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ECR Development Series

Our ECR Development Series workshops are specifically designed to support personal and professional development for early career researchers. Events run throughout the academic year and are free to all Sussex ECRs.

Workshops are organised by theme, matching Vitae's Researcher Development Framework, which you should use to develop the skills you need to be an effective researcher.

Registrations are now managed through Eventbrite. For online workshops, the Zoom link will be included on your Eventbrite booking page and in email reminders. 

When you register for a workshop you'll be asked if you have any accessibility needs to help you engage. We will work with our facilitators to make any reasonable adjustments. Please note we may not be able to meet requests with less than one week's notice.

Explore the workshops by theme at the bottom of this page, or visit our scheduled events listings for sessions that are currently open for booking. If you have any queries, email us at researcher-development@sussex.ac.uk.

Learn: Knowledge and intellectual abilities

Adding your research data to Sussex Figshare

Title	Adding your research data to Sussex Figshare
Audience	Early career researchers, academics and PGRs are welcome to attend
Outline	Sussex Figshare (https://sussex.figshare.com/) offers a route to publish your research data, allowing you to meet funder requirements and increase the reach of your data by making it openly available.
Learning outcomes	This session will introduce you to Figshare and take you through the practical steps of adding your data, including: how to generate a DOI for your data prior to publication what to consider when describing your data best formats to use to make your data accessible licensing your data how the Library will work with your data submission options for adding larger collections ways to view how your data has been used and cited by other researchers
Presenters	Helen Webb, Research Data Management Librarian and Duncan Harrison, Research Data & Digital Preservation Officer, from the Library's research data management team.

Getting started with preregistration and registered reports

Title	Getting started with preregistration and registered reports
Audience	Early career researchers, academics and PGRs are welcome to attend
Outline	Preregistering your research or publishing a Registered Report enhances the transparency and credibility of the research process. This introductory workshop will clarify the differences between preregistration and Registered Reports, provide practical advice on using preregistration tools and explore effective implementation strategies. In addition, it provides a chance to meet with others who share the same commitment to fostering open research practices.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop, you will be able to: explain the differences between preregistration and Registered Reports and describe their benefits and limitations find preregistration templates identify journals that accept Registered Reports locate sources of support and guidance
Presenters	Helen Webb, Research Data Management Librarian and Duncan Harrison, Research Data & Digital Preservation Officer, from the Library's research data management team.

Keeping up with the literature: tools and techniques for researchers

Title	Keeping up with the literature: tools and techniques for researchers
Audience	Early career researchers, academics and PGRs are welcome to attend
Outline	Keeping up with newly published research is essential and can be an over-whelming. This workshop introduces practical tools and techniques for discovering newly published literature in your field, including database alerts, academic networks, and publisher notifications. You will learn how to integrate literature tracking into your research workflow and identify sources of support.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop, you will be able to: identify key tools and platforms for discovering newly published literature set up personalised alerts and notification to monitor new publications in your research area evaluate the relevance and reliability of sources when reviewing new literature
Presenters	Library Research Support Team

Making your research data available to support your publication

Title	Making your research data available to support your publication
Audience	Researchers at all career stages
Outline	Many journals now ask for research data to be made openly available to support publications. This session will explore options open to help researchers to do this effectively, including: identifying suitable repositories to share your data what to consider when describing your data how and when to use Sussex Figshare to generate a DOI for your data prior to publication how to use Sussex Figshare to make data privately available to peer reviewers tips for writing a data statement for your publication to meet funder requirements
Presenters	Helen Webb, Research Data Management Librarian and Duncan Harrison, Research Data & Digital Preservation Officer, from the Library's research data management team.

