OD&PL development roundup – May 2024

Explore a roundup of upcoming development opportunities and the latest news from across Organisational Development & Professional Learning (OD&PL). 

You can also view our upcoming events and deadlines for programmes and schemes to see all of our upcoming opportunities. We’re constantly adding new opportunities so keep an eye out for the latest additions.

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Grades 2-5

Our monthly drop-in sessions at the Wellbeing Hub (formerly the LOGIK Centre) give you a chance to explore learning and development opportunities for colleagues working in roles graded two to five. Colleagues can drop in anytime between 10am and 12noon on the fourth Tuesday of the month. As the University is closed on 28 May, the next event will take place on 25 June. At the June drop-in event there will be a focus on digital development with an opportunity to explore and use the Jisc Discovery Tool with colleagues from OD&PL on hand to guide and support you through the process. The tool helps you understand your digital capabilities and how you can enhance them.

There's still time to sign up to our upcoming grade 2-5 career development programmes. The First Steps session on 12 June helps you look at where you are in your career, reflect on your achievements, identify future goals and start career planning. In addition, the Careers Information, Advice and Guidance programme starts on 11 June and will look at creating effective CVs, skills profiles, job applications and interview skills. New dates for both have also just been added and are available to book!

The University has launched the Dr Eileen Barrett short story competition. Open to colleagues in Grade 2-4 roles, entries are invited for stories up to 500 words long, with the chance of winning £50! Deadline is 10 June.

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Leadership and management

Line Manager and applicant briefing events for the Aurora programme are now available to book for applicants and line managers ahead of applications opening on 17 June. Aurora is a leadership development programme for women (including non-binary and transgender colleagues) in grade 6-8 roles, designed and facilitated by Advance HE.

• 13 May – Aurora briefing session for line managers
• 23 May – Aurora briefing session for applicants

For colleagues interested in signing up for OD&PL’s Connected Leadership programme, there’s still time to book your place on the following modules: values-led leadership, leading and developing teams, optimising a coaching leadership style, leading and developing teams and leading changes. The programme will support established leaders to develop a connected, collaborative and values-led approach to leadership.

We have a number of Management Essentials sessions running in May and June, designed for new and existing managers. Sessions equip you with the tools needed to effectively manage a team, as well as understand the processes and responsibilities you have at the University.

• 2 May – SRDS Reviewer Training
• 20 May – Managing Stress and Mental Health
• 12 June – Introduction to Recruitment
• 12 June – Introduction to Management
• 13 June – An introduction to having difficult conversations
• 13 June – SRDS Reviewer Training
• 18 June – Health and Wellbeing
• 19 June – Supporting Excellence
• 26 June – Managing Stress and Mental Health

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Researcher development and research culture:

Submit an abstract by 13 May for consideration at the Researcher Education and Development Scholarship (REDS) Conference. The free online conference, hosted by colleagues in OD&PL, will explore the theme of ‘developing research leaders fit for the future’.

Get support from OD&PL to apply for the UKCGE Research Supervision Accreditation, providing an opportunity to reflect on your practice, gain recognition and enhance your CV. OD&PL’s support includes a pilot scheme for those applying for associate level recognition, providing guidance and support navigating your application. The pilot is for postdoctoral researchers and technicians who have supervised or mentored postgraduate students and other researchers in their group.

Join us for the next Research Culture Cafés, taking place in June and August. The events aim to promote a positive and inclusive research culture through café-style conversations.

• 11 June (10-11am, on campus) – Themes: Research Integrity/Responsible Research, Reward and Recognition
• 14 August (11am-12pm, online) – Open theme

BOOST is our programme of events supporting career development for researchers. It covers a broad range of topics to equip yourself with the skills and confidence needed to manage your career. Here are some of the upcoming events you can sign up for:

• 7 May (10am-12noon) – From Ideas to Results: Motivational Goal Setting and Planning
• 16 May (10am-4.30pm) – Doctoral illumination
• 21 May (10am-12noon) – A Field Guide to Job Hunting Outside Academia
• 5 June (2.30-3.30pm) and 17 July (11am-12noon) – Narrative CV/R4RI drop-ins

Attend a new OD&PL pilot workshop looking at research culture for early career researchers. You’ll learn about the impact of research culture, the positive influence you can have and the wider implications of workplace culture on your career. The session will also give you an opportunity to meet with your peers and to share ideas about research culture. 

