January Vitae News

THIS MONTH:

Sign up to Annual programme events
Bookings open for Vitae Generative AI workshops
Register your interest for Vitae 3MT® and #VitaeCon2026

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, Evidence and Insight and Policy and Practice.

January –

Vitae Members only: Embedding the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF)

Discover the refreshed Vitae RDF 2025: this session will explore how the RDF is a strategic tool for driving researcher development, and 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, 10:00–11:30 GMT, online.

February –

Vitae Members only: Evidence and insight: evaluating researcher development (Please note this event has been changed – it was formerly ‘Vitae research on professional and career development: Key findings.’ If you signed up to this previous event you will now be signed onto the new Evidence and insight event so you do not need to re-book.)

This interactive workshop will explore the early findings from Vitae’s Evidence and Evaluation survey, sharing key insights and common approaches to how organisations evaluate researcher development activities and gather evidence to demonstrate their impact.

Taking place: Wednesday 11 February 2026 10:00-11:30 GMT, online.

Vitae Members only: Connect and create: Navigating and managing change

In light of current challenges in the higher education sector, this workshop provides a collaborative space for those navigating change to share experiences and offer practical tools and strategies for managing change and supporting others.

Taking place: Tuesday 24 February 2026 10:00-12:00 GMT, online.

March –

Vitae Members only: Researcher Career tracking – What do researchers do?

The purpose of this event is to outline the primary findings of What do researchers do? 2025. This research aims to provide insights into the early career outcomes of English doctorate holders, of interest for researcher development professionals and researchers.

Taking place: Tuesday 3 March 2026 10:00-12:00 (GMT), online.

Catch-up on event recordings: View past event recordings

View Annual Programme 25-26 events

Vitae Generative AI workshops – booking open now

Book your place now to Vitae’s workshops on Generative AI, taking place in March 2026.

Discover: ‘Generative AI integration across the Research Lifecycle’, which takes place on Tuesday 10 March 2026, 10:00-13:00 GMT, online. This workshop equips you with the knowledge and tools to support researchers with AI integration.

Explore further in-depth: ‘Leverage Your Practice with Generative AI’, taking place online on Tuesday 17 March 2026, 10:00-13:00 GMT. Diving into the how and why to use AI, this session is designed to spark innovation and enables a hands-on approach to using generative AI within your professional practice.

Limited spaces are available, so booking early is recommended. Take advantage of a bundle offer for booking both workshops, and Vitae members can enjoy discounted fees.

Book now – Vitae Generative AI workshops March 2026

Vitae Updates

Insights from the Vitae Evidence and Evaluation Survey 2025

Vitae members can join the workshop on Wednesday 11 February 2026 10:00-11:30 GMT to learn about the insights from Vitae’s Evidence and Evaluation Survey 2025.

There is a growing need to demonstrate the impact of researcher development activities and their strategic value. To aid with this, Vitae conducted a survey from 17 September to 16 November 2025 to measure how organisations evaluate researcher development activities and gather evidence to demonstrate their value.

Some key findings of the survey include:

41% of respondents feel they can effectively demonstrate the value of researcher development investment to senior leadership, however 26% admit they lack the ability to be effective at demonstrating this value.
31% of respondents rate researcher development as a high or very high strategic priority, with 45% describing it as moderate and 22% as low, within their institutions.
68% say that researcher development as a strategic priority has increased over the past three years, which includes 41% who note a slight increase.

Full analysis will be available soon for Vitae members.

Vitae Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) 2026 – register your interest

Join the excitement and register your interest now to receive updates for 2026’s Vitae Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition. Further updates to follow.

#VitaeCon2026 – register your interest

In anticipation of this year’s #VitaeCon2026, register your interest to receive updates about our flagship annual conference.

The Vitae RDF Planner 2025

Following the launch of the revised configuration of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) 2025, we’re pleased to announce the upcoming launch of the RDF Planner 2025.

The Planner provides a structured, reflective approach to professional development – helping researchers identify strengths, set development goals, and track progress. It also takes a whole-person perspective, enabling researchers to understand their professional journey and take ownership of career development.

