OD&PL development roundup – July 2024

The next welcome events for new staff take place on 3 July and 15 August from 10-11.30am. Find out more about Leeds, meet new colleagues and explore the range of benefits, support and advice available.

Sign up for the next Beginner's Guide to LinkedIn Learning event on 4 July from 10-11am to explore how it can support your learning and development. Our LinkedIn Learning expert will share top tips for how to use the many features available within LinkedIn Learning for maximum personal and professional impact. An additional date is also available on 26 September.

Hosted by our partners LinkedIn, this series of virtual events can help you make the most of your LinkedIn profile. Join this session to learn what it takes to build a great profile that speaks directly to your ideal audience and get your questions answered by a LinkedIn expert. There are several events taking place during July.

Leadership and management

We have just released new dates for our range of leadership development programmes, which will take place in 2024/25. The programmes, outlined below, deliver support to leaders at different stages of their journey, ranging from aspiring and new leaders to those more established in their roles.

The Discovering your Leadership programme is designed for aspiring and new leaders and will run over four communities in 2024/25. There is a focus on developing fundamental leadership competencies, enhancing self-awareness, and creating collaborative working relationships. The programme covers the following topics over five sessions: difficult conversations and conflict management, building collaboration, influencing and communication, and transformational change. This programme is a Chartered Management Institute endorsed programme and completing it entitlesyou to a dual branded certificate of achievement and a 12-month membership to the Chartered Management Institute.

The Establishing your Leadership programme is for leaders who are just starting to find their feet in a new leadership role but still feel in transition. The programme will run five times in 2024/25 and consists of four modules, helping you to make sense of your early experiences in leadership. Building on your growing understanding of your leadership strengths, you will learn how to apply skills in team building, cross-university collaboration and leading through uncertainty.

You can now sign up for the 2024/25 Connected Leadership Programme, designed to equip established leaders with essential specialist leadership skills and the ability to apply these learnings to their own context. There are six modules to choose from, supporting leaders to develop a connected, collaborative and values-driven approach to leadership. The modules look at values-led leadership, leading change, translating and developing strategy, understanding systems and culture, leading and developing teams, and optimising a coaching leadership style. You can find out more about the programme by attending an upcoming information session.

Applications are open for the 2024/25 Aurora programme until midnight on 19 July. Aurora is a leadership development programme for women (including non-binary and transgender colleagues) in Grade 6-8 roles. Delegates will explore several leadership themes and skills through a mix of sessions involving guest speakers, mentoring, self-directed study and more. Recordings from recent line manager and applicant briefing sessions are available to watch.

The Management Essentials programme covers a variety of topics for new and existing managers at the University of Leeds. It is designed to equip managers with the tools needed to effectively manage their teams and understand the processes and responsibilities that they have at the University. The final session of our Management Essentials series takes place this month on 4 July (2-3pm) and will look at SRDS reviewer training. Dates for the 2024/25 academic year will be made available later this month and will be listed on the events section of our OD&PL intranet site and on our Management Essentials webpages.

Researcher development and research culture

We’re delighted that Dr Emma Spary (Head of Researcher Development, OD&PL) has been appointed to Prosper’s External Advisory Board to oversee its UKRI-funded sector rollout phase. Prosper uses an innovative development model and resources provides a new approach to postdoc career development that unlocks postdocs' potential to thrive in multiple career pathways. Prosper started in 2019 at the University of Liverpool, in partnership with other HEIs and funded by the Research England Development (RED) fund. The Board comprises experts representing stakeholders dedicated to fostering collaboration and career mobility between academic and non-academic sectors. Now funded by UKRI until August 2026, Prosper is working with HEIs across the UK to drive and enable adoption of its model and resources.

Apply for OD&PL’s Career Architect programme, designed for early career researchers (ECRs) who are considering careers beyond academia. Apply by 15 July to join the next cohort which runs from September 2024 to March 2025. It consists of coaching, independent learning, peer support, small-group workshops, industry information and exercises. More than 200 ECRs have completed the programme since 2013 and secured wide-ranging, rewarding career opportunities as a result.

BOOST is our programme of events supporting career development for researchers. Covering a wide range of topics, BOOST aims to equip you with the skills and confidence needed to effectively manage your career. Don't miss the final event of this year's programme, "Career Clarification: Who You Are Matters," taking place on 18 July from 1-3:30pm. The programme runs annually from September to July, with a break in August. Stay tuned for the 2024/25 event calendar, which will be released this summer.

Join us for the next Research Culture Café, taking place on 14 August (11am-12noon), which are part of ongoing work to create and promote a positive and inclusive research culture. These events offer insightful discussions on various aspects of research culture, providing a platform for us to share experiences, discuss challenges and propose ideas.

Book your place on the online autumn Policy Engagement Kickstart programme before midnight on 4 October. The programme starts on 22 October and is aimed at researchers and research support staff, providing the knowledge and skills to engage with policymakers. You can also register for the winter Policy Engagement Kickstart programme before midnight on 17 January 2025. This programme will run on campus from February 2025.

Discover how to craft compelling research proposals with guidance from Dr Taryn Bell (Research Development Adviser, OD&PL). Taryn presented these crucial tips on defining clear aims and objectives at a recent webinar for the Worldwide Universities Network, which has been captured in an insightful article. This write-up delves into the key points explored in session and additional resources are available.

We released two new Research Culture Uncovered podcast episodes in June, available now for you to listen to. The podcast focuses on our ideas, approaches and learning as we contribute to the University's attempt to create a research culture in which everyone can thrive.

• (S8E4) Role Models On Your Doorstep: Celebrating inspirational voices across the research community
• (S8E3) The Power of Group Based Career Development Programmes

Student education development

37 colleagues at Leeds have recently had their professional practice in student education recognised through the award of Advance HE Fellowship. There are four categories of Fellowship which recognise individuals’ roles in teaching and/or supporting learning in higher education. Run by OD&PL, the Professional Recognition in Student Education (PRiSE) scheme is accredited by Advance HE to award three of these categories: Associate Fellowship, Fellowship and Senior Fellowship. Applications for the fourth category, Principal Fellowship, are made through direct application to Advance HE. 

Read the full article about colleagues achieving Advance HE Fellowship

Sign up for the next Teaching and Scholarship Culture Café on 17 July. This series of online sessions are part of ongoing work to promote a fully supportive institutional culture that rewards and recognises good practice in education. Contribute to a discussion and share your ideas about a positive teaching and scholarship culture at the next event.

Register for the online, self-paced Foundations in Teaching (FiT) course from OD&PL, providing information and advice to those new to teaching or new to teaching at Leeds. The course is available to staff, postgraduate students and researchers. The course is self-paced and is delivered online, with no time-limit to complete it. The core of the course is estimated to take 3 hours, with an additional 2-4 hours of optional activities and the chance to explore related links. Following FiT, participants will be further supported by being invited to sign up to optional focussed synchronous sessions to support teaching development in specific areas.

The TIPS Community (Teaching Innovation and Practice in Student Education) is a community of practice for staff involved in teaching and learning. Facilitated by OD&PL, it provides a collaborative space for peer support and discussion of everyday teaching matters. The community runs events throughout the year and shares examples of practice through the TIPS Blog which features articles written by colleagues from across the University.