VU has a range of researcher development opportunities that focus on career planning and mentoring.
VU Research mentoring program
Our VU Research Mentoring program for early and mid-career researchers is designed to assist you to find a mentor to work with on your research career goals and advance your research career. It will enable you to leverage your knowledge and skills with mentoring tailored to your goals. Both mentors and mentees undertake training to ensure a successful mentoring relationship.
Experienced researchers are available as mentors on a range of topics including:
- Actively managing your research career
- Applying for promotion
- Shaping positive research cultures
- Leading a research team
- Applying for a VU Research Fellowship
- Collaboration
- Impact and engagement
- Funding your research
- Research leadership.
Early and mid-career researchers interested in participating in this program must submit an Expression of Interest.
Find out more about our available mentors on our Meet Our Mentors site (login required).
Researcher development programs & sessions
VU Research runs sessions and programs throughout the year focusing on:
- Advancing Your Research Career, an online and self-paced program for early and mid-career researchers consisting of ten engaging and interactive modules:
- Actively managing your research career
- Shaping positive research cultures
- The value of mentoring to your research career
- Accelerating the impact of research through engagement
- Funding your research
- Leadership for successful project management
- Collaboration
- Managing a research team
- Communicating your research
- Reflective practice and career development
- understanding VU's Measure of Research Activity (MoRA) Measure
- applying for a VU Research Fellowship
- how to find a research mentor
- grants and funding
- HDR Career Development workshops series (in conjunction with VU Employ)
For more information about scheduled sessions (including how to register) see the Researcher Development Program calendar. To access registration for Advancing Your Research Career, see VU Develop.
Online resources
Vitae Researcher Development Framework
VU uses the Vitae Researcher Development Framework to underpin our Researcher Development Program. All VU staff and students can register online for access to career development and planning materials.
VU Graduate Researcher Toolkit
The VU Graduate Researcher Toolkit is a VU Collaborate space designed to support all research students and provides a range of information and resources relating to the graduate researcher experience.
The toolkit also contains VU MyPlan, a self-assessment tool which allows a graduate researcher to reflect and plan, both in relation to the progress of the research itself and to their own development as professional researchers.
Using VU MyPlan at regular intervals will also help a graduate researcher identify and work toward their longer term career goals. All graduate researchers are automatically enrolled into this space. Others, such as supervisors, will need to request a manual enrolment from the Academic Coordinator in the Graduate Research School.
