University of Edinburgh Institute for Academic Development

Are you looking for a career in the #LifeSciences industry? Stop for a moment - what does that mean? What do you mean by 'life sciences industry'? Nearly every sector publishes regular skills updates. These analyse the recent history of the industry, and attempt to forecast the future so that businesses, government, and professionals can make the most of opportunities, prepare for potential risks, - and for professionals, provide some ideas for becoming more #career resilient. You may have missed the March publication of 'Life Sciences 2035: Developing the Skills for Growth: https://lnkd.in/e3j4rBCF ________________________________________________________________________________ For example: The life sciences sector reports an above average (compared to other sectors) growth and demand in AI-related roles. How might that affect you? Is there an opportunity for development? A career pivot? Or does that information motivate you to seek different types of roles in the industry? According to the report, 50% of the life sciences workforce is in highly technical roles requiring advanced degrees. Whilst that information may not get you a job, perhaps it's helpful to know the number. What sort of degrees do people hold? And what kind of transitions did individuals make? How can you use that information to plan your own transition? The sector current employs 270, 900 people across 5 800 business focused on core technical activity. Did you imagine there are 5 800 potential businesses you could work for? Where are they? What do they do? Who else works for them? How can you find out about opportunities? Northern Ireland experienced a 40% rise in life science employment between 2016/17 and 2021/22. How does the variable of geography figure in your career planning? Page 13 of the report provides a regional overview of the relatives sizes of the life sciences sector for the UK as a whole. ______________________________________________________________________________ What skills do you need? Where are the gaps in industry? In what ways could you fill them? Where can you bring 'added value'? Transitions to industry can be smoothed by understanding how the industry works, what the recruitment trends are, and other potentially useful information to support your career planning and professional development. Have a skim through the report and see what questions, concerns, inspirations, and ideas it raises for you. Don't forget you can book a 1:1 to discuss your career development with either Eleanor Hennige or Darcey Gillie Photo by Julia Koblitz on Unsplash

Edinburgh Open Research Conference 2025: Programme Announced! We had some really fantastic submissions this year on the theme of "what's stopping us?". Some highlighted barriers to opening the doors to research - systematic issues, policy blockers, or simply practical concerns. Others offered paths for navigating these challenges - helping us to think of ways to move forward. We are now pleased to announce that we have a programme for the conference is now available: https://buff.ly/jeuVppV We are excited to welcome you to the conference. You can join us in person at the South Hall Complex, or online: Register for in person: https://buff.ly/dApL7u4 Register for online: https://buff.ly/Oai6ERE

SULSA Postdoctoral Prize 2025 🌱🐳🦠🧠 SULSA wish to award outstanding Postdoctoral Researchers whose work shows excellent potential to make an impact in the field of life sciences! 🧬 This award offers recipients the opportunity to raise their profile across Scotland through: ✅ A fully funded tour (£1,000 value) of three Scottish universities, where the awardee will deliver seminars and expand their professional network. ✅ £1,000 in flexible funding to support conference travel, consumables, training courses, or collaborator visits. 📌 Applications close 14/04/2025! 📝 Read about the funding conditions: https://lnkd.in/gpdmegF9 Find out more at our information session! 📆 13th of March 🕙 10 AM 💻 MS TEAMS 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/gi2cu5gD

June Careers Month 2025 is coming! We have a series of workshops and blog posts planned covering everything from Dealing with Career Anxiety to Narrative CVs and things in between. And we need your help.   We are planning an Online Careers Panel Session on #careers in Pharmaceutical Industries and Life Sciences. We have one panelist confirmed and would ideally like two more. Would you like to join the panel? Or do you know someone who might fit the bill? We’d love to give you the opportunity to share your career story – and in the process be assured you’ll be helping others craft theirs.   Previous panels have included: 💡 Careers in Data Science and IT Consulting https://lnkd.in/eYNrBJrT 💡 Getting the First Lecturing Job https://lnkd.in/es9Au9SX 💡 Academic Adjacent Careers https://lnkd.in/eXEGvfbh   Other similar events we’ve hosted have been more ‘in conversation style’ with, Lowri Davies, a recruitment consultant https://lnkd.in/ejutDB4h and discussing work-life balance with Professor Sue Fletcher-Watson for #ResearcherRealities https://lnkd.in/e6QvEA6N   Panel sessions are generally 60 minutes – up to 10 minutes for each panellist to share their story, with 30 minutes for Q and A.   Our panel participants have enjoyed the events, and feedback from attendees demonstrates how important hearing panellists stories have been to helping them manage their careers, inspiring them and motivating them to take action (or change their minds).      “I've appreciated the real-life experiences shared by the panelists, the awareness of the challenges and the perseverance.” “I thought the speaker was great, and almost everything said was interesting, even the things that I felt might not be immediately relevant.” #JuneCareersMonth2025 #ResearcherCareers The University of Edinburgh College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh College of Science and Engineering, The University of Edinburgh University of Edinburgh College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

