Category Archives: Researcher careers
Powerpointless
I thank my colleague, Helen Asquith, for cheering me up with this link this afternoon. You might enjoy a bit of Friday afternoon fun too.
Here are Rebecca Schuman’s thoughts on the use of Powerpoint in higher education.
We all know I’m guilty of these crimes. Are you?
Congratulations, Dr Neil Hand
Neil Hand will receive his PhD degree certificate at the Winter Award Ceremonies in the Royal and Derngate theatre this weekend. Neil’s PhD by means of published works thesis brought together a body of papers that Neil had worked on over a number of years in the field of histopathology. This month Neil retired from Nottingham University Hospitals Trust and his contribution to the trust and the field of histopathology is celebrated in the Nottingham Post. Read the article at http://www.nottinghampost.com/Pioneering-scientist-calls-day/story-20554685-detail/story.html#comments
congratulations, Neil!
Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards
The Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards are a fantastic opportunity for current students and graduates who are looking to secure investment for their projects. Santander will be making an award of £5,000 for the winner of the undergraduate award, and £20,000 for the winner of the postgraduate award, together with smaller prizes for second and third places. The competition is open to current students or alumni who have graduated within the last 2 years. Applicants can be individuals or groups, and will need to prepare a business plan. The University will put forward the best entry in each category for Santander to consider.
For further details, and to discuss this opportunity, please contact Sharon Irwin, Enterprise Club Manager, at sharon.irwin@northampton.ac.uk or on 01604 892626. Please note that the deadline for applications is 14 March 2014.
View the information pack: 2014 Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards Pack
Selling your skills outside of academia – 10 tips
This article gives practical tips for preparing to take your research and transferable skills outside of the University
Image Another Place 3 by Tony Grist (Photographer’s own files) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAnother_Place_3.jpg
Are you a ‘mobile’ researcher?
Do you want to take stock of your research career path? Perhaps identify the skills and attributes you might need to be an effective researcher in an international and/or new research environment?
If so, take a look at Vitae’s new researcher mobility lens on the Researcher Development Framework (RDF). Read the rest of this entry
Featured Researcher: Emmanuel Adukwu
In the first of our ‘featured researcher’ series, Dr Emmanuel Adukwu describes his experiences of being a doctoral researcher and his career highlights. Emmanuel is now working as a Lecturer at UWE in Bristol.
My research
I recently completed my PhD in microbiology studying the physiological and genetic characteristics of community acquired infections (CAIs). This was a project funded by the Centre for Health and Wellbeing Research (CHWR) at the University of Northampton, with a grant from the Northamptonshire Primary Care Trust.
CAIs became newsworthy within the last 20 years following many years combating Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI). CAIs are acquired outside the healthcare setting and have unique risk factors and different antibiotic resistance and genetic characteristics.
Key pathogens under investigation were community acquired MRSA, Clostridium difficile and antibiotic resistant enterococcus spp. Data on the effect of essential oils on planktonic cells and biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus were published in 2012. Read the rest of this entry
Job Vacancy: Project Co-ordinator, The University of Northampton Students’ Union
Job Title: P2 Co-ordinator
Hours: Full time (37 hours per week) fixed term contract to 31 July 2015
Salary: £18,523 per annum
Work Base: Avenue/Park Campus/Pavilion or any University of Northampton premises as required
Overall Purpose
The aim of the Students’ Union is to support and enhance the educational, social, cultural and recreational activities, and opportunities of the student body, and also to provide a channel of communication for students with the University, NUS and other bodies.
The purpose of this role is to deliver the P2 (Planet Too) project, funded by the NUS / HEFCE Student Green Fund. See http://www.studentsgreenfund.org.uk for more information about the fund. It is a wide ranging project that builds on the University’s commitment to social value and combines aspects of volunteering and campaigning with social enterprise and employability to engage students in leading change on the campus. It also targets private and community student housing, aiming to reduce the impact on the environment by unnecessary energy consumption.
For further information contact:
Email: yvonne.anderson@northampton.ac.uk
Human Resources, Park Campus, Boughton Green Road,
Northampton, NN2 7AL Tel: 01604 892818
Website: http://www.northamptonunion.com
If postdoctoral life is about playing by the rules, what are the rules?
This article about postdoc careers might be of interest:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2013/feb/25/post-phd-rules-academic-mentors
UON Graduate School Blog 
