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I am the new Early Career Researcher (ECR) Ambassador for the university. My research and teaching focus on examining questions around global and intersecting inequalities, conflict, violence and social justice activism. I joined the University of Brighton as a Lecturer in Criminology in September 2018, one year after completing my PhD at King’s College London (2017) and after taking my second career break for maternity leave. Prior to that I was a lecturer at the University of Westminster and a research fellow at the Kluge Centre, Library of Congress, Washington D.C., US.

Since then, I have been an active member of the ECR network, as well as other national and international networks and professional societies, including the Urban Violence Research Network, the Feminist Urban Violence Research Collective (which I co-founded), British Society of Criminology and European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control.

What made you interested in the role of ECR ambassador?

Like many of other academics and activists, I chose a career in education because I wanted to make the world a better place and I believe in the transformative and liberatory potential of education. I see research as inseparable from education, broadly speaking.

I grew up in Brazil where my mother was a student of Paulo Freire, so I’ve been inspired by their ideas and routine militancy, as well as the work of researchers and activists such as Angela Davis who remind us that “you have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time”. I wanted to become ECR Ambassador because I believe in the importance of research for transforming the world and I wanted to help other researchers as they navigate their journey.

Early career can be an exciting time for establishing new ideas and innovative contributions to knowledge, but it can also be a dauting and challenging time. I experienced first-hand the challenges of being an ECR in an increasingly competitive environment, while raising a new family, commuting for work and dealing with the hurdles of doing research abroad. So, I wanted to develop the ECR network to increase spaces of mutual support and dialogue, which can help us navigate the tricky terrain in which we are ECRs.

I hope the ECR network will offer possibilities to foster collaboration between ECRs and beyond. The network should be a space for cross-fertilization of ideas through interdisciplinarity and forms of knowledge exchange that can contribute to create the necessary tools to try to address the challenges we face.

What do you hope to achieve in the role?

I am the ECR Ambassador for a year, which is not a long time, but there is scope to work together with fellow ECRs to foster collegiality and mutual support. In my tenure, I hope to establish and maintain engaging, regular and diverse forums of communication, so as a network we can share opportunities and exchange ideas. I also hope to represent the views and concerns of colleagues, make concrete and realistic recommendations for strategic developments to support ECRs foster creativity and sustainable futures through research that addresses global challenges – not least, the deepening social inequalities post-pandemic, social and environmental crises.

I hope to help to connect my colleagues so that we work together for social justice, a fairer world, and embed our cutting-edge research in our pedagogical practices so that our students, local, national and international communities all benefit from our work.

How will you be finding out about what the ECR community will find helpful?

As a network, we are setting up and participating in a series of recurrent and one-off collaborative activities. I will be working with ECR representatives from each school to ensure that ECRs have a voice within the university. Over the coming year, I will continue to meet ECRs in person and I am keen to hear about what they would find most helpful, either directly or through their representatives. For example, this could be related to training needs, funding or making connections. As a network, we will send regular email updates to ECRs and we also have an MS Teams group where we will hold online meetings and events. I encourage colleagues to get involved with the ECR network, as it offers the possibility to create valuable connections with other colleagues, PGRs, academics and senior staff.

Contact Dr Roxana Cavalcanti by email at: r.p.cavalcanti@brighton.ac.uk

Over the coming few weeks the University will be running four ECR focus groups.  These sessions are an opportunity for you to tell us about your experiences at the University of Brighton as well as how the University can support you during your time here.  Sessions are designed to stimulate discussion around the areas of concerns arising from the results of the Careers in Research Online Survey 2019 (CROS). This survey gathers the anonymous views of research staff in UK higher education institutions about their experiences, career aspirations and career development. The survey takes place every two years and is launched by Vitae.

Sessions will also provide an introduction and overview to the revised Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, which was released in September 2019. This Concordat sets out the principles to create the very best culture for researchers to thrive. The University of Brighton is committed to implementing the Concordat’s principles and has an action plan that it reviews regularly. These sessions will provide an opportunity for you to contribute to developing our action plan for the future.

