further skills that will assist your current research and enhance your further career prospects, in whichever direction they may lie.

 Participation in the programme is important for three reasons:
  • Improving your research skills.
  • Enhancing your future employment prospects.
  • Broadening your horizons.
 

Researcher Development Programme

THE FRAMEWORK OF CIPF'S RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Our programme follows closely the Vitae Research Development Framework. This is a British approach to researcher development that has been adopted by major research funders and supported by a wide range of employers. Its remit is to give professional support and promotion to the personal, professional and career developments of researchers. It identifies the essential attributes and behaviours of highly skilled researchers necessary for success in a wide variety of careers.

The national framework, the RDF, sets out the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of effective and highly skilled researchers. It is structured in four domains:

  • Knowledge and intellectual abilities.
  • Personal effectiveness.
  • Research governance and organization.
  • Engagement, influence and impact.
Within each of the four domains are three sub-domains which describe the different aspects of being an effective researcher in more detail.
 
At CIPF we aim, through the programme, to give training in each of these areas.

Introducing the Researcher Development Framework

DURATION OF THE PROGRAMME

Each doctoral researcher comes to the Centre from a different background and with different skills. Each of you will therefore require bespoke training and development activities. We therefore aim, so far as is possible, to be sufficiently flexible to address these individual requirements. We do, however, expect a minimum level of engagement in the programme, equating to five sessions in your first year and three sessions in your second and third years. These are all minimum expectations; you will be encouraged to engage in more sessions but will also be advised to avoid overloading yourselves with too many options.

SCHEDULE OF THE PROGRAMME

Sessions will take place throughout the week – generally of two hours duration. Sessions can and will be repeated at different times throughout the year to accommodate researchers’ needs. Some sessions will be available and of possible interest to all researchers, whatever their discipline, while others will be addressed to the specific needs of individuals at different stages of their programmes.

LEARNING NEEDS ANALYSIS (LNA)

This is no more than a reflection upon your own skills and upon those that you will need to acquire for your field of research and ongoing career. Using, with your director, the relevant Researcher Development Framework’s template document, you will be able to identify those areas that you will need to develop or strengthen. You will then be expected to take on responsibility for pursuing those areas of skill development; throughout the course of study you will be asked to comment upon the sessions you have attended, the extent to which they have addressed your needs and the further activities you require. Your LNA template travels with you throughout the course and can be continually updated and modified.

Doc. CIPF learning needs analysis RDP

CIPF'S REVIEW OF PROGRESS

Each year, during the presentation of results, you will be required to complete a written report that includes an assessment of the extent to which your training sessions have addressed the needs as identified in your LNA.