August 21, 2020, by Lisa Chin

Supporting career development of early career researchers

This post is contributed by Dr Tissa Chandesa, Research Training Development Manager at the Graduate School. 


University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) prides itself in nurturing and supporting researchers that deliver research that transform lives and shapes the future. As such, UNM Graduate School collaborates with senior academic members of staff to deliver a number of opportunities to enhance the personal and professional development of our Early Career Researchers (ECRs). At UNM, ECRs are defined as those with a doctorate, or registered for completion, who are within ten years of having gained their first academic post for teaching and research or research-only at any Higher Education Institution (HEI) or have not been research active within the past two years.

On Tuesday 18 August 2020, Dr Seow Hsin-Vonn (Associate Professor of Operations Research and currently the Associate Dean of Research and Knowledge Exchange for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at UNM) delivered a workshop titled supporting your personal career development as an academician for ECRs. The two-hour workshop covered important aspects of being an academician, such as time management, prioritising task and work-life balance.

According to Dr Seow: “Starting an academic career after PhD completion is no mean feat. After securing an academic position, the actual journey then starts. Next, braving the waves of research and what seems to be an iceberg of teaching load, how do one keep their bearings? What compass should a new and young academician career needle consider North forward.” As a result, during the workshop, Dr Seow drew on her vast experience and gave participants a few pointers to start conversations and reflections on what fits their journey as an ECR.

Below are some of the participants’ feedback of the mentioned session:

    • How to navigate my career as an ECR

    • Ways of creating a good research network

    • Balancing day job with research


Upcoming workshops for ECRs

At the Graduate School, we continue to deliver the highest quality training and development for our ECR community amidst the C0VID-19 pandemic. Our upcoming training and support provision is as follows:

An introduction to creating surveys with Qualtrics

  • Monday 24 August 2020, 2pm – 4pm

  • This course will introduce core Qualtrics concepts and tools which include creating questions and basic question types, simple survey logic, anonymous distribution and reporting basics.

  • Sign up

Introduction to the Code of Research Conduct and Research Ethics

  • Tuesday 25 August 2020, 3pm – 4pm

  • This course will give an introduction to the University’s Code of Research Conduct and Research Ethics, and provide an overview of Research Integrity and what it entails.

  • Sign up

For any enquiries or more information, please email to RAD@nottingham.edu.my.

Posted in News and EventsResearcher Development