These sessions will take place on the 5^th and 6^th November 2019, there will be a session at each campus (Moulsecoomb, Falmer, City Campus and Eastbourne). To book please follow the link below:

5 November 2019 Mithras House G3 11.30am-13.30pm – Moulsecoomb Campus

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/early-career-researchers-focus-group-session-moulsecoomb-campus-tickets-76752014341

5 November 2019 Watson Building 101 14.30pm-16.30pm – Falmer Campus

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/early-career-researchers-focus-group-session-falmer-campus-tickets-76749520883

6 November 2019 Pavilion Parade 101 9.30am-11.30am – City Campus 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/early-career-researchers-focus-group-city-campus-tickets-76753719441 

6 November 2019 Hillbrow 116 13.30pm-15.30pm – Eastbourne Campus 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/early-career-researchers-focus-group-session-eastbourne-campus-tickets-76754957143

Please note these sessions are primarily suitable for Early Career Researchers however all academic staff are welcome.  

Facilitators: Annie Ockelford (ECR Ambassador) and Ingrid Pugh (Assistant Director of Research Services)

For Information:

https://www.vitae.ac.uk/

https://www.vitae.ac.uk/policy/concordat

https://www.vitae.ac.uk/impact-and-evaluation

Any queries please send an email to A.Waterson@brighton.ac.uk

We are looking for a volunteer from the ECR community to sit on a new Steering Group related to the Knowledge Exchange Framework.  This is a new framework, similar to REF and TEF  that we, as an institution will be submitting an application to.  It has two parts, a metrics part that presents our performance in different categories of knowledge exchange, and a Concordat that aims to encourage HEIs to improve KE practice. The KEF presents an opportunity to raise the profile of our knowledge exchange activity internally and externally, to optimise engagement and support for KE, noting the broad interpretation of KE that includes public engagement, student enterprise and commercialisation.  With institutional sign-up likely to be required in autumn 2019, the university is creating a new steering group to guide our KEF submission.  The members of the committee with be drawn from across the university and we are asking for a volunteer from the ECR community to sit on this group.  The ECR should have an interest and aptitude for KE with activities including:

• Research partnerships including non-HEI partners
• Working with business via KTP/contract research/consultancy
• Working with public & third sector via contract research/consultancy
• CPD and student entrepreneurship
• Local growth and regeneration
• IP and commercialisation (including spin outs and licencing)
• Public and community engagement

It is proposed that the group meets at least three times per year with the first meeting early in the 19/20 academic year.   If you are intereted then please drop me (a.ockelford@brighton.ac.uk) or Shona Campbell ( S.E.Campbell@brighton.ac.uk) an email and we can tell you more!

One of the pressures and pleasures of being an early career researcher and the ECR Network representative for the School of Architecture and Design is balancing the leadership implied by the latter and the need to continue doing actual research demanded by the former. Two recent events illustrate this, for me, exciting tension.

Last month as part of my ECR rep. role I organised, and then co-curated with Dr. Sam Lynch an exhibition of research by those in the SoAD part of our Network. Partly a celebration of the work of talented colleagues, partly a way of testing and framing some practice-based (but far from only practice-based) work as research, the extreme variety of work lent itself to a form of curation which wilfully juxtaposed sometimes dramatically different types of work.

Struggling to think of a name for what was essentially a themeless exhibition, where an architectural model might sit beside a transformed and animated archaeological Harris Matrix, beside a vitrine of books and journals, beside a disassembled camera obscura, I was reminded of something Julia Kristeva wrote in 1998, “interdisciplinarity was a site of great enthusiasm” she began, “but after a while we started to realise that as a site of encounter amongst various forms of practices, it constituted a very difficult, if not perilous, enterprise.” This, for me, was not as negative as it sounded but instead seeded the idea for an opportunity to make connections across the disparate disciplines of my School. Her phrase site of encounter stuck and became the name of the exhibition. You can see more here: https://scandalousartefacts.com/2019/05/08/sites-of-encounter/

Tara Dean (Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Enterprise) and Annie Ockelford (ECR Ambassador) at the opening of the Sites of Encounter Exhibition.

