KU Researcher Development Program (KU-RDP) is a coordinated program of development and training opportunities for KU researchers. It provides skills development of KU researchers not only in ‘discipline specific’ areas, but also in ‘transferable/generic skills.’ It is open to all postgraduate researchers, including specific events available to only PhD researchers.
KU-RDP includes tailored collection of events, workshops, seminars, courses and resources to strengthen KU researchers’ discipline specific and transferable/professional skills. Please see the ongoing events of 2019 at the events page.
KU-RDP was first launched at the beginning of Spring Semester on the 5th of February, 2018:
AIMS
- develop, provide and coordinate a program of professional development training for all postgraduate researchers at Koç
- enable our postgraduate researchers reach their full potential as an all rounded and excellent researcher
- keep our postgraduate researchers motivated when it comes to pursuing their research and career goals
- make our postgraduate researchers to get the most of the research activities available at Koç
- guide our postgraduate researchers to demonstrate their desire for self-improvement – a key skill for any job or educational field
- support our postgraduate researchers to build effective relations with the researcher community at and outside Koç University
STRUCTURE AND DESIGN
A – International benchmarking
KU-RDP is based on a thorough review of literature and practice about the notion of researcher development. Although many high-ranked universities nowadays offer such developmental opportunities and services to their research students, United Kingdom was the first country that formally acted upon this need. From 2003 to 2011, the UK government (via the Research Councils) made ring-fenced payments to research performing organizations to develop the career and transferable skills of their researchers. Since 2011, all of these organizations that were funded previously by the UK government continued their contribution to their researchers’ academic and professional lives. Hence, Researcher Development Office at Koç University drew its inspiration mainly from the world-wide known UK universities and research institutions that have been in this journey for more than 15 years.
B – Researcher Development Framework (RDF)
KU-RDP’s content is informed by Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework (RDF). Vitae is a non-profit program, part of the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC), with over 45 years of experience in supporting the professional development of researchers. In 2009, Vitae developed the RDF for researchers, in collaboration with the higher education sector and other stakeholders. The Framework is grounded in research through interviews and focus groups with over 100 researchers and additional expertise from specialists and stakeholders. The resulting Framework captures the knowledge, behaviors and attributes that the higher education sector, overall, has identified as significant for researchers. This is a professional development framework for planning and supporting the personal, professional and career development of researchers.
Each of the KU-RDP event is designed and structured in a way to meet one or two of the four main domains of the RDF; Domain A: Knowledge and intellectual abilities; Domain B: Personal effectiveness; Domain C: Research governance and organization; and Domain D: Engagement, influence and impact.
Our aim is to offer a variety of events that touch upon the different aspects of becoming a successful, efficient and happy researcher. All of the KU-RDP events are mapped to the RDF so that our research students can understand and target which areas to work on more for the sake of their own development.
C – Research phases
KU-RDP is also very keen on meeting the needs of different research students who are at a certain phase of their ongoing research. Especially for doctoral researchers, the developmental needs can be totally different at the beginning of their research, in the middle of their projects, and while completing their PhDs.
D – Close relationships with different stakeholders
The Researcher Development Office at Koç is in a continual relationship with the graduate schools, student support services, and other administrative departments within the University to better understand the needs of the research community, get views from those people and offices that are in contact with postgraduate research students, and design the content, location, timing, etc. of the KU-RDP events accordingly.
E – “You said, We did” approach
Researcher Development Office also keeps the content of KU-RDP on a “You said, We did” approach, by trying to understand the challenges our researchers experience in their development and acknowledge the opportunities they would like to receive during their studies.
The analysis of PRES 2018 and KU-RDP’s Event Evaluation Survey, along with the feedback received during individual sessions indicated a greater need in terms of funding applications, international opportunities, effective reading habits, academic writing, and time-management issues. Based on these remarks, we now offer more specific events to take part in KU-RDP by collaborating with various offices at the University; such as the Writing Center, Office of International Programs, Learning and Teaching Office, and Project Development and Technology Transfer Directorate.