Researcher development

Researcher training, development and communication

Researcher Mentoring Program for Early Career Researchers

First Nations Researchers Collective program

Flinders University’s researcher development programs are designed to support career development and help researchers meet their current goals and strategise for future research success.

These programs also establish and strengthen a University-wide research community.

Related resources

Researcher information and training sessions

Linking the research community

Research prizes and awards

ResearchLink

Researcher Mentoring Program for Early Career Researchers

Do you want to become a more successful researcher?
Do you want to build your research profile?
Are you strategising for future academic promotions?
Would you benefit from the support and guidance of an experienced, senior researcher?

The Flinders University Researcher Mentoring Program pairs early-career researchers (ECRs) with senior academics. Through the Program, senior researchers support ECRs to develop their research careers, meet their research aspirations and goals, and strategise for future academic success.

This Researcher Mentoring Program also provides an opportunity for ECRs to create a University-wide community with their fellow mentees who are at similar career stages (within 8 years post-PhD). This ECR community serves as a source of support and information for the mentees during the Program and beyond.

This Program runs from March to November each year. In the weeks leading up to the official launch in March, we hold sessions to provide mentees and mentors with information about the Program, expectations, and guidance about mentoring. During the Program, each mentee–mentor pair meet regularly, according to the schedules they decide. In addition, the cohort of mentees gather for three Roundtable Workshops to discuss topics of relevance to their career stage.

For more information including the program overview, eligibility criteria for mentees and mentors, and key dates for 2023, please see the Program Guidelines.

Expressions of interest for the 2023 program are now closed. Successful applicants will be notified in January 2023.

Applications

Applications are by expression of interest for both mentees and mentors.

Applications for 2023 are now closed and will open in late 2023 for the 2024 program.

This Program is coordinated by Dr Jen Beaudry, Manager, (Researcher Training, Development and Communication).

Contact the Program Coordinator

Message from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

We are pleased to announce that we are offering the Flinders University Researcher Mentoring Program for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in 2023.

The Program is an opportunity for ECRs to benefit from the support and valuable skills and knowledge of senior researchers at Flinders. This Program has served more than 210 ECRs since 2012. The feedback from the mentees has been consistently positive, highlighting improvements to their research profiles and well-being.

The University values the input and wealth of experience that our senior academic staff bring to mentoring our early-career researchers. I strongly encourage researchers at all stages of their careers to participate in this Program either as mentees or mentors.

Professor Robert Saint
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

First Nations Researchers Collective program

The First Nations Researchers Collective at Flinders University provides a supporting, reciprocal network to share knowledge, foster collaboration, enhance opportunities, and build capacity for emerging and established Indigenous researchers.

The First Nations Researchers Collective at Flinders University (established December 2021) emerged from an iterative co-design process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers, the Office of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement, and Research Development and Support. The Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) is sponsoring the Collective.

All Flinders University researchers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, including Honours and HDR students, are invited to be part of the Collective. The Collective is led by: Associate Professor Natalie Harkin (CHASS, Bedford Park), Associate Professor Karla Canuto (CMPH, Darwin) and Senior Researcher Lorna Murakami-Gold (CMPH, Alice Springs); Jen Beaudry (RDS) and Anna Schkabaryn (OISE) provide administrative support.

Key points

The content and concept will be led by the Indigenous research community.
The teams from the Office of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement and Research Development and Support will collaborate to develop the framework for the program and will provide administrative support.
This co-design approach is critical to the success of the program: It ensures the Indigenous Researcher Collective is shaped by Indigenous voices without adding to the overall workload of Indigenous researchers.
This First Nations Researcher Collective is aligned with Flinders’ Reconciliation Action Plan (Action 10). The Collective will also be reflected in, and link to the work of, the Indigenous Research Strategy (currently in development).

Program format

Indigenous researchers will get together to discuss specific research- and career-related issues; four sessions will be held each year.
Up to four Indigenous researchers will be leaders in the Collective (identified through Expression of Interest). The leaders will rotate the responsibility of planning and chairing each session.
Indigenous and non-Indigenous presenters will be invited to speak, as appropriate and as decided by the leaders in the Collective.
The sessions of the Collective will virtually connect local with rural and remote researchers with hubs in Bedford Park, Darwin, and Alice Springs. Once per year, the rural and remote researchers will be flown to Bedford Park for an in-person Summit.
Between sessions, we will provide an online forum for interaction and collaboration.

If you would like to participate in the Collective or get more information, please email:

researchers.collective@flinders.edu.au

Other researcher development programs

Researcher leadership programs

We collaborate with the Colleges and external agencies to provide a range of opportunities that strengthen the culture of research leadership at Flinders.

These program are tailored to researchers' career stages:

early career researchers: building capacity and leadership capability
mid-career researchers: developing strong research leadership skills
established researchers: career coaching and program leadership

These programs are selective and those interested are encouraged to discuss their goals, career plans and suitability with College research leadership.

Find out more

Research Intensive program

A research intensive is an opportunity for the research community to come together and attend a series of workshops, information sessions and panel discussions on areas affecting research at Flinders and across the broader research environment. We invite subject matter experts, internal and external to Flinders to present on a range of topical areas covering a different theme each time.

In 2022, we held the 'Open Research Intensive' from 14-16 June. The topic was 'Increasing the openness and transparency of our research'.

We would welcome ideas for future programs from the Flinders research community.