Simon and Hallsworth Fellowship Briefing and Showcase, 19th October

You are cordially invited to a showcase event for the Simon and Hallsworth Fellowships, which will take place from 11 am to 2 pm on Monday 19 October in the Kanaris Lecture Theatre, Manchester Museum.
From 11 am to 12 noon there will be presentations from the Chair of the Committees on the application process and from former fellows on how the Fellowships helped their careers. A poster and networking session for potential applicants and other interested parties, with a buffet lunch, will be held from 12 to 2 pm, where you will be able to meet current fellows and discuss research projects. You are welcome to attend all or part of the event as your diary allows.
For catering purposes could confirm your attendance by Friday 18 September to Laura Dobson at manchester.ac.uk.

Are most academics lonely at work?

“Community is not just about being the same place or having the same events to go to – it’s about that ‘feeling of fellowship’ that comes with sharing common interests and goals.”

The Thesis Whisperer

Last week I announced our new MOOC “How to survive your PhD”. Since then I’ve been overwhelmed by the response, with more than 2600 people signing up in the first week alone, which is far more than I expected! A few people have written to me about how they might use the MOOC to help create a campus based, or online group experience. This got me to thinking about how we do – and don’t – create community for and amongst research students.

There are clearly benefits from being part of an on campus community. If you listen to PhD students talk you might get the idea that poor supervision is the biggest problem, but survey after survey shows that students everywhere think that universities are doing a poor job of creating a sense of community.

At RMIT, where I used to work, students would routinely rate the university…

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Current job opportunities for masters and PhD students

Current job opportunities available! Visit the Careers Blog for more info!

University of Manchester Careers Blog

Having a few minutes of spare time today and not wanting to sit around twiddling my thumbs, I thought I’d have a nosy on CareersLink and see what might be on offer for our postgrads. Here’s a couple of vacancies to pique your interest and encourage you to go exploring further. Keep an open mind in your explorations – you might find suitable opportunities even if they aren’t specifically targeted at masters or PhD students. Also, don’t worry too much if you think you might not have enough experience.  Remember, there’s always someone at the Careers Service who can give you advice.

Experienced social science researchers, masters or PhD

Experienced Research – ThinkYoung
Currently accepting research proposals from experienced researchers on issues affecting young people. The successful candidate will be offered a paid position at ThinkYoung in order to carry out their proposal. PhD or more than four years’…

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Job Alert: Research Associate to join UK Data Service (full time, FTE) – Apply by 9 June

Applications are sought for a full-time Research Associate (Grade 6) to join the UK Data Service User Support and Training team with a particular focus on Big Data. The post would be based in CMIST, University of Manchester, and will involve close liaison with researchers in partner organisations and others working in the Big Data field (including the University of Essex, Big Data Centres and the Administrative Data Service). You will work with the project lead to develop and deliver a programme of training events and online training materials to meet the needs of researchers using Big Data.

This post is available immediately and is offered for 14 months (ending no later than 30th September 2017)

For more information and how to apply click here: https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/displayjob.aspx?jobid=9913

 

Third of casual staff struggling to pay rent, UCU poll finds (via Times Higher Education)

Originally posted on the 21st May via the Times Higher Education website.

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Survey details the financial and personal costs of casualisation in higher education.

Desperate times: the UCU survey found that 20 per cent of those on casualised contracts had difficulty paying for food

About a third of university staff on fixed-term or casualised contracts struggle to pay their rent or mortgage and household bills, a survey of just over 2,500 University and College Union members suggests.

A fifth of those in non-permanent posts in higher education had difficulty paying for food, and 16 per cent found it hard to pay off loans, according to the UCU report, Making Ends Meet: The Human Cost of Casualisation in Post-secondary Education, published on 21 May.

Click on this link to read the remainder of the article: https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/third-of-casual-staff-struggling-to-pay-rent-ucu-poll-finds/2020325.article

International training on Horizon 2020

HumsResearchers

Dear Researcher,

Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever. Open calls for proposals can be found on the online Participant Portal. The same portal offers you a lot of useful information, manuals and reference documents to help you prepare a successful project proposal. But all this might not be enough since the overall success rate is still very low.

Do you want your research and innovation projects to be funded through Horizon 2020? No need to learn from your own mistakes! So we offer you our knowledge and experiences through a practical training that covers all the topics you need for a successful project proposal preparation and efficient management of your project.

