Imperial College MRC DTP Colloquium, September 2014

Imperial College MRC DTP Colloquium, September 2014
Professional and Career Development in Science
Alison Mitchell, Director of Development
Vitae
Lead world-class professional and career development of
researchers
Build high level human capital by influencing the development
and implementation of effective policy relating to researcher
development
Enhance higher education provision to train and develop
researchers
Empower researchers to make an impact in
their careers
Evidence the impact of professional and
career development support for researchers
About my presentation
 Managing your career – stakeholder expectations
 Personal development planning – importance for you
 Successful researchers – your potential capabilities
 Career destinations – UK and international overview
Vitae, © The Careers Research and
Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited
‘The product that the PhD researcher creates is
not the thesis
– vital though that is to their subject area
through the creation of original knowledge
– no, the product of their study is the
development of themselves’
Professor Sir Gareth Roberts
Are you career wise?
What does ‘career’ mean to you?
Do you have a career goal?
Do you understand all available development opportunities?
Do you know what success looks like?
How many career options have you explored?
Researchers in general .....
Very few use Career Services
Feel helpless/ reluctant in own career planning
Lack obvious alternatives and role models
Limited experience outside HE
PIs and supervisors not always best placed to give
careers advice
Transferability of capabilities not always understood
Think they will be the ‘one’ (or not)
Resist the reality of the situation
– head in the sand
…
Professional Development
Planning (PDP, PDR etc)
PDP is…
“A structured and supported
process undertaken by an
individual to reflect upon their
own learning, performance
and/or achievement and to plan
for their personal, educational
and career development.”
Vitae, © The Careers Research and
Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited
Why undertake PDP?
Take responsibility for your own development
Understand your strengths and weaknesses
Articulate your capabilities
Be more focused, persistent, motivated,
confident, resilient
Make more informed choices
Be ready for opportunity
www.vitae.ac.uk/careers
www.palgrave.com/skills4study/pdp
Vitae, © The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC)
Research Councils UK
Statement of Expectations for Doctoral
Training – message for doctoral researchers
Students should recognise their responsibility for developing
personal career goals during their doctoral training and consider
their possible career options, recognising that these may be
outside academe.
They should ensure that they are aware of the range of advice
available and reflect on their training and development needs to
assist in their future employability.
Students are expected to develop
the higher-level capabilities outlined
in the Researcher Development Statement
Professional development planning
Horizon 2020 –European view
Marie Sktodowska-Curie Actions
Source: draft call for proposals. H2020 work programme 2014-15. ITNs, EID,
EJD
‘Recruited researchers will play an active role in shaping their
own training programme and professional development.
They will establish, together with their personal supervisor(s), an
individual Career Development Plan.’
‘… In order to increase the employability of
researchers, the research training will be
complemented by meaningful engagement
of each researcher to other sectors and by
substantial training modules addressing key
transferable skills…’
Vitae Researcher Development Framework
Based on accounts of successful researchers
Literature survey
Definitions of research and research roles
Competency frameworks - academic and related occupations
Empirical data
>100 interviews with experienced researchers
Range of experiences, institution types, geographical context,
disciplines, demographics
>1000 characteristics and variants, clustered into groups
Broad consultation
242 sector responses
Employer validation
Sector advisory & project groups
Validation
Expert panel: 14 senior academics
Endorsement by stakeholder organisations
Vitae Researcher Development Framework
Framework of the
knowledge, behaviour
and attributes of
successful researchers
Enables selfassessment of
strengths and areas for
further development
Common language for
researchers capabilities
Each descriptor has a number of ‘phases’
describing the differing levels of capability
Domain B, Personal Effectiveness, Sub-domain B1, Personal qualities,
Descriptor 3, Integrity
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
Understands and
demonstrates
standards of good
research practice in
the institution and/or
discipline/
research area. (B3)*
Acts with
professional integrity
and honesty, takes
especial care in
information/
data handling and
dissemination and
engagement with
others.
Acts as exemplar to
and advises peers
and less
experienced
members of staff;
respecting their
views and engaging
effectively in
discussion.
Sets expectations
and standard of
conduct.
Shapes policy and
procedures of good
practice in research
in the HE sector,
professional
associations and
bodies.
Seeks guidance as
necessary.
Demonstrates
standards of good
research practice
without need for
guidance and
encourages
professional integrity
in others.
Advises all staff and
contributes to
institutional and
disciplinary
policy/practice.
RDF descriptors common to lenses
( employability, teaching, enterprise, leadership,
mobility)
Subject knowledge
Critical Thinking
Problem Solving
Inquiring Mind
Self-confidence
Self-reflection
Preparation and prioritisation
Responsiveness to change
Team Working
Influence and Leadership
Collaboration
Communication Methods
I’ve always thought of myself as being quite ambitious,
driven and focussed on what I want, but the framework
made me realise I can have a much larger vision.
