Building a Research Profile

Order Description
write an Assignment for ‘Building a Research Profile’ course. It is part of a Master in Education in postgraduate academic practise.

Here is the info we get from the course leader regarding the assignment:

A written assignment (between 2000 and 2500 words) on one of the following topics:

– A personal five-year research strategy and funding plan (or plan for a research group) meeting both individual goals and the goals of the School/College; this could include: scoping of national and international funding sources, analysis of strategy and policy related to discipline, contingency plans and assessment of risk, an assessment of balance between research and teaching activities within an individual’s current role.

or

– A personal 3-year plan for increasing ones research profile and influence as an academic; this could include: strategies for, and demonstrated progress in, achieving visibility, building and sustaining research networks, publication plans and other demonstrated research outputs.

or

– A personal plan for public engagement/knowledge exchange and the demonstration of impact; this could include: plans for relevant skills development, an analysis of how the skills will impact other areas of the academic role, plans for developing materials/resources/events/activities for various audiences, reflections on current issues associated with the public understand of science/public policy and governance.

Additional advice and information:

In preparing assignments please consider the following points. First is to encourage you to steer your treatment of either of the assessment topics in a direction that is of most use to you, second is to ensure that you draw upon and reference relevant literature.

The intention of the first topic “personal five-year research strategy and funding plan” is to step back and think long term and holistically about your overall strategy. This could include consideration of your personal research priorities; balance between academic publication and knowledge exchange; how your approach or priorities might evolve or develop; how this compares to current and future funding opportunities and funding body priorities – and how you might respond over an extended time to these factors. Some of the general references linked to academic career planning may be useful for this approach, as might literature on academic identities and links to funding body plans. Links to more specific areas (e.g. academic publication strategies and aspects of knowledge exchange) may also be relevant. You could also take a more theoretical or conceptual slant to this topic and/or consider the balance between different dimensions of an academic career (i.e. research/teaching/service). It is entirely up to you.

The second option provides an opportunity to focus in more detail on your research profile. This could consider academic publications and research networks, covering both your plans and approach (e.g. use of social media).

The third option provides an opportunity to consider one or more dimensions of knowledge exchange and impact. These topics could focus on your personal plans and the practicalities of how you might implement these (and some of the references for knowledge exchange and impact provide a starting point for this) or you could take a more theoretical or conceptual slant to either topic. It is entirely up to you.

To help you get a clear sense of what to do we have provided a copy of our marking proforma and an annotated marking proforma with additional guidance. (I will send you those files after I place the order).

I need an assignment that cover the above requirements. Option 3 should be easier to do. The plan must be based on my scientific career. Ideally, I would need a writer expert in molecular biology, scientific research and academic teaching.

I would like you to write an assessment that includes a personal plan for public engagement/knowledge exchange and the demonstration of impact. As I am a scientist in the field of epigenetic and kidney development, a science teacher at the university and a filmmaker, you could include in this assessment a plan for public engagement, outcast plan for primary and secondary school, Collaboration with screenwriters in order to use science in fictions. Please include at least 10-15 references from literature and high impact journals.

I would like to have a discussion with the writer before he/she starts to write the assignment.

Here some references suggested by the course organiser:
Articles by Gerlese Åkerlind that consider researcher/academic identities (how academics see themselves
and their role and how this can influence their approach to research and research profile) along with other
publications that consider the relationships between individual academics, Universities, disciplinary and
other academic communities.
Åkerlind G S (2008) An academic perspective on research and being a researcher: an integration of the literature;
Studies in Higher Education – STUD HIGH EDUC , vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 17-31

Åkerlind G S (2008) Growing and developing as a university researcher; HIGHER EDUC , vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 241-254

Lucas L (2006) The Research Game in Academic Life, Open University Press

MacFarlane B (2009) Researching with Integrity: the ethics of academic enquiry, Routledge

Barnett R [Ed] (2005) Reshaping the University: New Relationships Between Research, Scholarship and Teaching,
Society for Research into Higher Education, Open University Press

Practical advice on academic career planning
Covey S (2004) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Simon & Schuster
Harvard Business Review (2011) HRB’s 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself
Delamont S and Atkinson P (2004) Research Careers and Cultures – A Practical Guide, Society for Research into Higher Education Open University Press
Ali L and Graham B (2000) Moving on in Your Career, Routledge Falmer
Delamont S and Atkinson P (2004) Successful Research Careers: a practical guide, Open University Press
Researcher Development Framework (2010) Vitae
Thrift N (2008) Research Careers in the UK: a Review (Department of Business, Innovation and Skills)
International and UK academic career structures
https://www.leru.org/index.php/public/extra/careermapseurope/
Athena Swan at Edinburgh
https://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/equality-diversity/innovation-development/athena-swan
Chemical Imbalance
https://chemicalimbalance.co.uk/

Research-Teaching Linkages
Bomberg, E. 2016. “It’s time to focus on teaching-research synergies”. Blog post on Edinburgh Teaching Matters site (18 February 2016) https://www.teaching-matters-blog.ed.ac.uk/?p=198
Personal perspective from Prof Elizabeth Bomberg
Brew, A. 2010. “Imperatives and challenges in integrating teaching and research”. Higher Education Research & Development, 29, 139-150.
Discussion of issues and applications with particular focus on research intensive university (Sydney)
Gunn, V. 2011. “Maintaining research-mindedness in Scotland’s universities in a time of sector-wide change”. Scottish Enhancement Themes Website https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/pages/docdetail/docs/publications/maintaining-research-mindedness-in-scotland Reflections from review of practice in Scottish Universities
Healey, M. 2005. “Linking research and teaching: disciplinary spaces and the role of inquiry-based learning”. In: R. Barnett (Ed.) Reshaping the university: new relationships between research, scholarship and teaching, 67-78. SRHE and Open University Press, McGraw – Hill Education
Analytical framework for understanding the relationship between disciplinary research, teaching
& learning
Healey, M., Flint, A. & Harrington, K. 2014. “Engagement through partnership: students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education”. Higher Education Academy. https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/engagement-through-partnership-students-partners-learning-and-teaching-higher-education Includes discussion of Healey 2005 framework in context of student engagement/partnership
Malcolm, M. 2014. “A critical evaluation of recent progress in understanding the role of the research-teaching link in higher education”. Higher Education, 67, 289-301

Other Reading and resources
Reading lists and links to websites and other resources:

Knowledge Exchange and Impact
KEImpactReading listMay2013.doc (Anne Sofie Laegran)

Background material from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement:

What is public engagement

Collaboration
Short guide to leading interdisciplinary initiatives on ISSTI Interdisciplinary wiki – www.tinyurl.com/idwiki

Collaboration resources and references SS.docx (from Sara Shinton)