ASHPIT FIVE: CALL FOR CASE STUDIES
We are currently seeking case studies for presentation at the fifth ASHPIT think tanks day on Monday, 27th February in Edinburgh. We would like to hear about initiatives, projects and approaches currently being used to support the professional development of ASH Research Staff. These might include, for instance, how you use the RDF in support of Research Staff development, Researcher-led initiatives, strategies to engage Research Staff in development opportunities, particular challenges or problems that you have experienced (and overcome?), or how you identify ASH Research Staff training needs and design appropriate development programmes.
Case studies should be no more than 15 minutes long (in order to allow time for questions and discussion).
If you are interested in presenting a case study, please contact claire.stocks@manchester.ac.uk with a brief description of your initiative, project or approach.
Professor Philip Cowley on “Building a Public Profile”
Those of you who attended the Pubic Engagement Masterclass in November may recall that I promised to post a podcast of Philip Cowley, Professor of Professor of Parliamentary Government at the University of Nottingham, discussing his experiences of what it takes to build a public profile. You can listen to that discussion here – hope you find it interesting. If you have trouble opening the link you might like to try doing so using a different web browser – for some reason it seems to work better with Explorer…!
A big thank you to all those who attended the fourth ASHPIT think tank last Friday, most especially to the speakers and to Kathy Barrett, our host at UCL. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll upload as many resources as possible from that day so keep an eye open for those. In the meantime, though, you might like to check out the new page on “Placements Paperwork”, which has some examples of job specifications and terms and conditions for a couple of recent AGC internships. We really hope you’ll use that page to add your own thoughts and comments on such important (even if not endlessly thrilling!) issues as intellectual property rights, insurance, and health and safety in the context of placements and internships.
Sarah and Rebekah have also provided a copy of the policy presentation they delivered last week, which you can access here. We hope to upload some of the other presentations soon.
Many thanks, likewise, to the panelists, workshop leaders and participants at yesterday’s Public Engagement Masterclass, and to our hosts, Rachel Blanc and Kay Dorelli of the Vitae London Hub for hosting us at King’s College. Again, I’ll be posting various resources from that event over the next week or so.
Public Engagement Masterclass: Registration Reminder!
Just a quick reminder about the ASHPIT/ Vitae London Hub Public Engagement Masterclass taking place at King’s College, London on Thursday 24th November. Any researcher in the Arts, Humanities and Social sciences who already has some experience of public engagement but who would like to learn more about it and take part in an afternoon of PE ‘workshopping’ is very welcome to attend.
To find out more about the event, visit Vitae’s “Events” pages (http://www.vitae.ac.uk/policy-practice/916-428901/Public-Engagement-Masterclass-for-Arts–Humanities.html). A provisional timetable for the day is available here.
To register, just go to www.vitae.ac.uk/PEmasterclassbookingform and follow the instructions!
Josie Dixon’s Article on Preparing Researchers for the Job Market
Following on from the last think tank on employer engagement Josie Dixon, an independent publishing and research training consultant and member of the ASHPIT mailing group, wrote a short article for us sharing some of her own insights into the tricky issue of preparing researchers for the job market. You can read Josie’s article here or by following the link in the right-hand column of this page.
Fourth Think Tank: Provisional Timetable & Call for Case Studies
A provisional timetable for the fourth ASHPIT Think Tank is now available on the “Think Tank Days” page. In a departure from the format of previous events, we have a panel of speakers discussing issues relating to the next theme of Internships and Placements rather than a single keynote speech on that topic. You can find brief biographical details of the panelists in the provisional timetable.
As usual, we’re also looking for two or three 15-minute case studies of current good practice in an area relating to the think tank theme. If you would like to share your experiences of organising researcher placements please send an email to ashpit@nottingham.ac.uk with a very brief overview of your placement project. This should including details of:
- The number of postgraduate participants
- The number, type and size of partner organisations
- Whether or not placements were paid (and, if so, who your funders were)
- The degree (if any) of reflective practice incorporated into your placements project. This might include pre-placement needs anaylses and post-placement skills development reflection.
- Any other details you think are relevant!
Fourth ASHPIT Think Tank
The fourth ASHPIT think tank on the theme of Placements and Internships will be held on Friday 18th November at University College London. The event will run between 9.15am and 4pm and will be held in the UCL Careers Service Building. A map of the venue location can be found here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/about-us/contactdetails.htm
As ever, we are looking for two or three case studies of current good practice in researcher development in this area to be presented at the event. If you would like to give a short (15 minute) presentation of a project relating to this theme, please send an overview of the project you’d like to discuss to ashpit@nottingham.ac.uk
ASHPIT Newsletters
ASHPIT Day Three: Some Resources
Many thanks to all those of you who attended the third ASHPIT Think Tank for your engagement with and contributions to another great day of discussion. There were several requests for copies of some of the resources referenced during the course of the day, some of which will be included in the forthcoming ASHPIT newsletter and some of which are now available to download via the “Links” section of this page. We would draw your attention particularly to the Vitae Researchers’ Skills document, and to the three samples we’ve added here of job specifications for researcher placement schemes, one for a placement with Derby QUAD, one with the Derbyshire Arts Partnership, and one at the Lakeside Theatre.
Richard Carruthers, who was unfortunately prevented by illness from delivering his case study of placements with Southampton City Council, has very kindly forwarded us a copy of his presentation, which can be accessed here.
You can also access Rebekah and Sarah’s policy review presentation here or, again, via the “Links” section in the right-hand column of this page.
For more news and resources arising from yesterday’s event, keep an eye on the blog and watch out for the next ASHPIT newsletter!
Third Think Tank Day
The third (and, for this academic year, the final) ASHPIT think tank day will be held on Tuesday 12th July at the University of Manchester and will have as its theme the topic of “Employer Engagement”. Full details of the event including a provisional programme and details of the venue location may be found on the “Policy and Practice Think Tank Days” page.
