Communication & Research Month

Interested in being on the other side of research? Making it readily available and easily digestible to the public? A career in communication could give you the opportunity to support research. Maybe you want to carry on in research for a non-academic organisation? Social and market research organisations are a great space to utilise your research skills in a business context.

If you’re interested in supporting research through communications or completing social or market research yourself, this month of events is for you!

Thinking about attending but not sure if it’s for you?

Come along if you want to learn more about how to use communications in a career or just hear from speakers with research and PhD backgrounds who have transitioned out of academia. Do you enjoy communicating your research to an audience of non-researchers, sharing findings with your audience and keeping up to date with latest in your field? A career in communication could allow you to expand the reach of your research and support an organisation to grow in so many different industries.

If you want to transition out of academia but still support research, come along to our sessions and hear how this is possible with these careers. 

Here’s what’s coming up…
Check out the events coming up this month and learn more about this industry.

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Careers in Communication Forum
Thurs 6 Feb, 5.30-7.30pm

Interested in being on the other side of research? Making it readily available and easily digestible to the public?

Research skills are key to this including disseminating complex information effectively, understanding the wider context of results and the personal applicability of findings.
This forum will give you the opportunity to get an insight into the Communications sector from PhD level speakers who have paved a career for themselves in this industry. Find out more about what a career in communication encompasses, the wide range of industries and specialisms this covers and gain tips on how to find a researcher role.

Speakers include:

Nikolay Nikolov: Senior Producer – Mashable: a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company

Nikolay Nikolov is a senior producer at Mashable. Over the past three years, his work has helped guide Mashable’s video coverage, with a particular focus on the intersection of human rights and technology. His recent documentary about ‘Drag Syndrome’, the world’s first drag troupe featuring artists with Down Syndrome, was selected by a number of international film festivals, including Sofia Pride, Oska Bright, and Queer Bee. Before Mashable, Nikolay was a producer for AJ+, responsible for the coverage of the refugee crisis in Europe.

Key tip: don’t get pigeonholed by your research

Kotryna Temcinaite: Research Communications Manager – Breast Cancer Now: The UK’s largest breast cancer charity

Kotryna is the Research Communications Manager at the research and care charity Breast Cancer Now. Breast Cancer Now is the UK’s first comprehensive breast cancer charity with the goal that by 2050 everyone diagnosed with the disease will live and be supported to live well. Kotryna leads a team of three science communicators and an insight analyst. Her team is responsible for providing content, information and insight on breast cancer research and statistics. Their aim is to bring it to life in creative and compelling ways for non-scientists.

Key tip: take time to distil what they’re passionate about

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Employer Taster Session in Communication
Tues 11 Feb, 12.30-2pm

This session has been postponed – please check back for further details

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Careers in Social & Market Research Forum
Weds 12 Feb, 5.30-7.30pm

Want to carry on in research for a non-academic organisation? Social and market research organisations are a great space to utilise your research skills in a business context.

If you’re interested in staying in a research role which supports organisations to understand their audiences better or to be involved in producing social statistics which effect governmental change, this panel is for you! This forum will give you the opportunity to get an insight into the non-academic research sector from PhD level speakers who have paved a career for themselves in this industry. Find out more about what a career in social and market research encompasses, the wide range of industries and specialisms this covers and gain tips on how to find a researcher role.

Speakers include:

Piotrek Gierszewski: Senior Researcher – Nesta Challenges: This team design challenge prizes that help solve pressing problems that lack solutions

Piotrek is a Senior Researcher passionate about the application of foresight and horizon scanning; exploring possible visions for the future, anticipating obstacles and enabling the desirable opportunities to happen. He currently works at Nesta, an independent innovation foundation, and has over ten years’ experience in research within academia, private and non-profit sectors.

Piotrek is responsible for researching social and environmental problems and identifying opportunities to tackle them as part of the Nesta Challenges team. They specialise in developing challenge-driven, open-innovation competitions that support communities of solvers and incentivise solutions to these problems. Since 2017, Piotrek has worked on topics ranging from emerging innovations in whale conservation and legal technologies, to scaling up access to nutrition and surgical services in low resource settings.

