Setting out on your academic career can be daunting and it can sometimes feel as if there is little guidance along the way.
The series of seminars outlined below is designed to provide a platform for discussing some of the issues confronting Early Career Researchers. We also hope to provide a platform to share experiences, joys and tribulations in this intensely rewarding and extremely exasperating academic world.
More seminars and opportunities to share will be added over the next twelve months.
These seminars are aimed at current Rhodes University staff, particularly those who are early career researchers Unless otherwise stated, anyone is welcome to join. PhD students and postdoctoral fellows who are interested in an academic career may find these sessions especially useful. Experienced academics are also most welcome too! Please click on the link for each session below to sign up for that seminar. Please be aware that some sessions can only take limited numbers and this will be a case of 'first-come, first-served'.
Seminar 1: Science Communication for the Popular Press
For the modern-day researcher, research visibility matters. While publishing in peer-reviewed journals is vital, it is also important to consider other ways of reaching wider audiences such as policymakers and the public.
RU partners with The Conversation Africa (TC Africa), who will conduct the virtual 2-hour workshop on popular writing for scientists. The workshop is designed to be a hands-on and interactive session to equip researchers with the skills to pitch and publish on The Conversation Africa. The workshop will focus on how researchers can best communicate research findings and insights to non-academic audiences, be they the general public or policymakers for impact
Maximum 30 people
[This one is for RU staff, postdocs & PhD students only]
11:30am - 1:30pm
Wednesday 28 July
Presenters: Editors from The Conversation Africa
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Seminar 2: A look at the NRF rating process
This seminar introduces participants to the basics of the South African NRF Rating programme. The seminar will concentrate on different rating categories, internal processes at RU, and the different reviewing committees at the NRF.
We will also take you through the different sections of the actual online application so you get an idea of what the application looks like.
2pm - 3pm
Wednesday 4 August
Presenter: Sinazo Peter, Research Office @ RU
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Seminar 3: Alternative models for Postgrad Education
There has been repeated research implicating the dominance of the master-apprentice model of postgraduate education in the low throughput rates in the Humanities and Social Sciences (which includes Commerce, Law and Education). This model (also known as the Oxbridge model) is now the exception rather than the rule in the countries from which we inherited it.
This seminar looks at other models which may be more suitable for many of our students and which allow novice supervisors to work in supportive teams that build their careers. The seminar reflects on the pros and cons of supervising in project teams and what it takes to form them.
2pm - 3:30pm
Wednesday 11 August
Presenter: Sioux McKenna, CPGS @ RU
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Seminar 4: SA DHET Accreditation of Research Outputs
In South Africa, the DHET includes funding for accredited research outputs as part of its annual grant to universities. This session looks at how the accreditation system works, which journal lists are accredited, and how RU fares within the subsidy count.
2pm - 3pm
Wednesday 18 August
Presenter: Thumeka Montolo, Research Office @ RU
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