About the ECR Hub
The ECR Hub in the Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments aims to strengthen and grow the ECR community, support ECRs in their progression and promotion and enhance their capacity-building in research and knowledge exchange.
The ECR Hub is co-ordinated by Dr Jack Tomlin with professional services support provided by Hope Freeman and offers various programmes and events to achieve these aims. Monthy 'Let's Dicusss...' sessions provide informal insights into academic life from invited guest speakers. These are complemented by ad-hoc training sessions, social events and monthly meetings of the Hub members. An annual Away Day brings ECRs together to connect, learn about the Hub's activities, provide feedback on the Hub and ECR life and work on individual progression plans.
The Hub collaborates with the Institute Undergraduate and Postgraduate Research Hubs and other research services to support individuals pursuing and academic career pathway. This includes training on supervising students, supporting ECRs to lead on Undergraduate Hub projects, organising an annual ECR-PGR research symposium and potential mentorship opportunities. It also works with Research Centre leads, management and Associate Heads of Research and Knowledge Exchange. ECR members also represent the Hub membership on University and Institute committees and working groups.
Over the coming academic year, the ECR Hub is exploring how ECR development and support can be embedded in Centre and School-level policy and practice. For example, making individual promotion and progression plans for a component of annual appraisals, situating ECRs on internal peer review panels, ensuring protected academic workload planning points for ECRs and identifying ECR reps in research centres.
The ECR Hub Goals
- To strengthen the Institute ECR community
- To support ECRs to navigate the 'academy'
- To support growth and development in research and knowledge exchange
- To embed ECRs into the operations and structures of the Faculty to collaborate with external ECR partners
Who is an ECR?
Someone who is either:
- within eight years of their PhD award (from the time of the PhD viva), or equivalent professional training, or
- within six years of their first academic appointment (the first full or partime time paid employment contract that lists research or teaching as the primary function).
Note: these periods exclude any career break due to: family care; health reasons; reasons related to COVID-19 such as homeschooling or increased teaching load.