Research Director – NatCen Social Research: Britain’s largest independent social research agency

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What else can you do to get career ready?

Alongside this, we have a team of careers consultants with research backgrounds who work closely with UCL’s researcher community and can provide support regardless of whether you’re looking to continue in academia or explore other options. Our “Researcher appointments” can be booked at any time through your myUCLCareers account and can be used to cover a range of queries from exploring options to getting support with applications/interview preparation. The careers consultants also run separate workshops covering a range of topics on academic and non-academic career routes for researchers.

Details of the full events programme can be found here

 

UK & Global Health Month!

Interested in becoming a healthcare scientist or working in research, development, biotech, or clinical trials? What about working in global health environments? Supporting health organisations as an advisor? Join us for UK & Global Health month and learn more about this industry. Come along to our beyond academia skills session and test your commercial awareness skills. Gain tips on how important showing your big-picture industry awareness is and what scope there is to reframe the way we see the public health sector.

Thinking about attending but not sure if it’s for you?

If you’re interested in the wellbeing of the public and want a role that not only utilises your researcher skills but allows you to support local national or even global communities, public health could be for you. Public health roles focus on the key areas of health protection, health prevention, health research, and education.

Outreach and engagement are key areas in which research skills are vital to this industry. Educating the public on health and wellbeing, preventing global epidemics and researching the impact of lifestyle on our health are just some of the great opportunities this industry can offer you. If you want to continue in a role which utilises your research skills but stay within a health sciences industry, maybe UK & Global Health is for you. 

 

Heres whats coming up…

A career in UK & Global health allows you to use your skills in research to improve the lives of local, national or even international communities. Check out the events coming up this month and learn more about this diverse and global industry. Careers in public health often span across public sector healthcare, charities, NGOs and research organisations.

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Researchers Skills Beyond Academia Session
Mon 11 Nov, 12.30-2pm

Could Venture be a faster route to curing cancer? Led by Deep Science Ventures

Commercial awareness is a key skill to learn that proves you, as a candidate, are conscious of the economic and political trends in your desired industry.
Many of our largest sectors such as pharma and healthcare are driven by scientific innovation and the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of science. Yet, as products and markets become more complex and internal R&D sees lower returns, the linear process of academic research (grant -> discovery -> venture -> push to market) has become ineffective at realising and capturing value. Deep Science Ventures are shifting the paradigm in applied science through a new framework for launching science companies. In this workshop, we’ll explore the commercial landscape of pharma/healthcare through the lens of entrepreneurship.

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Careers in UK & Global Health Forum
Mon 25 Nov, 5.30-7.30pm

This forum will give you the opportunity to get an insight into the UK & Global Health sector from PhD level speakers who have paved a career for themselves in this industry. Find out more about what a career in public health encompasses, the wide range of industries and specialisms this covers and gain tips on how to find a researcher role. This is a key opportunity to gain an insight into a career you may not have previously considered.

Our first speaker is a Health Content and Public Engagement Specialist – Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust

“I was responsible for the strategic development of the charity’s health content and engagement programmes. In that role, I focussed on making co-produced, evidence-based information and campaigns to help empower people to make informed choices about their health. I have run national roadshows, lead sessions at key conferences around patient experience, facilitated health professional learning workshops, and worked with my team to deliver health promotion projects across the UK.”

“My PhD training has been invaluable and some of the key transferable skills include: understanding scientific writing and academic research, conducting research and handling data (quantitive and qualitative), being able to explain complex jargon in plain English, using my editing and writing skills, presenting at conferences or facilitating small groups, my experience of project management including budget, team and strategic management and the ability to work independently. “

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What else can you do to get career ready?

Alongside this, we have a team of careers consultants with research backgrounds who work closely with UCL’s researcher community and can provide support regardless of whether you’re looking to continue in academia or explore other options. Our “Researcher appointments” can be booked at any time through your myUCLCareers account and can be used to cover a range of queries from exploring options to getting support with applications/interview preparation. The careers consultants also run separate workshops covering a range of topics on academic and non-academic career routes for researchers.

Details of the full events programme can be found here