Researcher Development Unit

Researcher Development News

Edition 03

May, 2025

It has been a busy season for the Researcher Development Unit as we continue to deliver our 2025 series of development programs and workshops, including supporting many exciting researcher-led events planned and funded through the EMCR Training Grant Scheme. With grant season still in full swing, this month’s newsletter will focus on helping you make it through the highs and the lows.

When it comes to funding, preparation is everything.

The Researcher Development Hub is a digital pitstop for funding success. There are many ways the Researcher Development Hub can guide and drive your strategy and applications:

Read through articles and guidance on how to plan for funding before you develop your funding strategy to guide your journey, then download the Funding Planning Workbook.
Get comprehensive advice on identifying, evidencing, and writing about the impact of your research, which is essential for preparing a compelling track record section.
Search through our comprehensive list of University-wide internal funding opportunities to find schemes that are relevant to you.
Prepare yourself before you start writing, then put yourself forward with the very best application with resources from the grant writing toolkit.

And don’t forget that the Pipeline and Pre-Award team in the Research Portfolio are funding experts and can help you plan for funding and develop a strong proposal.

Funding on the Researcher Development Hub >>

Reframing rejection: strategies for resilience

It is by far the most challenging part of an academic career; pouring your research soul into a funding application or paper only for you to hear no... again and again. Rejection happens to everyone, but it can take time to learn that it really isn't about you.

In our feature article this newsletter, we spoke to Associate Professors Ben Fulcher and Tanya Latty about their journeys to winning their ARC Future Fellowships (hint: there was a lot of rejection!). Neither were successful on their first attempt, and they both learned that resilience is inevitable if you want it badly enough.

“There was incessant rejection for ages, and that is an important part of being an academic,” says Dr Fulcher. “And when you're going up against things that are in sometimes single digit percentage success rates, that's part of the game. You put your papers in and they get ripped apart and you put a lot of yourself and your own creativity into it."

FEATURED EVENT

Research Insights - Resilience in research funding: moving forward after funding setbacks
June 10, 12pm to 1pm

Behind every successful research grant or Fellowship application, there are often countless near-misses or rejections. Such setbacks are common in academia, but they are rarely acknowledged openly. How do you remain resilient in the face of unsuccessful funding applications? To find out more, join us for our next Research Insights, where you’ll hear honest reflections and practical advice about grant (re)submissions, and strategies for bouncing back.

Speakers: A/Prof Sophie Lewis, A/Prof Markus Muellner, Nic Makoviney

AEF activity: ‘Pursue and obtain funding’

Register here >>

EVENTS FROM THE GRANT STRATEGY TEAM

> MRFF EMRC Grants Information Session

May 21, 1:30pm to 2:30pm

> ARC Future Fellowship 2026 - Are you ready?

May 28, 12pm to 1:30pm

> ARC DECRA 2027 - Are you ready?

June 4, 12pm to 1:30pm

> NHMRC Investigator Grants 2026: Information session

June 10, 10:30 am to 12 pm

PROGRAMS FROM THE RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT UNIT

Design your Life and Career
Interactive workshop for postdocs and ECRs based on Life Design methods

Friday, June 13, 10am to 4pm

For researchers who are at a crossroads in their career journey, this one-day workshop will inspire you to explore all the ways you can live your best life by designing a future that aligns with your values and aspirations and makes the most of your skills.

We invite Expressions of Interest from Level A and B academics.

Submit your EOI >>

Presenting with Impact: a workshop with NIDA
Choice of 3 dates: June 25, August 26 or Sept 18

This one-day course at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts will draw from NIDA’s world-class performance practice.

The Conversation Pitching and Writing Masterclass
Choice of 2 dates: Sep 1 or Nov 12

This two-hour workshop will teach you the tricks to turn your research into journalism.

Submit your EOI >>

EVENTS FROM THE RESEARCHER COMMUNITY

The Researcher Development Unit recently ran the first round of our EMCR Training Grant scheme for 2025, awarding nine grants to EMCRs to run training events for academics across the University. These excellent initiatives are open to all researchers:

> Navigating Interdisciplinarity: A Workshop & Writing Retreat for Early and Mid-Career Researchers
July 3, 9:30am to 3:30pm, EOIs close May 31

The Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, in collaboration with the Charles Perkins Centre and Sydney Nano Institute, is taking Expressions of Interest for a full-day workshop aimed at all University EMCRs on navigating the unique complexities of doing interdisciplinary research.

Submit an EOI >>

> DesignLab EMCR Workshop: Harnessing Creativity to Develop Research Proposals
June 11, June 18, June 25, July 16, EOIs close June 2

Develop skills in building innovative, evidence-based research proposals for grant applications, EOIs or pitching to industry partners. The workshops will enable participants to learn and apply a set of design skills appropriate for their research proposal development.

Submit an EOI >>

> Culture of Care in Animal Research: Supporting Staff Wellbeing
July 16, 9:30am to 12:30pm

The workshop will focus on compassion fatigue, professional wellbeing, and the human experience of animal research. It will provide space to reflect, share experiences, and consider practical strategies to build a more supportive and sustainable research environment.

Register to attend >>

GENERATIVE AI AND RESEARCH: CALL FOR CASE STUDIES

The Sydney Informatics Hub is creating a repository of case studies that will showcase different ways that GenAI can be used in research. To contribute to this initiative, tell the team how you're using GenAI in your research via this short survey. Selected contributors will be invited to participate in a paid two-day in-person session on June 26-27th. Attendees will discuss, share and collaborate to write about their experiences to develop GenAI use cases to share with the wider research community.

Learn more >>

NEWS FROM THE GRADUATE RESEARCH SCHOOL

> Creating the Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Research Students (for HDR Supervisors)
Limited places are available for the 30 May session

Facilitated by ThinkWell, this will provide you with practical, research-backed strategies and tools to tackle key supervision challenges.

Find out more and register >>

> New resources for HDR supervisors

The Graduate Research School has developed a comprehensive suite of HDR Supervisor resources to provide guidance through each stage of candidature and to help supervisors navigate key University services.

Explore the Intranet resources here >>

Help us spread the word on the Researcher Development Hub!

Please share the Researcher Development Hub in your internal channels to connect your researchers with tools and training from across the University:

— Add a link to sydney.edu.au/researcher-hub to your Intranet, SharePoint and Newsletter
— Share our information pack (pdf) in your meetings
— Put our digital screen (pdf) up in your common areas
— Hand out our postcards at your researcher events

We appreciate your support!

Keep in touch

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