Evolved to align with the refreshed RDF 2025, the planner will include new areas of skills focus and offer revised benefits, including:

Easier navigation and a fresh visual identity
An enhanced planner interface
Improved processes to build your portfolio of skills, and clearer labeling

Sector News

Tenth BME Early Career Researcher Conference

The Black, Minority and Ethnic (BME) Early Career Researcher (ECR) Conference will be taking place on 9-10 July 2026, which will also be the tenth anniversary of the conference.

Taking place at King’s College, London, the tenth anniversary conference will explore the theme of ‘Reflection, Recognition and Renewal’, and will celebrate the achievements of BME ECRs. Empowering BME ECRs to thrive in academia, the conference plays a vital role by providing tools, networks and confidence to ECRs, and has engaged more than 4,000 global participants since it started.

Watch a promotional video on LinkedIn about the BME ECR Conference. (Please note that the deadline for impact stories mentioned in the video has now passed).

Event: Sign up to attend the free of charge Researcher Education and Development Scholarship (REDS) online conference

REDS takes place online at internationally friendly times on Wednesday 21 January (12:00 to 18:00 GMT) and Thursday 22 January (08:00 to 13:00 GMT).

Hear Rosie Wadman and Heather MacKenzie speak about Vitae Peer Mentoring Circles on Wednesday 21 January 14:20pm to 14:40pm (Stream C).

Researcher Education and Development Scholarship Conference

Open Innovation Team PhD Placement Scheme 2026-27

Applications are now open for three-month long policy and evaluation placements with the Open Innovation Team (OIT). Applications close on Friday 13 February 12:00 GMT.

Apply now – Open Innovation Team PhD Placement Scheme 2026-27

New member spotlight

Northeastern University London is part of Northeastern University’s global system, linking campuses across the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States and Canada.

The London campus has a rapidly growing community of students and researchers who can now benefit from Vitae membership, including:

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) – a global research communication competition where institutional winners progress to the Vitae UK National Final
Researcher Development Framework (RDF) – a sector-recognised tool for career planning and reflecting on professional growth
CEDARS – a national survey to understand researcher experience and track progress against the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers
Member-only events, policy briefings, and practical resources supporting researcher development and research culture

If you are part of Northeastern University London, you can access these benefits by creating a Vitae account using your university email address (this enables access via institutional membership).

Join a thriving network of researchers, developers and institutions working together to champion professional development and positive research culture. Learn more about Vitae membership.

This membership strengthens Northeastern University London’s commitment to building research capacity, supporting researcher careers, and fostering a positive research culture.

Know anyone interested in Vitae Membership and all the benefits it has to offer?

We are particularly interested in expanding our international reach as well as signing up more research institutions. Please signpost any referrals to ask questions about membership / arrange a call to discuss further: membership@vitae.ac.uk

Do you have any new or departing colleagues? Let us know details so we can amend our mailing list and update our database: membership@vitae.ac.uk

Share your upcoming events or updates with comms@crac.org.uk and we will endeavour to include in our future communications for you.

Vitae Membership

Come meet the CRAC Vitae Team

Where are we in the next few weeks?

We will have a membership stand at the Open University’s Research Hub launch event on Tuesday 27 January – if you are involved with the Open University and already have a ticket do come meet us there for a chat. Sign up to attend this free of charge event happening online on Eventbrite. Please note bookings for in-person attendance have now closed.

Core Purpose of the Event

Introduce the Research Capability Hub and its ambition to strengthen research capacity across the UK Social Sciences.
Share progress to date and invite early feedback on priorities for training, collaboration, and community-building.
Learn from participants, co-create an understanding of what you want from the Research Capability Hub
Begin shaping the first 18 months of development and implementation based on your needs.

Target Audience

Social science researchers and research support professionals across career stages.
Organisations and networks offering training provision (national, regional, and institutional).
Research leaders shaping capability agendas within institutions.

For further information or assistance with booking tickets please contact rch-enquiries@open.ac.uk

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