Researcher Development
There are a wide range of opportunities to support your professional and career development, mapped to Vitae's Researcher Development Framework.
There are a wide range of opportunities to support your professional and career development, mapped to Vitae's Researcher Development Framework.
The workshops are appropriate both if you are working as the PI/Co-I on a grant application or if you are supporting the writing of an application. The workshops have been designed to develop your grant writing skills and optimise the chance of success with future grant submissions.
You may choose to attend all/most of the sessions or those most relevant to your needs.
Future workshops:
Email: researchculture@lancaster.ac.uk to express your interest in attending any of these future workshops and we will notify you as soon as it has been scheduled.
For researchers, much professional development and advancement is linked to successfully delivering projects. Any post-doctoral or early–career researcher will have had to organise, analyse and present an enormous amount of information, set goals and review progress.
Facilitated by Dr Steve Hutchinson this programme will equip you with applied project management skills and an overview of various project-planning tools and techniques.
Project Management for Researchers registration - this registers you for both the sessions detailed below.
Session I – Research Project Management Essentials - Wednesday, 21 January 13.00-15.30 (Online)
This first session introduces the essential elements of research project management and equips you with a series of tools to help with:
Session 2 – Enhanced Management Practice - Wednesday, 28 January 13.00-15.30 (Online)
This session will explore:
Please note:
You are asked on registering for this event to make a commitment to attend both sessions. We understand that unavoidable circumstances can prevent your attendance. In this instance, please cancel your place at the earliest opportunity so that a colleague can be offered your place.
This workshop explores how to build, maintain, and proactively manage effective student-supervisor relationships using the UKCGE framework.
This workshop is designed for postgraduate research supervisors at all career stages-whether you're newly appointed or looking to refresh and refine your approach. It's ideal for those who want to deepen their understanding of supervisory dynamics and foster more productive, supportive relationships with their students.
Supervisory relationships are at the heart of successful research journeys. By attending, you'll gain actionable strategies to enhance your practice, address concerns in a safe and supportive environment, and connect with fellow supervisors to exchange ideas and build useful connections. You'll leave with renewed confidence, a toolkit of resources, and a clearer sense of how to navigate the complexities of supervision with empathy and effectiveness.
Facilitator: Steve Hutchinson
This is a full day in-person workshop:
Lancaster University is part of the Mid-Career Researcher (MCR) Mentoring Scheme - a collaborative initiative with partner institutions across the north of England. The scheme has run for several years and has received excellent feedback from both mentors and mentees.
Mid-career researchers often find themselves with fewer structured development opportunities compared to early-career researchers (ECRs). Joining this scheme as a mentee helps to fill that gap by offering access to mentors from other universities, broadening your networks and perspectives and providing tailored career development support.
We are inviting experienced senior researchers and research leaders to share their expertise and help shape the next generation of research leaders. Mentoring is light-touch, involving approximately three to four meetings, usually online, over four to six months, starting in February 2026. This is an opportunity to contribute to the research community and build connections across institutions.
The number of mentee places at Lancaster depends on how many colleagues sign up as mentors. Please help support mid-career researchers by signing up as a mentor.
For more information about the scheme and eligibility criteria, please visit the dedicated website or email: researchculture@lancaster.ac.uk.
Mentoring is a valuable source of development. It can help you to focus on your next move, consider new opportunities and open up a wider network.
Outside of the Cross-institutional Mid-Career Mentoring Programme there are two ways in which you can engage in a mentoring relationship:
Visit the OD mentoring pages for more information on becoming a mentor and mentee.
The university has an internal coaching network, that has a small number of qualified coaches. Coaching requests can be submitted via the OD coaching pages, however individuals should be aware that due to demand, there may be delays in being paired with a coach and sessions starting