Building an EMCR community

A researcher community is shaped not only by what we discover in the lab and in the field, but by what we share with one another. As EMCRs, we each hold experiences and hard-earned lessons that others quietly need to hear. The Researcher Development Hub is growing into a space where these stories can live, and where peer insights are valued and essential.

By contributing an article, you’re offering a sense of purpose to your experiences. Your words can encourage a post-doc navigating their first grant, reassure a carer balancing their career, or spark a new collaboration. These pieces don’t need to be polished manifestos; they can be honest snapshots of what it means to build an academic life today.

We invite you to add your voice; share what’s helped you grow, the mentors who shaped you, the program that took off among your EMCR community. Your perspective strengthens the fabric of our EMCR network and supports your Academic Excellence Framework commitment to developing fellow researchers.

Email us to get started.

Join the conversation, share your career stories and develop your community.

News and Insights

Read through our growing library of news and insights from the EMCR community

— Creating change: reflections on impact with Dr Jedidiah Evans

— Turning research into startups: a Q&A with Uniseed

— Commercialisation Cafe No. 1: Nick Hunt

Highlights from the Sydney Early-Mid Career Academic Network

Dr Rebecca Raeside (second from left) with her nominators:
Allyson Todd, Mariah Issa, Associate Professor Stephanie Partridge

Good mentors in the spotlight

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2025 Sydney Early and Mid-Career Academic Network (SEMCAN) Good Mentor Awards! These awards recognise one of academia’s most transformative relationships — the mentor–mentee connection — and honour researchers whose guidance has shaped careers, built confidence, and created community.

Among this year’s ten standout recipients is Dr Rebecca Raeside from the Faculty of Medicine and Health, whose colleagues describe her as a mentor who builds space for ideas to flourish. For Dr Raeside, the true benefit of mentorship is watching her teammates excel.

Find out who the 2025 Good Mentor Award winners are and read Dr Rebecca Raeside’s reflections on the power of mentorship on Researcher Development Hub News. ⬇️

Featured researcher training events

Reimagining Community Engaged Research and Practice: Dialogues Between Early Career Researchers and Community Practitioners

Monday 27 October, 10 am–5 pm

This event will enable early career researchers (ECRs) and community practitioners to come together, reflect, and learn from one another’s experiences in community-engaged research and practice.

Organised by The Powerful Stories Network (PSN), this event is supported by an EMCR Training Grant from the Researcher Development Unit in the Research Portfolio and is co-sponsored by the Past and Present Research Cluster at the Vere Gordon Childe Centre for the Study of Humanity Through Time.

Programs, resources and funding support for commercialisation

Tuesday 28 October, 11 am–1:30 pm

Explore programs, resources and funding to take your research or startup to market. Hear rapid micro-pitches from leading commercialisation organisations, then connect over lunch and networking.

Discover Research Opportunities at HHURRI

Tuesday 28 October, 10:45–11:45 am

Join the Henry Halloran Urban & Regional Research Initiative, for a one-hour session on our grant schemes, programs, research impact pathways and opportunities to contribute to the Festival of Urbanism.

CPC EMCR Committee 11th Annual Symposium 2025

Wednesday 12 November, 9 am–4:30 pm

Join the CPC EMCR community for their 11th Annual Symposium: Reimagining science communication. Explore the importance of research translation and communication for impact, featuring keynote speakers Ms Ivy Shih (The University of Sydney Media and Public Relations Adviser) and Ms Anna Evangeli (The Conversation Health Editor).

Academic Headshots

Dates throughout November

Prepare for your new Sydney Profile and freshen up your LinkedIn profile by registering for a 10-minute session with a University photographer.

Prepare your Sydney Profile

Sydney Profiles is now available for academic staff to log in and prepare their profile for public launch. There are three steps to complete before logging off for the year: connect ORCID, claim your research identifiers and update your profile. Help is available — find instructions and register for support sessions on the Sydney Profiles learning and support intranet page.

Sydney Profiles will launch publicly on Thursday 29 January 2026.

Resource Roundup

— Mentoring program establishment pack

— Being a good mentor and mentee videos

— Setting mentoring up for success video

— How leaders unlock the power of collaboration podcast

More on the Researcher Development Hub Resource Library

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.

In Researcher Development Hub Comms Material you will find accessible comms material including short and long promotional copy and square images for your SharePoint or Intranet, plus banners for newsletters, digital screens for your common areas, and easily printable posters.

We appreciate your support!

Keep in touch

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