Listen to our latest Research Culture Uncovered podcast episodes. 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. The latest episodes include:

• S7 E8 – Evolution of Research Culture: Career Paths and Strategic Roles
• Bonus episode – Research Impact & Engagement: Liz Danner's PhD Exploration of UK University Culture
• S7 E7 – The Research Culture Enablers Network: Building a Better Culture Together
• Bonus episode – Unveiling the Art of Podcasting with Hannah Preston and Jana Javornik
• S7 E6 – From setback to success: supporting researchers after unsuccessful funding applications with Anna Pilz

Our Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme has a number of upcoming events for PGRs. Covering different topics, the programme gives PGRs the opportunity to benefit from engaging in discussions, sharing insights, and learning collaboratively from each other as opposed to working on their own.

• 22 May (10am-12.30pm) – Developing good supervisor relationships
• 14 May and 1 July (10am-12noon) – Your Viva
• 17 June (10am-12noon) – Research Culture for Postgraduate Researchers

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Student education development:

The deadline to apply for our September 2024 PGCAP cohort is 31 May. The PGCAP provides the opportunity to explore different pedagogical approaches, reflect on and develop your practice and complete a research project to enhance your ongoing academic practice.  An online briefing event takes place on 2 May from 12noon to 1pm – a recording of the event will be made available on the PGCAP webpage.

Sign up for upcoming Leading in Student Education workshops in May and June. The course is aimed at staff who hold a leadership role within student education and is built around three themes:

• Theme 1: Understanding your role within the wider landscape
• Theme 2: Influencing others and building consensus
• Theme 3: Creating presence and authenticity in your leadership.

Sign up for the upcoming Teaching and Scholarship Culture Cafés on 22 May, 11 June and 17 July. This new series of online sessions are hosted by OD&PL and 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 online event.

For colleagues who are new to teaching - or now to teaching at Leeds, you can register for our online and self-paced Foundations in Teaching (FiT) course to help you get started in teaching. The course is available to staff, postgraduate students and researchers.

Through the PRiSE scheme, colleagues can get professional recognition for their contributions to student education. You can apply for Associate Fellowship, Fellowship or Senior Fellowship. Attend a PRiSE introduction session to find out more, there are sessions available on 13 May, 12 June and 4 July.

Sign up for these upcoming Build your Scholarship Practice Programme sessions:

• Themed SoTL development workshop: The Peer Review – 13 May (3–4pm) – Drawing on the experience of published SoTL researchers, this workshop will cover contexts for the peer review process such as ‘traditional’ academic journals and open- source publishing, examples of types of feedback and developing effective responses to peer review.
• Reading group session, 21 May (2-3pm) – Meet to discuss a selection of educational research articles aligned broadly with the themes of Curriculum Redefined. Through themed readings and discussion, the group aims to provide a collegial, multi-disciplinary forum for exploring diverse and nuanced perspectives for engaging reflectively with SoTL and teaching and learning practice more broadly. Open to all staff and PGR who teach. The theme for discussion in the first three meetings (27 March, 30 April and 21 May) has been: How do/might disciplinary research cultures inform SoTL practices?

Assessment Matters

The inaugural Assessment Matters Conference took place on 17 April and saw 20 colleagues from across the University present on a range of topics to do with assessment and feedback to more than 85 members of staff from across the institution. Topics explored included inclusivity and assessment, belonging, rubrics, authentic assessment, partnership in assessment, and evaluating assessment and feedback practice. Presentations will soon be available to watch via the Assessment Matters SharePoint, which also includes resources and materials to support all areas of assessment and feedback practice. The conference was organised by the Assessment Matters Team, consisting of colleagues from across the University. They would like to thank all colleagues for supporting and sharing the great work in assessment and feedback that is happening at Leeds.