🎉 Fantastic Friday Announcement: Our New Policy Toolkit is Here! 🎉 We're thrilled to announce the launch of our Policy Toolkit, designed to help you understand and navigate the policy landscape in the UK and beyond. 🌍 See the Toolkit here: https://edin.ac/4lfYiIx Discover how to effectively engage with Westminster, devolved parliaments, UK and devolved governments, as well as local and regional authorities. 🏛️ Explore global policy engagement, gain communication insights, and learn from diverse case studies featuring researchers across the sector. 🌐 🎙️ 💡 Best of all, all of our Toolkits are available under Creative Commons, so everyone has access!

We've launched the second round of InFrame research cultures funding for colleagues at the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews.  Remember that our headline theme is collegial leadership which provides a broad base for ideas.   There's a lot of support to help applicants develop their ideas into a compelling bid, a leadership development programme and access to an evaluation expert to help to gather the evidence of impacts that will help embed and sustain the changes.     But much more - we want volunteers to help with peer review, we're creating observer spaces on the panels and we'll be opening up spaces on the development programme to colleagues already committing time and expertise to research culture work.     Edinburgh colleagues will find all they need here: https://lnkd.in/e8qtVMtR     and if you want to see what we funded last time, enjoy these delights: https://lnkd.in/euWmbzUR   

New workshop from Dr Lindsay Randall for research supervisors on "Supervising Emotionally Demanding Research" with some great key takeaways. Thanks for sharing! #researchsupervision #researcherwellbeing #researchculture

The School of Biological Sciences have introduced a simple but powerful initiative to build stronger School community and support students through the cost-of-living crisis. Abby Cabrelli, a Student Support Tutor, describes the impact of the weekly breakfast club on students and staff: “On most Mondays, it was the only day where I could have two meals instead of one. The generous spread allowed me to refuel from the weekend and prepare for the week too”. “Breakfast Club is a good opportunity to meet up with friends you don’t usually see during your project, and definitely contributed positively to my week”. Read more at the link in comments.

I’ve just been reading a paper by Jiahui Luo about trust between students and staff in the context of GenAI and assessments in higher education. We’re discussing this in the Learning and Teaching Team in the Institute for Academic Development at our team meeting tomorrow. This set me thinking about the wicked problem of trust between teachers and students in contemporary higher education. This isn’t a new wicked problem but it’s been amplified by the reduction in public funding for higher education and the rapid growth in the possibilities presented by AI in recent years... read the rest of this post at the link in the comments.

📢 On the 10th of April, join us for the 2025 ENQUIRE Conference where we will launch the newly reviewed Subject Benchmark Statements and explore their importance in maintaining high standards and enhancing the quality of education across various disciplines and courses. We’ll hear from a diverse line up of speakers about the pivotal role these important reference points play in the academic community. What else to expect: 🤖 The impact of Generative AI on subject disciplines: Nick Watmough (Quality and Standards Specialist, QAA), Stephen Mumford (Director of Research including Ethics/ Impact Officer, Durham University), Chris Collins (Head of the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture, University of Aberdeen) and Greg Stoner (Professor of Accounting, University of Glasgow), will discuss the significance of integrating Generative AI practices into Subject Benchmark Statements, aiming to enhance its application across diverse academic disciplines. 🌱 Integrating sustainability across disciplines: Jamie Agombar (Executive Director, Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK)), Karin Bottom (Associate Professor of Public Sector Learning, University of Birmingham), Mike Gunn, (Head of Physics and Astronomy and Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Birmingham), and Professor Anita Krishnan (Professorial Fellow (Education) in Accounting, University of Southampton Business School), will focus on how sustainability can be incorporated into courses to encourage broader thinking, ensuring students graduate with the essential knowledge and skills to address today's environmental and social challenges. Register now: https://lnkd.in/eHZPMTas