Open research: principles and practices

Title	Open research: principles and practices
Audience	Researchers at all career stages
Outline	What is open research and why does it matter? This workshop will introduce the concept of open research, and explore opportunities for implementing open research principles into your own practice. It will cover open access publishing, open data, open source software, open peer review and tools and techniques to help you discover open access materials.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop, you will be able to: define key concepts of open research describe the benefits of open research for researchers, institutions and society assess how open reseach practices align with and support your chosen research methodology identify and apply relevant open research practices and locate sources of support and guidance to help you implement them effectively
Presenters	Library Research Support Team

Tools for open research: Open Science Framework

Title	Tools for open research: Open Science Framework
Audience	Early career researchers and PGRs are welcome to attend
Outline	The Open Science Framework (OSF) is a free, open-source project management and collaboration tool that supports researchers throughout the entire research lifecycle-from planning, to conducting, to sharing and discovering research. This workshop introduces the key features of OSF and demonstrates how it can be used to enhance transparency, collaboration, and reproducibility in academic research. You will learn how to create projects, collaborate with others and share outputs openly.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop you will be able to: describe the OSF and explain the benefits of using OSF in academic research use OSF to discover openly shared research outputs create an account, set-up projects and share your research outputs openly and responsibly using OSF’s registration and licensing tools locate source of support and guidance
Presenters	Library Research Support Team

Using DMP Online to write your data management plan

Title	Using DMP Online to write your data management plan
Audience	Early career researchers and PGRs are welcome to attend
Outline	Most funders now require a data management plan when submitting a grant proposal. DMP Online (https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk/) is a freely available tool which can support you in creating your plan. This workshop is a practical introduction to getting starting with DMP online. The session will begin with a demo of how to use DMP Online and will then give attendees time to try it out themselves with Library staff available to answer questions.
Presenters	Helen Webb, Research Data Management Librarian and Duncan Harrison, Research Data & Digital Preservation Officer, from the Library's research data management team.

Grow: Personal effectiveness

Careers beyond research: applying your skills outside academia

Title	Careers beyond research: applying your skills outside academia
Audience	Early career researchers
Outline	There are a number of options outside of academia that are open to postdocs. Not everyone chooses to climb the academic ladder and many researchers are unaware of the variety of other options that are available. During their career, researchers develop a number of skills that they can utilise in a variety of other positions, whether these are related to their research or not. A key component to finding a job outside academia is presenting yourself well at interviews, highlighting your skills and explaining your academic experience in a way that appeals to certain employers. This three-hour workshop aims to highlight a number of these careers and to explore what particular options might be compatible with individuals. We will ireview a variety of different job types and case studies of researchers who have moved into different careers, and look at resources to help participants explore their options.
Learning outcomes	At the end of this workshop, you will have: a clear understanding of their transferable skills and how to communicate these on their CV and in an interview situation an understanding of how to present themselves and be visible online an overview of a range of non-academic career options
Presenter	Dr Joanna Young, who specialises in training researchers and founded the Scientific Editing Company after completing her PhD and postdoctoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh.

Handling perfectionism and imposter phenomenon

Title	Handling perfectionism and imposter phenomenon
Audience	Early career researchers
Outline	Perfectionist behaviours and imposter feelings reduce our self-belief and cause us to sometimes get in the way of our own success. Experiencing either (or both) may mean you put yourself under more pressure to achieve, whilst at the same time experiencing increased stress; declining productivity; and undermining your confidence. This workshop will introduce you to an array of techniques that help you minimise, address, and (with practice) overcome the unhelpful thinking patterns that underpin perfectionist behaviours and imposter feelings, increasing your capacity to effectively handle these issues as they arise in the future.
Learning outcomes	Engaging with this workshop will enable you to: explore the commonalities, contributing factors, and impact of perfectionism and imposter feelings analyse your personal experiences and responses to these phenomena experiment with a range of tools to help you think and behave differently implement effective strategies to reduce the negative impact of perfectionist tendencies and imposter feelings
Presenter	This workshop is designed and delivered by Dr Sarah Robins-Hobden, a chartered psychologist and accredited member of the International Society for Coaching Psychology, with a wealth of experience delivering training and working with academics.

Managing time and competing priorities in academia

Title	Managing time and competing priorities in academia
Audience	Researchers at all stages
Outline	Are you feeling overwhelmed by the demands of academia? Do you often find yourself struggling to manage your workload effectively?  In this interactive session, you’ll discover how to feel more in control.
Learning outcomes	Through discussion, activities, and examples, we’ll explore practical tools to help you: identify your priorities define your research goals and objectives create a realistic weekly schedule protect your time set boundaries By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a strategy that’s right for you.
Presenter	Dr Jo Collins is a lifelong learner and educator with over two decades of experience in UK Higher Education, where they have taught, published and conducted research. Jo supports clients from aspiring PhD students to senior academics and researchers beyond academia, and brings deep insight into the challenges and opportunities of academic life.

