Researcher Development Unit
Researcher Development News
Edition 01, December 2024
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As we reach the end of 2024, we look back with pride at the many milestones our researchers have achieved this year. We also look ahead with excitement for what's to come.
The Researcher Development Unit in the Research Portfolio has been working hard to develop the Researcher Development Hub, a website designed to help you excel professionally, build your skills in the areas where you need them and enable you to find the right opportunities, events and resources relevant to you. The website will launch in the new year and will be a one-stop space for you to navigate your research career development at the University of Sydney.
Our next newsletter will welcome you into the new year with a new website. We can't wait to show it to you! Until then, we wish you all the very best for the holiday season, and a welcome reprieve from all you have accomplished this year.
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During 2024, we launched several opportunities to bring our community together. Research Insights has been a particularly enlightening series of workshops on topics ranging from co-design to AI and many things in between. The Research Excellence and Inclusion Prizes have returned to reward researchers with excellent research trajectories that could be further accelerated with additional support, and the first year of our Horizon Fellows Development Programs has been off to an inspiring start.
Our programs this year have brought together more than 1000 researchers from across the University of Sydney community, which we are looking forward to strengthening once the Researcher Development Hub website is brought to life in early 2025.
The end of the year is a great time to celebrate our many wins and success stories, and to assure you that simply being a researcher is accomplishing great things. Our team is proud to stand alongside all of you, to support you and to assist you to reach your full potential. With projects we have been working on for years launching soon, we end this year with optimism for what's to come.
Professor Louise Sharpe
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Researcher Training)
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| | Season's Greetings from the Researcher Development Unit
Including Dr Miriam-Rose Ash, Dr Danielle Thyer, Alison Ward and introducing Seema Seraphina Devashri as the Digital Content Producer for the new Researcher Development Hub. We look forward to working with you all in 2025!
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Researcher Development in 2024
Thank you to everyone who attended our events this year! With a roster of more than 35 events and workshops, we were thrilled to work with many of you, whether at the Nature Masterclass, Career Conversations, Research Insights, or one of our other offerings.
EMCR Training Grants in Focus
A highlight of our programs this year was our pilot EMCR Training Grant Scheme, which awarded up to $5,000 each to eight different ideas from our researcher community, enabling them deliver innovative researcher development workshops for colleagues across the University.
From career accelerators to contemplative practices in interdisciplinary research, the events were chosen for their benefit to EMCR career development and ability to connect researchers within and beyond their discipline. With more than 330 researchers attending the different opportunities, the scheme demonstrates the power of training delivered by and for the EMCR community.
One funded event was Dr Alison Pearce’s Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo)Writing Retreat, which brought together FMH EMCRs for three days of dedicated writing time – often a challenging quest for any researcher. The retreat came to life from October 30 to November 1 and included a webinar on using AI in writing.
“Although the main goal of the retreats is to write (a lot!), one of the best outcomes has been connecting with other people in the faculty and sharing the highs and lows of writing,” says Dr Pearce. “Seeing that other people also find writing hard has made it easier for me to keep going when I’m feeling stuck.”
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Researchers at the AcWriMo retreat
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Another grant recipient included Dr Leah Williams Veazey and Dr Michelle Peterie’s career accelerator, Navigating life, work and wellbeing as an EMCR. Held on Friday, 25 October at Camperdown Commons, the event was praised by those in attendance for its community building, time for writing, facilitated workshops and mentoring advice on career, life and academia.
Congratulations to all our recipients. The EMCR Training Grant Scheme will run again next year. Keep your eye out for more details and look for more stories on the Researcher Development Hub when it launches!
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Researcher Spotlight: Dr Danielle Muscat
Dr Danielle Muscat is among the many of you who understand the challenges of building a career and a family at the same time; at a pivotal time in her research journey, she is also the primary carer of two small children under four.
The Translational Research Lead at the Sydney Health Literacy Lab and Director of Research at the NSW Health Statewide Health Literacy Hub, Danielle remains a leader in her field despite the many interruptions, which is one of the reasons why she was honoured with a 2024 Research Excellence and Inclusion Prize. Danielle was awarded a Brown Prize for researchers with significant caring responsibilities. The prize provides funding, mentorship and development to boost their career and balance the equity of opportunity that caretaking can diminish.
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This year, Danielle was able to attend an international conference and hire a research assistant to maximise her output. She also recognises her luck when it comes to being paired with Professor Cath Chapman from the Matilda Centre for mentoring support. “She was so generous with her time and her sharing of knowledge,” says Danielle. “We have had a similar career trajectory, so she was able to share her experiences and learnings through similar stages, career development and disruption.”
The Research Excellence and Inclusion Prizes also include the Laffan Prize for colleagues with disabilities, and the Thompson Prize for high performing women seeking promotion to levels D and E. Applications for awards commencing in 2026 will open in July next year.
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Congratulations to the 2025
Research Excellence and Inclusion Prize winners!
Dr Melissa Kennedy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Eleanor Drummond, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Dr Rebecca Mercieca-Bebber, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Dr David Waddington, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Dr Tristen Jones, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Johnny Bourke, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Dr Yogambha Ramaswamy, Faculty of Engineering
A/Prof Fiona Stanaway, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Dr Megan Steain, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Dr Rachel Thompson, Faculty of Medicine and Health
A/Prof Anne Thomas, Faculty of Science
Dr Jacqueline Wesson, Faculty of Medicine and Health
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Network with the Sydney Early-Mid Career Academic NetworkSEMCAN is a university-wide, cross-faculty network at the University of Sydney, created by and for early and mid-career academics (EMCAs), with support from the DVC Research Portfolio. With representatives from nearly all faculties and University schools, we provide a unique academic perspective, bridging the gap between university leadership and EMCAs. Our mission is to help EMCAs thrive through advocacy, networking, and training opportunities.
One of our flagship initiatives is the annual SEMCAN Good Mentor Award, which recognises EMCAs who excel in supporting and mentoring colleagues. Start thinking about who you’d like to nominate in 2025 and watch for submission details.
This year’s final event united leaders from all EMCA/R networks across the University for a networking and planning luncheon, ensuring 2025 brings abundant opportunities for EMCAs. If you lead an EMCA/R network and haven’t connected with us yet, please reach out!
marnee.mckay@sydney.edu.au
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Researchers at the EMCR Leaders Networking Lunch, November 20
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Write with Us
As we work towards building a thriving EMCR community, we invite researchers to write articles based on career development and their research journey for the Researcher Development Hub.
Don't worry - we're not asking for journal articles! The Hub is a space for informative and insightful discussions on your development as a researcher and how you have navigated your career. We want to hear about how you got your first job after your PhD, your journey through authorship, a mentorship experience that has changed you, and other stories about how you have navigated research skills, leadership, career development, or built your impact. And if your field of research is researcher development, this is a space for you to share what you have discovered.
Please share your ideas with us so we can work with you to create a powerful community of contributors from across the research space. Email us at researcher.development@sydney.edu.au.
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