Action Research on Research Culture: testing what works in hiring, management and precarity

Tuesday 26 September 2023

13.15-14.15 at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science Seminar Rooms

Speakers: Dr Liz Simmonds and Dr Katherine Dawson, ARRC Project

The importance of research culture has been climbing the Higher Education agenda over the past few years, both in the UK and internationally. The Action Research on Research Culture (ARRC) project is a 3-year Research England funded project to build the evidence base and test initiatives that are being promoted in the sector. The ARRC team will outline their approaches which include a controlled trial of recruitment using different CV formats at Cambridge; interventions that may support career development conversations with supervisors, and a survey based approach to explore the trade-offs being made by early career researchers when they are deciding what positions to apply for. They  will talk about some of the wider issues motivating our research, and will be happy to hear thoughts you have around the issues they’re examining.

Liz Simmonds is the Head of Research Culture at the University of Cambridge, and the Co-Lead on the Action Research on Research Culture project. Liz has worked at the University of Cambridge for 15 years, primarily in roles supporting early career researchers. She co-established the University’s first Careers Service for Postdocs in 2007, was Assistant Head of the Postdoc Academy.

Katherine Dawson is the Engagement Coordinator on the ARRC team. She has a background in the biological sciences, and completed her doctoral and postdoctoral work at the City University of New York and Yale Universities.

This event is being jointly hosted by the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and open to members of staff at these two departments only.

If you would like to attend either in person or over Zoom, please complete the form below.