Stress, resilience and strengths

Title	Stress, resilience and strengths
Audience	Researchers at all stages
Outline	This workshop takes the approach that less is more. A brief overview of stress will equip you with an understanding of general stress responses, from which you'll identify how stress affects you on an individual level. Having insight into your current landscape, you'll then work with three specific stress-management/resilience tools, in partnership with other researchers on the programme. You'll broaden your awareness of opportunities in your situation, and decide how to take small practical actions to focus on what is within your control, whilst better managing your reactions to what is not.
Learning outcomes	Engaging with this workshop will enable you to: understand how the physiological stress response affects your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours clarify what you can control or influence, and take proactive steps to focus where your agency is strongest explore your personal resilience and bust unhelpful myths in favour of strategies that will work for you discover and deploy your personal strengths as super-powers to ease your experience of stress in the future
Presenter	This workshop is designed and delivered by Dr Sarah Robins-Hobden, a chartered psychologist and accredited member of the International Society for Coaching Psychology, with a wealth of experience delivering training and working with academics.

Realise: Research governance and organisation

Developing excellent research proposals

Title	Developing excellent research proposals
Audience	Researchers and academics who have a research idea that they intend to develop into a proposal for funding
Outline	There are a considerable number of stages that go into the development of a research proposal that is ready to submit to a funder. Moreover, there are variety of factors that contribute to the likelihood that your proposal will be competitive in the peer review and funding process. In this workshop, we will examine the key elements involved in turning your initial research idea into a proposal that will get the attention and support of the reviewers, demonstrate the importance of the research and assure funders that your project will make a valuable contribution to your field.
Learning outcomes	In this practical and interactive workshop, you will: explore research funding processes and expectations identify criteria for selecting an appropriate funding mechanism for your idea develop a convincing narrative to explain the novelty and importance of your research idea examine the importance of selecting the right research team consider how to effectively communicate your research plans to your audiences of peer reviewers, grant panel members and funders explore the importance of feedback in the development of your research idea and discuss how to craft an effective response to reviewers’ comments
Presenter	Dr Natalie James is a specialist coach, trainer and consultant with two decades of experience supporting researchers, academics and their organisations. She has expert knowledge of the HE sector and university cultures, and as a coach spends her days working with academics in both one-to-one and group scenarios to support them to effectively navigate their academic roles and meet their goals.

Introduction to the UK research funding environment

Title	Introduction to the UK research funding environment
Audience	ECRs and PGRs of all stages, along with researchers of any career stage who are new to the UK research environment.
Outline	The research funding environment in the UK can, at first, appear quite complex and may be a little daunting if you have not previously applied for funding. In this interactive workshop we will de-mystify the policies and processes of research funding, exploring how funding is awarded and managed in the UK and the types of funding that might be available to you. We will introduce the ways in which funding applications are assessed by funders and the important factors to consider before developing a funding proposal. We will explore when, where and how you might start to seek funding for your research, and what support is available for those making applications.
Learning outcomes	By the end of this workshop, participants will have: an awareness of the key funders of research in the UK an appreciation of the role of policy, peer review and assessment in research funding knowledge of the tools and routes to identify suitable funding opportunities an awareness of the different types of funding available for researchers (fellowships, grants, networking funding, travel funding etc.) identified the key questions they need to consider before making an application for funding knowledge of where to seek further information and support for making applications
Presenter	Dr Natalie James is a specialist coach, trainer and consultant with two decades of experience supporting researchers, academics and their organisations. She has expert knowledge of the HE sector and university cultures, and as a coach spends her days working with academics in both one-to-one and group scenarios to support them to effectively navigate their academic roles and meet their goals.

Introduction to REF2029

Title	Introduction to REF2029
Audience	Early career researchers and academics, and PGRs.
Outline	The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK’s national system of research assessment, driving the distribution of core research funding to universities. The next REF exercise will take place in 2029.  Every UK university submitting to the REF uses the publications, other research outputs, and wider social impact produced by its researchers to form its submission. The quality of that submission determines the level of core research funding the university receives, and also has broader implications. Understanding the REF - its requirements, and its effects on Higher Education and research culture - is essential for everyone who is building a research career in the UK.
Learning outcomes	By the end of this workshop, participants will understand: What is the Research Excellence Framework? What is assessed and when? What is eligible for REF? What's new for 2029?
Presenter	Dr Jen Whitehead from the University's Research Information, Quality and Impact team will explain the background and structure to REF2029, and will take the group through a detailed exploration of its effects and the key elements of which ECRs need to be aware.