It was very good for me to
reflect. I realised that nothing
is stopping me but myself. The
sky is the limit.
The RDF will encourage me to be
more proactive about my career
development as it provides me with
a framework (list of milestones).
Think about staging
the targets; what can I
do smarter, what
training do I need to
request and what do I
need someone else to
facilitate so that I can
move forward.
Read it carefully and be
honest about where you
are. You don’t always
have to aim for phase 5
- identify shorter term
goals that are more
achievable.
What we’ve always
tried to do with the
postdocs [in
Edinburgh] is say
'look this is your
career and it’s your
responsibility'.
I now have a path that I
would like to follow.
I would see this [RDF] as a
barometer...to give me a bit
more clarity about what areas
I could develop and what
might be most important. It’s
something I could keep
returning to.
The RDF “…identified areas
for me that I needed to hone
and really made me think
about my career
development. I’ve
highlighted things now that I
know I need to do.
It put career development back into the
forefront of my mind as it can often slip back
when you’re engaged in what you’re doing
day to day.
Vitae, © The Careers Research and
Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited
Articulating evidence of capabilities
– a challenge to researchers?
Image used:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bujiie/5440377935/
Vitae, © The Careers Research and
Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited
Professional development
opportunities – check list
 Mentoring
Coaching
Work placements
Secondments
Mobility
Researcher – led activities
Enterprise
Courses
Be enterprising in developing your career!
What we know about UK researchers’
career impact
Six unique doctoral employment clusters
3 years on - approx 50% working in HE sector
Predominantly, researchers were very satisfied (46%) or satisfied
(47%) with their career to date
Use the research skills most of the time (49%)
or some of the time (33%)
Use generic skills most of the time (59%) or
some of the time (32%)
Source: What do researchers do? Doctoral graduates’ destinations and impact three years on, 2010
Unique doctoral occupations (86%)
HE research occupations
Research (not in HE sector)
Teaching and lecturing in HE
Other teaching occupations
Other common doctoral occupations
Other occupations
0%
Doctoral graduates
10%
20%
30%
Masters graduates
40%
50%
60%
70%
First degree 1st/2:1
Other common doctoral occupations include:
Health professionals (18%); Functional and production managers and senior officials (25%);
Engineering professionals (14%); ICT professionals (10%); Business, finance and statistical
professional roles (15%)
Unblocking career myths: WDRD research
Other common doctoral occupations:
Health professionals (18%); Functional and production managers and senior officials (25%);
Engineering professionals (14%); ICT professionals (10%); Business, finance and statistical
professional and associate professional roles (15%)
Employed as research staff in HE
What do researchers do? Doctoral destinations, Vitae 201
Employed in research
careers overall
Building a researcher career - mobility
(New concepts in researcher mobility, ESF 2013)
International (physical)
Fosters international collaboration/ reputation
Short/ long term stays
Are you ready/ willing/ able for this?
Intersectoral (academia to industry)
What are your relevant professional skills?
Are you ready to work in a different business culture?
Interdisciplinary (across research fields)
Prepare for diverse non linear careers
How well do you work with other researchers?
Virtual (without other mobility)
Virtual networks, databases and collaboration
Prepare for a professional virtual career
CAREERS OF DOCTORATE HOLDERS
OECD (EU FP 7 KnowINNO 2011-2012 25 countries
, 2.5 M researchers)
Global context
Massive expansion in doctorate awards
Recognition of doctorate as THE qualification for research careers
Limited number of tenured positions and linear careers
Bottlenecks at the early career researcher stage
Increased number of postdoctoral and temporary contracts
Changes in the skills relevant to the labour market
CAREERS OF DOCTORATE HOLDERS:
OECD OECD (EU FP 7 KnowINNO 2011-2012 25
countries , 2.5 M researchers)
Destinations
High demand for doctoral graduates
Earnings ‘premium’
Higher education and academic careers are main destinations
Demand in other knowledge intensive sectors
Employment in jobs related to doctoral degree varies across
countries.
CAREERS OF DOCTORATE HOLDERS:
OECD (EU FP 7 KnowINNO 2011-2012 25 countries ,
2.5 M researchers)
Career satisfaction and stability
Overall, doctoral graduates are satisfied with their employment
Less so with salaries and benefits
Satisfaction levels, intellectual challenges and opportunities for
advancement are high for researchers.
Employment rate 5 years after graduation is around 97%
Around 30% are temporary contracts
Number of permanent contracts in research highest in business
and industry sectors, middle in government, lowest in HE
Considerations for a modern
research career
1. Clarify your career vision, ideas, strengths, values,
preferences
2. Understand the landscape of opportunity – think
outside the box and HE – imagine the future
3. Identify obstacles and how to overcome them
4. Prepare for the unexpected opportunity and change
5. Take action now in your professional development
6. Focus on the journey more than the destination
7. Review often

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