Is this course right for me?
Target Audience: PGR Students
Career Management for Researchers @ Strathclyde is a blended course, combining online modules and Zoom discussion sessions, to help you explore your career options and prepare you for the next stage of your career. It is a 4-week course designed to address key career issues for researchers and provide insights into career opportunities in academia and beyond.
Career Management for Researchers @ Strathclyde is a blended programme combining FutureLearn’s Career Management for Researchers online course with weekly Zoom discussion sessions for Strathclyde participants.
It is a 4-part course designed to be completed over 4 weeks. You will join a cohort of Strathclyde researchers from all disciplines working on the course together. The weekly Zoom discussion sessions will allow you to share strategies, ideas and experiences with fellow researchers, while building a network of contacts and support.
Career Management for Researchers has been developed for FutureLearn by specialist researcher careers consultants at the universities of Sheffield, Edinburgh and Glasgow. It has been designed for PhD students and research staff who are exploring their career options and preparing for the next stage in their career, whether in academia or beyond.
The course addresses key career issues pertinent to researchers. Each week, the online course content provides a range of articles, videos, reflective activities, exercises and discussion topics which will be supported by Strathclyde’s live Zoom sessions.
Course Themes
Week 1 - Making career plans and identifying what you want
Week 2 - Exploring career options beyond academia
Week 3 - Careers in Higher Education - research, teaching and professional roles
Week 4 - Job search, CVs, applications and interviews within and beyond HE.
During March 2021, researchers from across UK institutions will be encouraged to engage with the course and similar online discussions at their own institutions, so there will be other researchers online, adding comments, experiences and suggestions.
Key Dates
Now - register to be part of the cohort. You will then be sent details, including how to register for the course, a more detailed timetable, and invitations to the meetings.
Course start - Week 1 will begin on 1st March and 1st September. Enrol on the online course and start on Week 1 of the course content.
A reminder will be sent to you. Don’t enrol earlier as you only have 6 weeks of free access to the course content.
Session 1 (end of Week 1) - welcome and online discussion about Week 1 content.
Session 2 (end of Week 2) - online discussion after completing Week 2 content.
Session 3 (end of Week 3) - online discussion after completing Week 3 content.
Session 4 (end of Week 4) - online discussion after completing Week 4 content. Next steps.
Outcomes/Objectives
- Develop an awareness of what is important to you when considering future career development, including reflection on key drivers, skills, interests, personality, and values and how these impact on career choice.
- Identify the experience, skills and qualifications that will aid progression in an academic career: assess individual experience; identify gaps in light of what is required for moving on; and consider how to build relevant experience if this is the route you decide to take.
- Explore some of the more common career areas researchers enter outside academic research and develop strategies to help generate and research individual career ideas.
- Learn how to adapt a CV for different roles and have improved confidence in presenting experience effectively when applying for academic and non-academic jobs.
- Discuss what to expect at academic and non-academic interviews, how to prepare effectively for these, and develop an awareness of how to present research experience to different types of employers.
Once the course begins you should work through the week’s activities within the Career Management for Researchers course before attending that week’s Zoom session.
You are encouraged to set aside 3 hours to complete all of the content available in a week alongside the Zoom sessions.
You can also work through the online course by yourself and at your own pace within a six-week time period at another time during the year. Please contact maria.weikum@strath.ac.uk for further information in this case.
Delivered By: Researcher Development Team
Prerequisites
Participants are expected to attend all dates.PG Certificate in Researcher Professional Development
All postgraduate research students are eligible to access the Researcher Development Programme workshops. This workshop can contribute towards the PG Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PG Cert RPD).
You can find credit and class information in the Researcher Development Programme Handbook and in NEPTUNE (Engineering, HaSS) or SPIDER (Science).
Please check with your department or Supervisor to confirm if you are enrolled on the PG Cert RPD and how many credits you are expected to achieve if you are unsure.