Introduction to ethics for ECRs

Title	Introduction to ethics for ECRs
Audience	Early career researchers
Outline	You can not collect any new data from humans, animals, social media or conduct auto-ethnographic research without having received ethics approval beforehand, it is essential to understand the ethics approval process. This workshop will look at the key principles of undertaking ethical research, and explain how to go about obtaining ethical approval from the University. There will also be opportunities to consider some case studies, ask questions about your own work, and gain insights on how to embed good ethical practices in your research.
Learning outcomes	By the end of this workshop, participants will: understand the University process for gaining ethical approval received guidance on how to make a strong application have had the opportunity to discuss ethical issues arising in your research and explored how to address them
Presenters	This workshop is designed and delivered by Alice Saryazdi, Carol Cooley and Alice Ashford - Senior Research Ethics and Integrity Officers from the University's Research Ethics, Integrity and Governance team.

Project management essentials for researchers

Title	Project management essentials for researchers
Audience	Researchers at all career stages and in any discipline
Outline	Are you ready to take control of your research? As an academic, you're probably juggling multiple projects, requiring effective planning and execution. As an academic, you probably also lack the time to devise a proper strategy. In this interactive session, you’ll discover the core elements of project management and how to apply them in your research projects. There's no complicated methodology, just practical tips and templates you can apply right away.
Learning outcomes	With the help of an experienced facilitator, you'll establish an approach that's right for you. Through discussion, activities and examples, you’ll learn to: define your research goals and objectives create a realistic project schedule track your progress with milestones and celebrate success identify and mitigate risks communicate effectively with stakeholders This workshop equips you with the skills and tools you need to achieve your research goals on time and within budget.
Presenter	Dr Catherine Pope supports researchers in overcoming obstacles and achieving their goals, working with clients from PhD students to professors. With a talent for breaking down complex challenges into manageable steps, Catherine brings clarity and momentum to the research journey.

Understanding copyright and Creative Commons licences

Title	Understanding copyright and Creative Commons licences
Audience	Researchers at all career stages
Outline	This session will cover the basics of UK copyright law and how this impacts what you can use in your work and how you can share the results of your own research. It will introduce concepts such as rights retention and fair dealing and will provide guidance on how to seek permission to reuse third party content in your publications. The workshop will explain what Creative Commons licences are and how they can be used to protect and share your work.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop, you will be able to: identify the key copyright principles relevant to academic research evaluate how and when third-party materials can be used legally in a research output understand how to license your own work, including Creative Commons options understand the University's approach to publishing and copyright retention
Presenters	Library Research Support Team

Using publication metrics responsibly

Title	Using publication metrics responsibly
Audience	Researchers at all career stages
Outline	This session will look at how traditional publication metrics - for example journal impact factors, h-index, field weighted citation indexes (FWCI) - as well as alternative publication metrics (altmetrics), are calculated and will explore the biases and weaknesses of each metric. We will then discuss the responsible use of publication metrics, both by individuals and institutions, for assessing research.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop you will be able to: identify different metrics and research assessment methods used by research organisations and funders evaluate the advantages, limitations, and inherent biases of widely used research metrics assess the value of using altmetrics to demonstrate research impact critically reflect on the value of applying publication metrics to your own research and publications
Presenters	Library Research Support Team

Thrive: Engagement, influence and impact

Choosing where to publish

Title	Choosing where to publish
Audience	Early career researchers
Outline	Choosing the right journal, the publisher or publishing format for your research output can be daunting. If you’re new to publishing and unsure where to begin, this workshop will help you understand what works well, and what to avoid.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop you will be able to: use the Think, Check, Submit checklist to help evaluate and choose a publisher for your research output describe the open access publishing options available to University of Sussex authors use publication metrics responsibly to help inform your publishing decision locate sources of support and advice
Presenters	Library Research Support Team