17^th International EU Grant Academy^©20 to 25 September 2015 (Portorož, Slovenia)

The five day programme will give theoretical foundation as well as many specific examples and practical work. You will…

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Reminder: Pathways Event, Thurs 4th June 2015!

Pathways is this week!

Thursday 4th June, 9am-4pm

Renold Building, North Campus

Pathways is an annual careers event for PhD researchers and research staff.

The event is designed to support delegates in making career choices, exploring future plans and discovering the breadth of opportunities available.

Comprising over 20 different panel based sessions with PhDs from a diverse range of career areas and backgrounds, plus seminars, there’s something for all students and researchers from all areas of study and at any stage in their career planning.

For more information and to register please click on this link: http://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduates/pathways/

Guest Post: When it’s not just students who plagiarize (via Tenure, She Wrote)

A thoughtful blog post on plagiarism among academics.

Tenure, She Wrote

Today’s guest post is by Tenured but Disillusioned, an Associate Professor at a R1 Institution in North America.

All course instructors have academic integrity statements on their syllabi. Unfortunately, dealing with students who have plagiarized is one of the worst parts of teaching. But it’s not just students (usually undergraduates but occasionally graduates) who can—and do—plagiarize. Two colleagues plagiarized my work. One of them plagiarized twice. Although these events happened a number of years ago, I still have knots in my stomach just thinking about it.

“Bob” was an Assistant Professor a few years ahead of me on the tenure clock. He was good friends with the chair of our department. Bob and Chair applied for a large grant from a major funding agency. Their application garnered interest, but the reviewers wanted them to elaborate some aspects of their proposal. Because I was an expert in several of these areas…

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Re-appropriating Value(s) in Higher Education, 25th June, University of Manchester

Full details are available at  https://reappropiatingvalues.wordpress.com/.

Places are limited, so if you are interested please register via the BSA website (http://portal.britsoc.co.uk/public/event/eventBooking.aspx?id=EVT10422) sooner rather than later.

Re-appropriating Value(s) in Higher Education

Despite years of investment into widening participation agendas, marginalised persons, whether in terms of class, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality or disability, remain ‘devalued’ (Skeggs and Loveday 2012) owing to systems and structures of Higher Education. Reappropriating Value(s) will be a day of discussion and will bring together various academics and practitioners whose work speaks towards, or takes direct action against these practices.

Programme:

9:30-10:15: Registration (tea/coffee)
10:15-10:30: Welcome and introduction to the day
Morning Session: Re-appropriating Values (theoretically and empirically)

10:30-11:15: Keynote 1

Dr Stephanie Lawler: ‘We’ve been framed!’ Value, social magic and symbolic power
11:15-12:15: Panel 1

Jessie Abrahams: Honourable Mobility or Shameless Entitlement? Social class and graduate employment
Rashida Bibi: “I understand how the world works much better”: British South Asian Muslim women and experiences of Higher Education
Hilary Stewart: Disability, Symbolic Capitals and the Psychosocial
12:15-12:45: Discussion with keynote and panel

12:45-1:45: Lunch (provided)
Afternoon Session: Re-appropriating Values (politically, practically, pragmatically)

1:45-2:30: Keynote 2

Prof. Tracy Shildrick and Prof. Rob McDonald: ‘Fat Cat Sociology’ Revisited: the pressures and possibilities of ‘public sociology’ and ‘real world’ research impact
2:30-3:30 Panel 2

Ruth Pearce: Academia as Redistribution: A Challenge to Sociologists
Victoria Armstrong: Introducing Mad Studies…
Dr Lisa McKenzie: ‘Beyond Capital’: The value of academic work
3:30-4:00 Discussion with keynote and panel

4:00-5:00 Closing Comments & Ways Forward
5:00-6:30 Wine Reception and further discussion
6:30 Meal and more drinks for those interested

Workshop: Introduction to PhotoVoice – 3rd June

methods@manchester and artsmethods@manchester are delighted to present this course, introducing PhotoVoice and the key ways in which the methodology is implemented.

3rd June, 9:30-5pm

The course will include:

• Introduction to PhotoVoice • Examples of PhotoVoice projects • Project design and delivery • Use of PhotoVoice for different projects • Workshop design and engagement • Consent, captioning and ethical considerations • Ongoing communications and campaigning activities • Open discussion

Booking required at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/introduction-to-photovoice-tickets-16895371511

Price: Free