Dr Iain Cameron

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Dr Iain Cameron Head of Research Careers
Tel [phone] Fax [phone]
iain.cameron_at_rcuk.ac.uk http//www.rcuk.ac.uk

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RCUK Research Careers and Diversity Unit

• Created 1 April 2005
• Staffing Iain Cameron (Head of Unit) Kate
  Reading
• Rosie Beales Annabel Clifton
• Advice and reporting
• Unit reports to Julia Goodfellow - CEO of BBSRC
• Input from Ian Diamond Chair RCUK executive
  Group
• Advisory group represents all RCs - Chair Ian
  Lyne BBSRC

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Purpose of the unit

• To address as Government priorities
• The supply of scientists and engineers
• Diversity within the scientific research
  workforce,
• particularly increasing the involvement of women
  and ethnic minority groups in science and
  its governance

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The Research Councils Strategy is to

• gt Attract the most creative minds into research.
• gt Encourage researchers to get the training they
  need.
• gt Help research organisations manage their staff
  and develop their careers.

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The Research Councils also aim to

• gt Encourage people from all groups of society to
  take up research careers.
• gt Enhance the international reputation of UK
  research training.

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Aim 5 Enhance the international reputation of UK
research training.

• Work with the sector to ensure that the views and
  needs of the UK research community are
  represented in European forums.
• Ensure that the UK incorporates the principles of
  the European Charter and Code for researchers
  into relevant guidance from UK HE funders so that
  the UK is seen to be fully engaged in the
  European Higher Education Area and European
  Research Area.
• Support and develop schemes that enhance the
  ability of the UK to attract the best researchers
  from abroad.
• Act on the findings of international reviews of
  disciplines in the UK HE sector.
• Learn lessons from other countries to enhance
  existing mechanisms used by Councils.

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Some contexts

• 58,000 full-time and 54,000 part-time doctoral
  students currently in the UK
• 48 of full-time students are non-UK
• RCs support around 15,500 (mostly full-time
  mostly UK students)

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Bologna and Doctoral Programmes 1

• The Councils interest has extended
  significantly since the Berlin ministerial summit
  identified research as an integral part of
  European HE and the doctoral level was
  incorporated as a third cycle within the Bologna
  Process.

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Bologna and Doctoral Programmes 2

• Berlin summit 2003 - a new action line was
  introduced on doctoral level qualifications.
• Bergen summit 2005 - 10 Salzburg principles were
  presented by EUA.
• London summit 2007 improving the status,
  career prospects and funding for early stage
  researchers are essential strengthen research
  capacity
• In the context of closer alignment of the EHEA
• and the ERA

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Joined-up UK

• RCUK has co-operated strongly with the UK Higher
  Education Sector Europe Unit with the overall
  objective of maintaining the position of the UK
  as an attractive destination for doctoral studies
  and to continue to ensure the high quality of its
  doctoral graduates.

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Key doctoral issues for RCUK

• importance of the diversity of purpose, duration
  and delivery of doctoral education
• continued development of transferable skills
  within doctoral training
• importance of institutional autonomy in defining
  entry requirements particularly entry to
  doctoral programmes
• emphasise learning outcomes from doctoral
  programmes and avoid rigid stipulations about the
  duration of study

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Diversity in delivery of doctoral training
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Employability and skills of doctoral graduates

• Key issue in RCUK strategy
• UK strong in providing transferable
  (employability) skills
• Transferable skills recognised in Salzburg
  principles and London Communiqué
• UK ready to share its experience and learn from
  other countries experience

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Entry to the PhD 1

• the Councils have been concerned that a
  momentum could develop leading to a Masters
  degree becoming a necessary step en route to a
  PhD. This would have major funding implications

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Entry to the PhD 2

• The Councils note a potential problem for the
  standing of UK doctorates if the entry level were
  perceived to be lower (Bachelors) compared to the
  rest of Europe (Masters).

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Entry to the PhD 3

• potential impact on mobility within the EHEA if
  students could not progress directly from a UK
  Bachelors degree to doctoral studies in other
  European countries

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Flexibility in doctoral training

• The Councils perceive flexibility to be a
  strength of UK HE and do not support a single
  model of doctoral training in the UK

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Status of UK doctoral candidates 1

• UK doctoral candidates are typically students
• EC Marie-Curie funding now expects students to be
  employees
• In some European countries doctoral candidates
  may have employment contracts
• Student status is not generally regarded as a
  disadvantage in the UK

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Status of UK doctoral candidates 2

• The UK HE sector believes it is important that
  doctoral candidates are treated as professionals
  but that their status is a matter for each
  country to decide

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The European Charter and Code for Researchers

• Sector mapping exercise (led by RCUK/UUK) showed
  that in most cases the UK already met the
  requirements of the Charter and Code.
• UK awareness of Charter and Code is low
• Concern if UK perceived not to be signed up to
  Charter and Code principles
• New Concordat for careers management of
  researchers planned to incorporate Charter and
  Code as Annex

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EC green paper The ERA New Perspectives

• Topics
• Realising a single labour market for researchers
• Developing world-class research infrastructures
• Strengthening research institutions
• Sharing knowledge
• Consultation
• Online EC consultation
• HMG stakeholder event 13 July

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Issues from the green paper

• Attractive careers and mobility are far from a
  reality
• Work is required at all levels (public and
  private)
• Voluntary approaches result in slow progress
  (e.g. European Charter and Code)
• Portability of social security
• Improving education and training of researchers

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Thank you for your attention!