For those researchers planning to move to the UK, and interested in finding out what is available in career development, it's important to see what your host institution offers. In the UK, universities and researcher institutes often offer a number of key services, which may include the following:
Careers Service or department – where researchers can get tailored support and advice.
Staff Development/professional services – bespoke training opportunities offered within individual institutions or departments.
Mentoring schemes – some institutions offer opportunities for researchers to learn from more experienced colleagues or across different sectors.
Networks – there are often other formal/informal local networks where researchers can find additional support.
Knowledge transfer schemes – these exist in most institutions and provide important advice around commercialisation of research and other industry related considerations.
It is important to find out what your institution offers early on in order to take full advantage of the services.
Career Development Centres
Vitae is the Euraxess Career Development Centre for the UK. They provide a great deal of support and information in the field of Career Development. These include publications, regular events and community of support.
Vitae have also developed the Researcher Development Framework, a tool to help researchers identify and develop key skills, behaviours and attributes for successful researchers. More information is available here: https://www.vitae.ac.uk/researcher-careers/euraxess-uk-career-development-centre
In order to access all Vitae’s resources you will be required to become a member for a fee, however, it may be that your institution has membership.
Development Resources
There are a number of projects underway through the EURAXESS network including:
A pan-European initiative aimed at designing an intelligent career development framework based on input from researchers, their employers, HR departments, EURAXESS Service Centres and many other relevant actors.