Spotlight on...

Shining a spotlight on some of our latest researcher development opportunities and resources...

Early Career Researcher (ECR) mentoring

We piloted a new mentoring programme for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) during the academic year 2023-24. This was a university-wide initiative, intended to complement (not replace) existing School-based and other mentoring activity. It provided a structured approach to programme administration and matching, primarily matching ECRs with mentors outside their own School.

Following mentor recruitment and mentee applications during late 2023, the programme launched in January 2024. Our mentor-mentee pairs worked together for a six-month period from February to July 2024.

To find out more about ECR mentoring and opportunities for 2024-25, please contact Alison Monkhouse (Academic Researcher Development Manager) 

 

Prosper (resources for career development)

What is Prosper?

• The Prosper career development portal provides a range of tools and resources to support career development for postdocs/early career researchers (and for managers of researchers who are supporting the development of others).
• Prosper was developed specifically for postdocs and trialled at the Universities of Liverpool, Manchester and Lancaster Universities. It is now being rolled out for use sector-wide.
• You can watch a video giving an overview of the Prosper portal and its features on the Prosper homepage (scroll down for the video).

How do I access Prosper?

• The Prosper portal is free to use with no login required, but you can choose to register (still free) for enhanced functionality.
• If you register you can navigate Prosper’s resources in a more personalised way, set up a personal dashboard, add your own notes to resources, and save/bookmark resources for later viewing.
• Registering as a user will also help us to see whether University of Huddersfield colleagues are making use of the portal. You can register as a ‘postdoc’, ‘manager of researcher’ or ‘institutions’ user.

How might I use the Prosper portal?

• If you are a postdoc or Early Career Researcher (ECR), you might find Prosper useful for developing self-awareness and building skills, exploring opportunities within/outside academia, or thinking about your long-term career plan. It’s a self-service online portal, so available to access whenever best suits you.
• If you are a manager of researchers or PI, you might want to signpost researchers to the Prosper portal to support their career development and/or highlight that Prosper resources are available to them during your academic PDPR discussions.
• You can also join the Prosper PI Network, a community of practice open to PIs and managers of researchers across the UK. 
• If you work within research services, development or support then you might also want to signpost researchers towards the resources available via Prosper.

Which Prosper resources might I find most useful?

• The resources have been categorised as Reflect (resources to help develop self-awareness and identify career goals), Explore (resources to help broaden your knowledge of possible careers and highlight desirable skillsets) and Act (resources to empower you to get to where you want to go).
• The Career Development Navigator is a guide to help you navigate through the key steps on the journey towards successful career development.
• Some of the most popular resources so far with registered Prosper users include the skills audit, career audit, define your values, and workplace strengths and interests.

To find out more about Prosper and how it might be used, please contact Alison Monkhouse.