Career development and training

You said...

We need support for “strategic career and life planning past PhD completion! Both in academia and outside of it...”
“There is a lack in identification of training and developing needs for the student.”

What the university is doing

The Bristol Doctoral College has established specific training around career development, covering topics including ‘Finishing your research degree and forging ahead’ and ‘Planning your development and future career during your research degree”.
A total of 178 postgraduate research students attended sessions on career-related topics (both online and in person) from October 2019 to July 2020.
In 2019, the Bristol Doctoral College launched the PGR Development Fund (previously the PGR Ventures Fund) to support the organisation of student-led events, workshops, and initiatives that deliver transferable skills, training, or resources, which benefit Bristol PGRs.
During 2019-20, three PGR-led development activities were allocated funding to a total of £1500 and in the first half of 2020-21 (Autumn round), five projects were funded to a total of £2300 (all ongoing). Events have been held both in person and online, including writers’ retreats, seminars and reading groups, with these taking place online since the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2020 we launched a new Personal and Professional development planning page, which includes resources and templates to support PGRs with their independent training needs assessment.
The Careers Service has improved the range of online resources specifically for PGRs, both for those exploring careers within and beyond academia. In 2020 a larger and more diverse variety of example PGR CVs was created to cover subjects spanning all six Faculties and for roles including academic teaching focused, academic research focused, and non-academic. In 2020 and 2021 new live sessions for PGRs were designed and delivered to provide information and advice on strategic career planning. These present information on international academic careers and advice for transitioning into work after your research degree.

Actions taken by your faculty or school

Selected case studies from faculties and schools:

Faculty-level training and lunchtime meetings in Social Sciences and Law

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Law have instituted a Faculty-level programme of PGR training sessions for both new and continuing PGRs, covering topics including careers; Turnitin, plagiarism and academic integrity; how to use PURE; engaging with Policy Bristol; and how to make the most of supervision. The Faculty hopes to make this an annual series of training events.
The Faculty PGR Rep, Raffaello Rossi has arranged for a series of informal Faculty-wide lunch-time meetings between PGRs and the SSL Dean, Simon Tormey (and other members of staff). These will also focus on career and professional development issues, like constructing an academic CV, the academic interview and joining the job market.

Fostering an inclusive research culture for PGRs in the School for Policy Studies

Postgraduate research students are an integral part of the School for Policy Studies and contribute to research group meetings and seminars, thus fostering Centre-wide scientific and methodological knowledge exchange, collaborative approaches, and engagement in the School’s research community. To further interaction with other PGR students and members of staff, the School are piloting the first ever SPS PGR Symposium in spring 2021. This will act as a forum where PGR students will give short presentations of their research and practice presenting and answering questions on their work in a friendly and supportive environment. Feedback from the students will help to finesse the Symposium, to run yearly from spring 2022 onwards.

Support and training for careers in research in the School of Education

In 2020-21 Academics in the School of Education curated a series of online discussion groups which focused on different aspects of academic careers, and what else you could do with a research degree in education.
These sessions heard from a range of academics at early, middle, and late stages of their careers and covered topics including; academic jobs, CVs, publishing, funding, academic job applications, and alternative academic jobs.
They were open to both PGRs and postdocs and encouraged open dialogue, questions and discussion of the issues that concern early career researchers.

Find out more

Feedback

"My main focus in coming to the session was to get a better sense of what comes after submission, the Viva and job hunting." Attendee, Finishing your PhD and forging ahead, 2019