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In December 2019, the University of Cambridge officially signed the new Researcher Development Concordat. The ‘Concordat’ sets out a series of responsibilities and working practices designed to create a healthy and supportive culture for research, and to increase the appeal and sustainability of research careers in the UK.

The new Concordat is structured in to three principles: Environment & culture, employment and professional & career development. Within each principle there are obligations for institutions, managers of researchers and researchers themselves, and, for the first time, funders of research.

At this open meeting, Liz Simmonds, chair of the University’s Concordat Working Group, will present further detail about the Concordat and its likely benefits and implications, and will update on progress of the working group towards an institutional implementation plan. This will be followed by a Q&A session.

The Concordat will have an impact across the whole institution, and so this session will be useful for academic staff, research staff, and professional services staff who support postdocs.

Have you ever faced any issues related to authorship within your research group or making a submission to a journal?

• Who gets to be an author?
• How do you start a conversation on authorship with your research team?
• What approaches can be used to resolve an authorship problem?
• How are mistakes handled in a published paper?
• In what circumstances will a paper be retracted from a journal?

Using case studies and group discussion, this course will explore best practice from how authorship of a paper is decided to managing the challenges that can arise when working with publishers or editors. Discussions will include ‘grey areas’, common issues and pitfalls, and you will be given the opportunity to share your experiences and perspectives.

If you have recently started peer reviewing, or are ready to get involved, the OSC invites you to this unmissable session, where you will pick up tips and best practices from PLOS, publishers of the world's largest multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal.

People love stories. They entertain, they help us to remember. This short interactive session is aimed at researchers looking to improve the effectiveness of their communication. It will introduce the importance of working out who your audience is and what they want to know. It will also explore how storytelling is as relevant to research communication as it is to fairy tales. We all have to communicate our research and ideas, why not do it through stories?

The session will be delivered by the Academic Director for STEM, Institute of Continuing Education.

Please note that if you are not eligible for a University of Cambridge Raven account you will need to book by linking here.

Do you know what to look out for when choosing an Open Access publisher or a data repository?

It's important to get these decisions right to be at the forefront of the trend towards Open Research, ensuring that you build a strong profile and embrace the changes that are expected from researchers.

Practicing Open Research will help you to:

• Be cited more often
• Secure grants
• Spark collaborations
• Make your findings more reproducible

In this session, you will learn about:

• The State Pension system in the UK
• Private Pensions in the UK
• The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)

The session will be delivered by Head of Pensions at the University of Cambridge, and there will be ample opportunity for asking questions.

Please note that if you are not eligible for a University of Cambridge Raven account you will need to book by linking here.

Postdocs of the University of Cambridge are invited to join the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs for a lunchtime networking event!

You will have the opportunity to hear about the spaces and resources available while enjoying lunch with OPdA staff and fellow postdocs.

Hope to see you all there!

P.S: OPdA will be taking photos at today’s event to help promote this and other similar events. If you would prefer not to be photographed, please speak to one of OPdA members.

A must-attend morning with information tailored to postdocs in Cambridge, whether University-based or employed by Colleges or Research Institutions.

At this event, you will be given information about: o Your contract o Professional development & the careers service o Accommodation (including how to apply for accommodation at the new North West Cambridge development) o The postdoc community at Cambridge

and have ample opportunity to meet other postdocs and network.