About the ECA Hub
The ECA Hub in the Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments aims to strengthen and grow the ECA community, support ECAs in their progression and promotion and enhance their capacity-building in research and knowledge exchange.
The ECA Hub is co-ordinated by Laura Bowie with professional services support provided by Hope Freeman and offers various programmes and events to achieve these aims. Monthly '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 ECAs together to connect, learn about the Hub's activities, provide feedback on the Hub and ECA 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 ECAs to lead on Undergraduate Hub projects, organising an annual ECA-PGR research symposium and potential mentorship opportunities. It also works with Research Centre leads, management and Associate Heads of Research and Knowledge Exchange. ECA members also represent the Hub membership on University and Institute committees and working groups.
Over the coming academic year, the ECA Hub is exploring how ECA 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 ECAs on internal peer review panels, ensuring protected academic workload planning points for ECAs and identifying ECA reps in research centres.
The ECR Hub Goals
- To strengthen the Institute ECA community
- To support ECAs to navigate the 'academy'
- To support growth and development in research and knowledge exchange
- To embed ECAs into the operations and structures of the Faculty to collaborate with external ECA partners
Who is an ECA?
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.