THIS MONTH:
• Sign up to Annual Programme events – EURAXESS webinar and Embedding the Vitae RDF
• CEDARS 2025 Policy brief
• New insights into research culture in Northern Ireland
Vitae Events
Explore Vitae’s Annual Programme events and activities for members during 2025-2026
Register your interest now to receive updates for Vitae’s Annual Programme 2025-2026.
There are three main themes this year to support researcher development:
• Connect and Create – a chance for participants to co-develop solutions
• Evidence and Insight – through evidence-led approaches we can better understand and support researcher careers
• Policy and Practice – driving positive change through leadership, collaboration and collective responsibility.
Upcoming events from the annual programme include:
EURAXESS Webinar – Horizon Europe focused event
Join us for an open-access webinar on EURAXESS, taking place Wednesday 14 January 2026, from 13:30 to 15:00 GMT.
This session will provide an overview of how EURAXESS supports researcher mobility, career development, and international collaboration.
Attendees will have the opportunity to:
• Connect with researchers, institutional representatives, and EURAXESS experts
• Explore tools and resources for various stages of the research journey
• Learn about resources for funding and job opportunities, and mobility support.
Sign up to the EURAXESS webinar
Vitae Members Only: Embedding the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF)
Discover the refreshed Vitae RDF 2025, a bold articulation of the values, knowledge, and behaviours that define today’s researchers, ready to work across sectors and meet society’s future needs.
This session will explore how the RDF is a strategic tool for driving researcher development, and how it can align with evolving institutional and sector priorities. Participants will listen to, and discuss, how institutions are embedding the framework into practice and engaging with senior stakeholders to influence strategy and shape support for researchers.
Taking place: Thursday 29 January 2026, 10:00–12:00 GMT, online.
Sign up to the Embedding the Vitae RDF event
Catch-up on event recordings
In case you missed it, login to the Vitae website to catch up on the event, ‘Using CEDARS insights to drive change’, which explored how findings from CEDARS and pulse surveys are helping to shape the next Research Culture Landscape survey.
View Annual Programme 25-26 events
Vitae Updates
CEDARS 2025 Policy Brief published
At the end of November 2025, the new Culture, Employment and Development of Academic Researchers Survey (CEDARS) 2025 Policy Brief was published. Based on the CEDARS 2025 survey results which had 13,334 responses across 53 UK institutions, the brief arrives at a critical moment for a sector navigating funding uncertainty, restructuring, and wider reforms.
The brief calls for improved workforce planning, better supported management capability, clearer and more accessible progression routes for all staff groups, and for people and culture considerations to be embedded explicitly in higher-education and research policy.
Read the full CEDARS 2025 Policy brief
Sector News
New insights into research culture in Northern Ireland
Vitae has delivered the first system-wide review of research culture in Northern Ireland, commissioned by Research Culture Northern Ireland (RCNI) Drawing on surveys, interviews, focus groups and desk research, the report brings together insights from higher education, government, industry and the voluntary sector.
It highlights a connected and talented research community with strong collaboration, alongside opportunities to improve career pathways, cross-sector mobility, recognition of civic contributions and administrative processes.
As Northern Ireland develops a new research and innovation strategy, the findings offer timely evidence to inform policy and strengthen research culture across all sectors.
Read the full report and read more on Wonkhe.
Research Culture in Northern Ireland
2025 Autumn Budget – Vitae’s initial response
‘Vitae welcomes the Autumn budget announcements reaffirming that people are central to research and innovation. However, this positive signal comes amid major shifts in UK research funding. As UKRI adopts a more selective funding model, it remains unclear how researchers in de-prioritised areas will be supported, raising concerns about the potential loss of skills and experience from the HE sector. To ensure researchers can navigate these changes without disadvantage, greater clarity is needed on transition support such as retraining, mobility options, and career guidance.’ Clare Viney, CEO CRAC Vitae.
Future of Careers Policy
At the end of November, the future of careers policy was discussed at the House of Commons with the Career Development Policy Group (CDPG), APPG for Skills, Careers and Employment, Policy Connect, CRAC Vitae’s CEO Clare Viney, Darren Paffey MP, and Baroness Sue Frognal amongst other representatives.
Careers guidance makes a real difference to people’s lives, as well as contributing to economic, educational and social policy goals. Despite research proving that career development has a significant return on investment, the career development system in England is being held back by a lack of long-term investment. Action is needed now to rejuvenate the structures in place into an all-age careers system that is robust, inclusive and future-focused.
Learn more – Future of Careers Policy
Do you support researchers? Become an organisational member of Vitae
Benefits of membership include access for your organisation to a comprehensive range of resources, discounts on events, and member only activities, as well as being part of a connected network committed to supporting researchers and those who support them.
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