Recordings available from UKRI supporting postdocs workshop, researcher precarity webinar, career and skills boosting training
The latest newsletter shares the session recordings from Driving research excellence through supporting postdoctoral talent, the C-DICE & UKRI senior leaders workshop held in York on 6 November 2025.
This high‑level workshop brought together UKRI, C‑DICE, Vitae, and pioneering university programmes from Cambridge, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Warwick and York to make the economic and moral case for investing in postdoctoral researchers.
The sessions present the latest UK data on the postdoc workforce, evidence of the economic and system‑wide costs of short‑termism and job insecurity, and sector case studies showing how institutions are addressing these challenges. You can watch and listen to these sessions on demand.
And if you would like to dig deeper into the true costs of researcher precarity, join our webinar on 13 March that reveals the findings from our UK‑wide survey of researchers on fixed‑term contracts. It lifts the lid on something many already feel but rarely see quantified: precarity isn’t a brief stepping stone – it often becomes a repeating pattern across roles and institutions. This is the first opportunity to present these results to the C‑DICE community and open a practical conversation about what needs to change. This session is for everyone with an interest in strategy, people and research environment and precarity in Higher Education, including researcher developers, HR and policy professionals. Postdocs and early career researchers are welcome to attend.
Don’t miss How to design a workshop on 2 March at Loughborough University. Learn how to design and run high impact net zero workshops – in a day, travel caring grant support is also available.
We have range of training and development sessions online, in association with ERA, the Energy Research Accelerator:
A trio of career-enhancing sessions with ICF accredited coach and alternative academic career expert Dr Naomi Tyrell:
FutureProof Your Research Career: 4 March 2026, 10:00-12:00
Assess your strengths, explore diverse career paths, and develop practical strategies, including using AI, to successfully navigate opportunities within and beyond academia.
How to Develop ‘Real-World’ Impact with Academic Research: 6 March 2026, 13:00-14:00
Explore how you can ensure your academic research has a positive impact beyond academia.
Exploring alternatives to academic careers: 12 March 2026, 10:00-11:00
Discover diverse career paths outside traditional academic roles, get practical insights, clarity, and confidence as you navigate your next steps, whether inside or outside academia.
And a presentation skills boosting session with award-winning communicator and engagement professional Dr Jamie Gallagher:
Lasting Impression: A Quick Guide to Creating Interesting, Memorable and Engaging Presentations: 13 March 2026, 13:00-14:00
Learn the secrets of creating a standout presentation, from design to delivery, banish nerves, build confidence, and craft a compelling narrative around even the most complex topics.
Plus, an opportunity for PhD researchers and postdocs from ERA partner institutions to present at the UK Energy Innovation Expo in June, as part of the ERA Doctoral Showcase, with coaching support provided, a call for abstracts for the Faraday Institution Conference: Next Frontiers in Energy Storage, which takes place in September, and a webinar from the Healthy Low Carbon Transport Hub on rail’s growing role in sustainable transport across Europe.
For details of all of these resources and opportunities, read our newsletter on the link below.