Developing our researchers Staff Research Development Programme Research and knowledge exchange

Supervising doctoral students is one of the most rewarding parts of academic life. This interactive session provides an overview of the role and requirements for supervising postgraduate research students, including discussion of scenarios and London Met processes.

Talks from staff about how they got to where they are. We would like to welcome and encourage staff of all ethnic backgrounds, gender, sexual orientation and disability groups to tell their story to others.

A discussion/workshop-style session where managers within Schools explore how to nurture both research active staff and staff who wish to become research active. Other topics to discuss will include how to organise teaching and understand the barriers both managers and their staff face that prevent them moving forward. These sessions are suitable for Subject Heads, Heads of School and other similar line managers.

This session will outline the basics of taking a research project and communicating it in a research bid. We will outline mapping problems and challenges that are then be addressed through the aims and activities in the project. Objective-setting using SMART outcomes will help to measure whether these aims have been achieved.

Staff who identify as women or are interested in gender issues are invited to a discussion event to examine how to move forward with their research and to explore barriers that prevent their success. Some of our women academics will be invited to lead this exploration.

The impact of research has increasingly become a metric that's used to assess the quality of research. These assessments are no longer the sole influence of the Research Excellence Framework (REF); many funding bodies now require an impact statement as part of their application processes. This session will explore research impact, what it is, how it can be generated and how it may be evidenced.

Research ethics safeguards research participants and researchers. It also protects the University from undue risk. We will lead a discussion about ethical considerations in science and humanities research, look at case studies, plus compare and contrast approaches.

A general guide to what funding is out there for researchers to support major works, from 'open call' project funding with research councils to leadership fellowship schemes. The session will also provide an overview of the support that our Research and Postgraduate Office (RPO) provides, including the Peer Review College and its role in improving our submissions.

We'll hear from speakers who have used their research to look at issues which specifically affect minorities and under-represented groups.

Research Councils UK have schemes that are intended for new researchers who are just a few years out of their PhD. Moreover, their funding models favour those schemes over open schemes. Put simply, an Early Career Researcher (ECR) has more chance of winning funding than a seasoned professor does. This session will look at the ESRC’s new Investigator Programme and the Arts and Humanities Research Council's (AHRC’s) Leadership Fellow Scheme.

Chairing a viva is a key skill. Chairs need to ensure fairness, accuracy and a good atmosphere: one which will challenge but not frighten candidates. They also crucially ensure that regulations are adhered to and that there's a match between what examiners say and the conclusions they reach. Chairs make a difference.

Doctoral examining is a valuable scholarly activity as it's essential to a robust process of assessment. This session will explore how best to prepare for, sensitively approach and conduct a viva as an internal or external examiner, plus the role of the examiner.

This is aimed at staff who are academics but are professionally qualified, you may be a social worker, a teacher, a biomedical scientist or a lawyer. What is an original contribution? We will explore what ‘counts’ as a PhD topic.

This session explores some of the 'essentials', challenges and effective practices in supervising professional doctorate students - and helping them to integrate theory (taught elements), professional practice and research.

Leverhulme has a number of schemes that may interest London Met staff. Regardless of scheme, Leverhulme is different to other funders. They focus on blue skies research; research that is ‘risky’; and on research that's best directed to them, rather than elsewhere.

One of their questions is ‘why Leverhulme?’

Leverhulme is a popular funder because, in its two-stage process, stage one is light and easy compared to a full-blown Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) application. However, the attrition rate at stage one is very high. Talking the Leverhulme language is crucial to make it to stage two, where the odds are much better.

Staff offering areas and ideas for possible PhD projects, for other staff, in five-minute talks.

The session will guide you through the key requirements to be met, including liaising with relevant departments, promotion and logistics. It will also be an opportunity to share your experience in setting up conferences at our university.

This session will provide opportunities to raise questions about the updated academic promotions scheme. In this way, we'll discuss what you need to do to give yourself the best chance of obtaining a promotion.

Supervising doctoral students is one of the most rewarding parts of academic life. This session considers the role of the supervisor from the perspective of creative practice and arts-based subjects. It provides an overview of types of PhD students may wish to pursue – from design research, to PhD by project, to practise-based approaches – and includes discussion of scenarios and London Met processes.