Support & Services
We work in close partnership with the sector to ensure that professional and career development is inclusive, relevant, and meaningful for all those involved in research.
Through the support and services we offer we act as a convenor, community builder and collaborator, facilitating practice sharing, developing a robust evidence base for researcher development, and supporting those involved in delivering learning and development.
Events and initiatives
Our annual programme of events and initiatives is designed to facilitate community building and practice sharing among those who support the career and professional development of researchers in their roles.
We provide opportunities for the community to come together and drive progress through:
- Our flagship annual conference, the Vitae International Researcher Development Conference
- An annual programme of member-only and open events
- Peer mentoring schemes for researcher developers
- Convening working groups and communities of practice focused on key issues within researcher development
- Running yearly training sessions for those new to researcher development
The Vitae Impact, Culture and Engagement Awards
We are proud to celebrate and amplify the impact of researcher development through the Vitae Impact, Culture and Engagement (ICE) Awards.
Now in its third year, the awards recognise the brilliant work of those working within researcher development, and aim to highlight how this work is central to the success of our research sector.
Learning and development support
We offer learning and development support for institutions through the development of tailored professional and career development programmes for researchers. We use our extensive experience in designing and delivering programmes to work closely with institutions and partners to support the needs of researchers across all disciplines.
Our support includes:
- Development and training needs analysis
- Bespoke development programmes
- Online and in-person training and workshops
- Adaptation of the Vitae RDF for your contexts
- Train-the-trainer programmes to support sustainability
- Evaluation of programmes
Evidence, evaluation and impact
We are an independent and trusted provider of evidence on all aspects of careers in research. Developing the evidence on which to drive forward positive change on researcher development and research culture is central to our work.
We collaborate with partners and the community to undertake and deliver research and evaluation projects and initiatives which includes:
- Sector-wide surveys including the Culture, Employment and Development in Academic Research survey (CEDARS) and the Research Culture Landscape survey
- Our ‘What do researchers do?’ series of reports, which analyses the career destinations of doctoral graduates
- Collaborating on research projects and programmes and producing reports and publications to benefit the sector and researchers.
Evidence, Evaluation and Impact
The Vitae Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition
Since 2014 Vitae have proudly hosted the UK 3MT® competition which brings together finalists from Vitae member Higher Education Institutions throughout the UK.
The competition challenges doctoral candidates to present a compelling spoken presentation on their research topic and its significance in just three minutes. Watched globally by an audience of thousands, it is a fantastic development opportunity for participants and a brilliant way of showcasing the innovative and impactful work of doctoral researchers.
