Please see our guest post this week from Sue Cronshaw, a lecturer and part-time PhD student

Mothers undertaking part-time PhD's

I am currently researching the experiences of mothers with children under the age of 18 undertaking a part-time PhD. As a mother of 2 small children I wanted to better understand the experiences of other mums in the same position as there is very little written about women doing postgraduate study. I wanted to be able to gather and share experiences in the hope of ultimately enlightening other women considering embarking on a PhD about the realities of it all.

If you would be willing to share your experiences or wish to know more about the research, please contact Sue Cronshaw cronss@hope.ac.uk

Vitae NW Hub part-time researcher programme

If you are a part-time researcher, don't forget we are running three training events specifically designed for you:

• 27 April 2012, Manchester Metropolitan University Skills sessions: Structuring your Thesis & Making progress: avoiding defeatism and self sabotage
• 25 May 2012, University of Cumbria Skills sessions: Speed reading essentials & Realising your potential using the Researcher Development Framework
• 13 June 2012, University of Liverpool Skills sessions: Managing information overload & Planning to Manage Your Time

All of the resources from our recent Digital Researcher event (#dr12vitae) are now available online.

Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Listen to the official Digital Researcher podcast. The podcast aims to provide our listeners with a snapshot overview of what happened on the day, supported with useful hints and tips provided by our tutor team. Here’s what to expect:

• Introduction by Tristram Hooley - aims and objectives of the event, an overview of how the digital landscape has changed over the past year
• Morning plenary from Tristram - the role of social media in academic practice and intellectual property
• Four knowledge workshops – overview and hints and tips for the future (including mine on identifying knowledge)
  
• Online Digital Researcher programme – overview of the virtual participant experience, what happened on the day and the benefits of engaging with the virtual audience
• Prof Martin Weller's keynote – highlights from his ‘10 digital scholarship lessons in 10 videos’ presentation
• What the future will hold – Tristram discusses to what extent the role digital technology will play in academia over the next year

More resources available online…

• Prof Martin Weller’s keynote presentation - ‘10 digital scholarship lessons in 10 videos’
• Knowledge workshop slidecasts – narrated presentation slides delivered by our Digital Researcher tutor team providing a visual overview of their workshops
• A guide to Twitter – simple and effective guide to get started using Twitter

Did you attend #dr12vitae virtually or in person? It would be good to hear what you thought about the day.

I realise it's been ages since I posted last on here, blogging doesn't come naturally to me so it’s a job I procrastinate endlessly about. So, to get me back into the swing of things I thought I'd use this blog as a way to disseminate news and opportunities that I think might be interesting for you. Here are some for those interested in pursuing a career in the medical communications industry:

So you want to be in...medical communications event

There are still a couple of places left on this event on 8 March in Manchester. It’s your chance to find out what it’s like to work in the medical communications industry and network with potential employers in the area. There are at least 12 organisations going to be represented on the day as well as representatives from the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) and The International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP). For more information and to book your place, click here.

Medical Publishing - Dove Medical Press - Part Time Flexible Work

See the message below from Dove Medical Press:

Interested in working with a progressive, global medical publisher; part time flexible, competitive rates?

Article commissioning, new journal development, indexing research are some of the varied activities in which you may be involved.

Dove Medical Press (www.dovepress.com) publishes a growing range of international, scholarly, peer reviewed journals focusing on medicine, drug treatment, risk management and basic science across a breadth of therapeutic areas and technologies.

We are seeking a post-graduate with a fascination for pharmacology, therapeutics and new technologies that can help us with our editorial and publishing programmes.

This work would best suit those currently active in their research work with 1-2 years to go and not those starting to look for full time employment as they near the end of their studies.

No rigid office environment, work flexibly - for more information please call or send CV to Kevin Toale, Dove Medical Press, email: kevin@dovepress.co.uk or tel: 07810 590 288 (London based)

New job notice board in MedComms

A new dedicated, specialist Jobs Board for the global MedComms Community has been launched at www.NextMedCommsJob.com. Take a look and sign up now for your own individual search results.

Have you ever wanted to know what students, supervisors, librarians or researcher developers really think about the doctoral experience?