Getting started with preprints

Title	Getting started with preprints
Audience	Early career researchers
Outline	Interested in sharing your research before formal publication? This introductory workshop will explore what preprints are, why they matter, and how researchers can use them to increase visibility and accelerate scholarly communication. It will cover practical tips for sharing preprints and discuss benefits and challenges.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop you will be able to: describe what a preprint is and how it fits into the research publishing lifecycle identify trusted preprint servers relevant to your discipline apply a set of practical criteria to decide when and where to share a preprint recognise the potential benefits and challenges of preprint publishing
Presenters	Library Research Support Team

Navigating peer review: challenges, responses and publishing

Title	Navigating peer review: challenges, responses and publishing
Audience	Early career researchers and academics, and PGRs
Outline	All researchers will encounter peer review during their career, both as an author and as an expert who has been asked to review the work of another. This online workshop will introduce researchers to the peer review system including the process, the complexities, the responsibilities of the author/ reviewer and how to get the most out of the experience. An awareness and knowledge of the peer review system is important so that early career researchers know what to expect when they submit their first research paper for publication. Equally, understanding how to critically assess a research manuscript for quality, style, content, novelty and relevance gives researchers an insight into how cutting edge research is assessed and published. What should you look for in a manuscript? How can you optimise your chances of success as an author? In this online workshop, participants will be introduced to the academic publishing and peer review system through short presentations, discussions and peer review exercises.
	At the end of this workshop, you will have: an overview of the peer review process, author responsibilities and what to expect an understanding of how to conduct a peer review and provide constructive feedback completed a short peer review exercise using a simple workflow that you can apply to papers in your own field
Presenter	Dr Joanna Young, who specialises in training researchers and founded the Scientific Editing Company after completing her PhD and postdoctoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh.

Online research profiles: increasing your visibility, impact and engagement

Title	Online research profiles: increasing your visibility, impact and engagement
Audience	Early career researchers from all disciplines, broadly encompassing research assistants, postdoctoral researchers and research fellows at grades 6-8.
Outline	Your online researcher profile is a key tool for increasing the visbility of your research, connecting with collaborators and demonstrating research impact. This workshop introduces the main platforms for creating and managing your online researcher profile, and focusing on Elements, the University of Sussex's platform for capturing and sharing research-related activities, will demonstrate how to build your Elements profile to present your research, professional and teaching activities effectively. There will be an opportunity to update your own profile.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop you will be able to Recognize the role of online profiles in enhacing research visibiilty and credibiity Identify key platforms for creating and managing an online researcher profile Create an ORCID ID Apply best practices in curating your University of Sussex Elements profile Locate sources of guidance and support
Presenters	Library Research Support Team

Open publishing: your options explained

Title	Open publishing: your options explained
Audience	Early career researchers
Outline	Green or Gold open access?  Unsure about APCs? This workshop will demystify key terminology and guide you through the open access publishing options available to University of Sussex researchers.
Learning outcomes	By the end of the workshop you will be able to: apply knowledge of open access publishing models to select appropriate publishing options for your research outputs explain the benefits of making your research outputs openly available use appropriate tools and platforms to discover openly published research locate sources of support and guidance
Presenters	Library Research Support Team

Resolving conflict in your research relationships

Title	Resolving conflict in your research relationships
Audience	Early career researchers and PGRs
Outline	Conflict, great or small, may arise in different ways during the course of your research - usually when a need isn’t being met, or a disagreement arises during a project. Developing the way you understand and address conflict and potential conflict situations will improve your communication skills, reduce stress, and enable you to resolve issues effectively, while at the same time enhancing your working relationships. In this workshop you will choose from a range of techniques for handling conflict in situations that are relevant and meaningful to you. This workshop is conducted in a safe and confidential environment where various issues related to conflict can be discussed.
Learning outcomes	Engaging with this workshop will enable you to: identify common scenarios, influencing factors, and resulting consequences of conflict examine your motivations, approaches, and behaviours in conflict situations evaluate and adapt some conflict resolution approaches and techniques to work for you implement aspects of the techniques into actionable steps towards improving your communications and professional relationships
Presenter	This workshop is designed and delivered by Dr Sarah Robins-Hobden, a chartered psychologist and accredited member of the International Society for Coaching Psychology, with a wealth of experience delivering training and working with academics.

Other opportunities for training and development