InKForge
Dr Kay Guccione
Researcher Training &
Development Advisor
Early Career
Group
Post-graduate
Research Committee
RCUK Vitae
Researchers
(national policy)
(current needs)
Employers
Supervisors
(current needs)
•
•
•
•
InKForge
•
Training workshops •
Fellowship coaching •
Career seminars
•
(current needs)
Thesis coaching
Mentoring
SURE scheme
Non-Academic Network
InKForge
Why?
2010 Baseline data show that few of our researchers
know what to expect from a career in industry*
Long term aims for the project:
• Increasing awareness of industrial career paths
• Increasing the networks of our researchers
• Increased opportunities for work experience for
researchers in industry
• Increased success of our researchers gaining
industrial positions
• Increased collaboration for research with industry
(*Lee et al 2010)
InKForge
EMPLOYER INTERVIEWS – 2 QUESTIONS
• What is industry is looking for in an
employee?
• How can we develop our training
programme to improve the potential of our
researchers in getting positions in
industry?
InKForge
FINDINGS 1 – Interviews
• No technical ‘skills gap’ between academic
researchers and industrial positions.
• The missing skills were referred to as ‘qualities’
and were deemed to be an ‘attitude gap’. Or ‘lack
of well roundedness’.
InKForge
FINDINGS 2 – Focus groups
• The quality of CV and application from academic
researchers is low.
• Researchers often perceive industry as being an
easy option and are unprepared.
• Academic researchers cannot articulate:
• What application their research has
• An awareness of business language and terminology
InKForge
INDUSTRY SAID… we recommend that you…
• embed a culture of interaction with industry at
every level, across the Faculty, to allow
researchers to interact with industry
representatives, ask questions and become more
aware.
InKForge
ACTION PLAN – Some suggested activities
• Guest seminars
• Research open days – e.g. Krebs Symposium, Medical School
RD
• Industrial Career Day – range, roles and career paths, a day in
the life, career development essentials
• Industrial CV workshops
• We can fund your event if it has an industry
angle
• …Industrial mentoring
InKForge
DEPT. TAILORED ACTION PLAN
• What career are you aspiring to?
• What activities, experiences and skills do
you need?
• Your chance to find out…MAKE THE
MOST OF YOUR DAY
InKForge
DEPT. TAILORED ACTION PLAN
• inkforge@sheffield.ac.uk - enquiries,
suggestions, feedback
• k.guccione@sheffield.ac.uk mentoring
• l.lee@sheffield.ac.uk Think Ahead
• s.soubes@sheffield.ac.uk Science
• sarah.j.bell@sheffield.ac.uk Arts & Humanities,
Social Sciences and Engineering