The Postgraduate Researcher Symposium is going to be held on 1 Nov in London. The event will bring together doctoral researchers, supervisors, librarians and researcher developers to discuss how we can improve the doctoral experience. The event isthe result of a collaboration between the UKCGE, National Union of Students, Vitae and the British Library.

About the event:

The academic apprentice model, where a doctoral candidate learns only from their supervisor, is changing. We will be discussing for the first time to what extent the doctoral experience is a collaborative process and what roles the different parties do or should play in shaping and enhancing the doctoral experience.

Using a mixture of facilitated discussion and inputs from researchers in the field, the symposium will result in a report with a matrix of recommendations for the use of students, institutional staff and external organisations.

Every student place is free when accompanied by a paying member of academic or institutional staff.

For more information and to book your place, click here.

Thought you might be interested in this:

About ASHPIT: 

ASHPIT is envisaged as a collaborative, cross-institutional and discipline-specific think tank which will enhance the ability of researcher developers to deliver innovative, discipline appropriate training and support to researchers in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (ASH).

For more information, visit the ASHPIT blog

If you’re interested in giving your feedback in this way, please contact John Igoe on 07709410135 by 01 July 2011.

Many thanks for your help.

Join this new organisation that aims to support patient and public involvement (PPI) and public engagement (PE) in health research

The Forum, which is jointly sponsored by NHS North West and the Research Design Service NW, recently held a series of launch events, which included a workshop where people were asked to think about the barriers to PPI/E and how the Forum could help to address these.

Barriers included fear, language (e.g. jargon), lack of time, funding and training, and difficulty accessing patients and members of the public to involve.

People who attended the launch felt that the Forum could help by showcasing good practice in the region and providing things like mentoring and training. They also felt that the Forum could facilitate links between patients, the public and health researchers.

The Forum welcomes interested people living or working in the North West to join us; local organisations may also join as Corporate Members.

If you are interested in becoming a member, or would like more details on the Forum, please contact Marisha Palm on 07554 413269 or at marisha.palm@northwest.nhs.uk

If you want to find out more about involving people in your research, take a look at www.peopleinresearch.org/find-people-to-involve

An exciting opportunity to get involved in the work of the Forum

The Forum is currently looking for professionals and interested members of the public from the North West to join a Training Working Group. The Working Group will meet on a monthly or bimonthly basis over twelve months, and the remit of the group will be:

1. to review the PPI/E training that is already available;
2. to identify additional training needs for patients/members of the public and researchers;
3. to explore how these needs can be met. Working Group members will be reimbursed for their time and expenses.

If you are interested joining the Working Group, please contact Marisha Palm (details above)

The deadline for applications is 6 June 2011.

Vivacious, Independent Comedy Night seeks curious Bright Sparks, GSOH, for fun, short term fling, lots of laughs, poss. leading to further intense encounters under the spotlight…

Bright Club Manchester are opening up their doors to all curious researchers, academics, artists, trades people, musicians, writers etc. who would like to try their hand at being funny about what they do.

There is a free comedy workshop this Thursday 21 April, from 6-8pm at Nexus Art Cafe, Dale St.

This is a great chance to come and find out more about the night, learn some great stand-up techniques, meet interesting people from a wide range of fields, and generally have a giggle. Dinner is provided.

Want to see the night in action? BCM6:CONNECTIONS is on Thursday 28 April at Nexus, doors at 7.30pm, show kicks off at 8pm.

Places are limited so please email hannah@nexusartcafe.com or richard.crawford@amec.com to reserve yours now!

For more information about BCM, please see our Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=313646034857&ref=ts

Preston Marriott March 28^th- April 1^st 2011

Less than 20% of PhD students end up in academia. How can you prepare for a non-University career?

Enterprise Schools help increase your employability by improving enterprise skills in a highly interactive, group working environment, tutored by experts and guest entrepreneurs. The 2011 Lancaster Enterprise School is open to any PhD student and/or researcher free of charge but places are limited.

