British Academy UnConference on research careers in SHAPE disciplines
The British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Alongside its fellowship of over 1000 leading academics and its capacity as a funder, the BA's higher education and skills policy programmes are dedicated to supporting and driving healthy higher education and research ecosystems across SHAPE disciplines, from pipelines into higher education through to diverse careers in research and innovation. SHAPE disciplines are the Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts for People and the Economy.
As part of the culmination of the first phase of a major project investigating what research and research careers look like across the SHAPE disciplines, the British Academy is holding an in-person event at the Edgbaston Park Hotel & Conference Centre at the University of Birmingham on Wednesday 27th March from 10.00-16.00. The project explores questions of identity and mobility for researchers in higher education and other sectors, with a particular focus on early and so-called ‘mid-career’ stages, to help better frame and convey to government and other policymakers what meaningful, diverse, and sustainable research careers look like, what they bring to society and the economy, and how they can best be supported.
The event will see the launch of the findings from previous project activities, including a series of online workshops and a large-scale survey, currently being conducted with the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) and Vitae (Further information and a link can be found here), which is gathering views and insights from the wider SHAPE research community. Participants at the in-person event will be the first to hear the results of the survey and to offer their thoughts and reflections. The event will focus on collaborative engagement with the policy questions and implications of the evidence gathered by the project to-date and attendees will have the opportunity to help design policy responses and recommendations.
The BA appreciates that there are costs associated with attending this event, and certainly understands that there may be a need for financial support. For this reason, the Academy’s Higher Education and Research Policy team will be offering to cover up to £150 in costs associated with travel and up to £150 in costs associated with accommodation related to attending the Unconference. If you are in need of overnight accommodation, the BA has an arrangement in place with Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre for you to receive a 15% discount of their best available rate if you book before 27 February. In addition to this, the Higher Education and Research Policy team can cover the costs of care for dependants for the day.
If you are interested in attending or would like more information, please send an email to [email protected] or [email protected]