Last week was the first meeting of Wastes and Strays: the past present and future of English urban commons a 3-year AHRC funded research project of which I am, dauntingly, the co-investigator for the ‘future’ work package.

There are research partners from Newcastle University, Natural England, the Open Space Society and a host of others. Everyone came. It was intense and exhilarating and I can’t wait to get properly stuck in to the research itself. It’s early days and the project website is being built but in the meantime you can find out a little more about the project here: https://scandalousartefacts.com/2018/08/20/wastes-and-strays-the-past-present-and-future-of-english-urban-commons/

Written by Dr Alessandro Zambelli, ECR Representative for the School of Architecture and Design.  You can find out more about Alex in the podcast he recorded for the University: https://staff.brighton.ac.uk/the-hub/Pages/Podcast-Catching-up-with-Dr-Alex-Zambelli.aspx

Hi my name is Annie Ockelford and I am the new Early Career Ambassador for the University.  Since my PhD Viva in 2012, I have completed two postdocs (at Loughborough University and the University of Hull), and have progressed into an academic position as Principal Lecturer in Physical Geography within the School of Environment and Technology.  I can usually be found in a boat on a river where I am interested in rivers and flooding, particularly how we can reduce the risk to humans from contaminants and sediments which are moved during floods.  I wanted to briefly introduce myself so you could put a face to a name and knew how to contact me if you had any worries!!  You can find out more about my love of rivers, outreach and champagne in the podcast I recorded for the university: https://staff.brighton.ac.uk/the-hub/Pages/Podcast-Catching-up-with-Dr-Annie-Ockelford.aspx

• What made you interested in the role of ECR ambassador?

Being an ECR is such an exciting time where you can begin to forge your own way into academia.  It’s full of opportunities to work on some exciting research, collaborate and learn from academics from all over the world and share your work across the community.  However, it is also a hugely challenging, competitive environment which can be difficult to navigate.  I am incredibly lucky to have an amazing set of mentors around me who have helped guide me through the murky waters of being an ECR.  As such, I wanted to become ECR Ambassador to help others as they begin their journey through academia, especially since I have experienced firsthand the hurdles of being an ECR where I have been on a number of temporary contracts and moved around the country following the jobs!!  When the ECR ambassador role was advertised it seemed an ideal opportunity to be able work with the ECRs at Brighton.

• What do you hope to achieve in the role?

I am the ECR Ambassador for a year and although a year isn’t a long time I really want to achieve two things during my time in post.  Firstly, although there are so many opportunities and resources for ECRs at Brighton I am often surprised to hear how people don’t know about them or have difficulty accessing these resources. So, I really want to work with the community to help promote and signpost these resources.  Secondly, ECRS at the University of Brighton have an incredibly diverse range of interests with huge potential yet we often don’t know what each other are doing.  So I really want to begin to build a sense of community and collegiality between researchers where we can exchange views and ideas with each other.

• How will you be finding out about what the ECR community will find helpful?

As ECR Ambassador part of my job is to work the with the  ECR representatives from each school to ensure that you, as an ECR have a voice within the university and I really want to hear what you would find useful.  Over the coming year I hope to meet a lot of you in person but if you have ideas then let me or your School representative know.  For example this could be related to your training needs and the development of training opportunities within the university.  I would also love to hear how you would best like to be communicated with?  Would a regular newsletter be helpful?  Or would podcasts and videos with key members of the university be helpful to keep you up to date with what’s going on at the university?

• How can ECRs find out more about what’s going on?

I know everyone is busy and ECRs epitomize the word multitasking so I have tried to use as many platforms as possible to let you know what’s going on!!  However I can only help you if I know who you are so I would really encourage people to self-identify for the ECR email list so I can keep you up to date with all things ECR!! I will write regularly for the ECR blog and I have reinvigorated the ECR Twitter feed (@ECRBrighton) to send out updates of events occurring across the university.  I am working closely with Professor Tara Dean (PVCR) to develop ECR focused activities at the University Research Day on the 5^th July so keep an eye out for calls to attend that!! Finally, at an institutional-level keep an eye on messaging through Staff News and the R&E newsletter.