The Enterprise School offers opportunities to:

• gain important knowledge and experience of enterprise
• develop the personal skills to support a variety of career options
• practice developing enterprising approaches to new ideas
• experience of the process of developing and pitching a business plan
• understand the characteristics of a social enterprise

Lancaster University’s NWES-2011 is an intensive residential course lasting four days in a 4 star hotel set in its own beautiful grounds on the edge of Preston (food and accommodation included). You will be part of one of four teams of eight lead by a tutor and supported by a different business/social enterprise mentor each day, widening the range of coaching and support on offer.

Sessions include:

• generating ideas      
• team-working                      
• business planning
• pitching ideas          
• networking               
• social enterprises

Activity/action based learning will help you understand approaches to being enterprising with a final competitive Dragons’ Den style session where ideas developed during the School will be judged by our expert panel.

A previous Enterprise School participant summed up her experience like this: ‘The new skills I acquired and the existing ones that I strengthened will be invaluable to my future career, whether that be inside or outside academia’. Her complete reflections on attending are at: 

http://virtual-doc.salford.ac.uk/jennacondie/category/comfort-zone/

For more details, and to apply contact:

Esti Mardiani-Euers (School Administrator) (mardiane@exchange.lancs.ac.uk) or

Christopher May (School Director) (c.may@lancaster.ac.uk)

Hi All,

Thought some of you might be interested in this free event being run in Hull on 16 March:

An Introduction to Science Policy

• Would you like to contribute to the decisions that shape science and society in the future?
• Do you want to know how your research could be used to inform public policy?
• Have you ever wondered how the regulatory and policy processes work?

The University of Hull will be hosting the first Newton’s Apple workshop in the North on the 16th of March, 2011 during National Science and Engineering Week.

This ‘Introduction to Science Policy’ workshop will give you the chance to find out more about the policy process and the methods by which you can contribute to it. The workshop will also give you the chance to put your questions to people who work with science, engineering and policy.

Who is the Event Aimed at?

• Early career researchers and academics
• Postgraduate and PhD students

Workshop Structure:

The maximum group size is 30 and workshops run for 2 hours. The workshop entails;

• An introduction to Science Policy; supplemented with educational materials explaining the field of Science Policy.
• Guest Panellists; providing information from their own unique perspective on ways in which scientists can communicate their research to a policy audience.
• Discussion; Participants are given the opportunity to question the panellists on science policy issues and how the science-into-policy process can be improved, including how information about the policy process can be given more effectively to them through funding bodies, Government and other organisations.

This is a free Workshop with refreshments and lunch provided

Newton’s Apple

Newton’s Apple is a UK charity which helps to bridge the gap between the science and policy communities. It enables stakeholders - charities, Government, businesses and others - to use science when developing solutions for tackling issues faced by society. It also helps researchers to understand how the policy process works and affects their research and how their research shapes policy.

Guest Panelists

• Dr. Michael Elves
  • Welcome and Introduction
  • Dr. Elves is the Chairman of Newton’s Apple. He was formerly the Director of Scientific and Educational Affairs for Glaxo Wellcome and Special Adviser from 1997-2005.
• Dr. Brian Iddon
  • Science in Parliament
  • Dr. Iddon is a Reader in Chemistry at the University of Salford. He is also an MP and member of the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee from 1997-2010.
• Dr. Monica Darnborough (CBE)
  • Science in Government
  • Dr. Darnborough is a Member of the Board of Trustees at Newton’s Apple and is an independent consultant. She was formerly the Director of Biotechnology, Department of Trade and Industry (1998-2005), and former civil servant in the Cabinet Office.
• Dr. Stephen Benn
  • Science Policy – the role of Learned Societies
  • Dr. Benn is Parliamentary Officer at the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is very experienced in the provision of input into parliamentary and Government policies by Learned Societies.
• Mr. Tim Lovett
  • Influencing Government
  • Mr. Lovett of the British Bee Keepers Association on how they influenced Government and changed policy on funding for bee research

NOTE; There are a limited number of places available, so reserve your place early!

For further information or to reserve your place contact Theresa Mercer or Linda Love

Please complete and return the booking form below by email. Alternatively, you can mail a hard copy to the address shown.

Click here to download:

Newton's_Apple_Workshop_flyer,_Hull.pdf (380 KB)

Click here to download:

Newton's_Apple_Workshop_Booking_Form.doc (32 KB)