(Episode 130): Postdocs Leading Research Culture Change At The University Of Leeds - What Have We Learnt? Research Culture Uncovered podcast

(Episode 130): Postdocs Leading Research Culture Change at the University of Leeds - what have we learnt?

2d ago 34:03

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What started as a bold idea has made a real, lasting impact on supporting Early Career Researchers (ECRs) at the University of Leeds.

A team of exceptional postdocs, Jessica Swanson, Laurin McDowall and James Warren led a collaborative project that tackled some of the biggest challenges ECRs face: fragmented information on professional development, the need for greater awareness of opportunities, a route to gain formal project management qualifications and/or become chartered.

With professional services staff Taryn Bell, Anisha (Parsotam) O'Hagan, Nazia Nasir and Ruth Winden supporting (not leading!) and generous Research England funding, they

📌 created a central digital ECR Hub,

📌 ran a packed fellowship fair,

📌 enabled over 35 postdocs to go through the Prince2 project management certification,

📌 and helped a sizeable group of researchers on their way to become Chartered Scientists.

Key learnings of this 9-month project:

1⃣ When postdocs are empowered to lead, innovation follows. “Listen to the postdocs—they know the challenges they face.”

2⃣ Cross-team collaboration (professional services and postdocs) unlocks impressive results.

3⃣ Building strong professional relationships and networks accelerates positive change.

4⃣ Recognition matters: the three postdocs earned the FBS Partnership Award for its cultural impact.

If you are interested in how this project got started - listen to this episode from September 2024 (Season 9/Episode 3):

https://research-culture.captivate.fm/episode/-postdocs-as-innovators-shaping-research-culture-at-the-university-of-leeds/

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