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Episode 119

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Published on:

18th Jun 2025

(Episode 119) The Pathfinder Project - Giving Postdocs a Voice & Changing Research Culture Along the Way

Content note: In this episode we focus on a new project to engage and celebrate postdocs at the University of Leeds: Pathfinder


šŸš© What Is Pathfinder?

Pathfinder isnā€™t just an email in your inbox ā€“ itā€™s a project built on co-creation. Produced by Ruth Winden (Careers with Research Consultant) and Dr. Susan Donkin (Project Officer) from the Researcher Development and Research Culture Team in (OD&PL), alongside your invaluable feedback, Pathfinder aims to be more than an information portal. Itā€™s a tool to:

  • Keep you informed without overwhelming you
  • Give postdocs a bigger, bolder voice
  • Spotlight postdoc successes and challenges
  • Connect research leaders and colleagues with all that postdocs have to offer

āœØ Celebrating Success (Big & Small!)

We believe every achievement deserves recognition. Whether youā€™ve secured a fellowship, finished your first 10k charity run, or made a sideways career move, your story matters. But weā€™ve learned that ā€œsuccessā€ can feel like a loaded term, and that not everyone wants to step into the spotlight.

Your voice is key ā€“ thatā€™s why weā€™re making it easier than ever to get involved:

  • Nominate a postdoc peer: Know a colleague who deserves recognition? Email us and weā€™ll do the rest.
  • Suggest yourself: Nervous? Weā€™re friendly! Chat with us, or even share your story anonymously if that feels more comfortable.
  • Calling all PIs: Have some wisdom or an inspiring story? Share advice, challenges, or answer ā€œWhat do I wish Iā€™d known as a postdoc?ā€ Your perspectives are invaluable to our readers.

šŸ“¬ How Pathfinder Comes Together

  • Short, sharp updates: Skim in five minutes; deep-dive if you want more.
  • Resource round-up: Quick links to professional development, opportunities, and reminders. Even if youā€™ve seen them before, with postdoc turnover, a refresher never hurts.
  • Regular themes: Our upcoming issue shines a light on ECR and postdoc representatives ā€“ the unsung heroes of academia.

šŸ“ˆ Pathfinder By the Numbers

Weā€™re thrilled by the response so far:

  • Almost 1,000 subscribers!
  • ~50% open rate (thatā€™s huge in the newsletter world!)
  • People are talking, reading, and starting to contribute!

Your feedback helps us improve. Drop us a line anytimeā€”tell us what you love, what youā€™d change, or what you want to see next.

šŸ› ļø Lessons Learned & Tips Shared

  • Meet people where they are: Email works best for our busy postdocs!
  • Relationships matter: Referrals and nudges from the production team and colleagues help fuel participation and build community.
  • Planning is our secret weapon: Our content calendar keeps us organized and responsive.

Patience pays off ā€” Rome wasnā€™t built in a day, and neither is a vibrant research culture. Each month, your engagement and input shape this initiative.

šŸ“¢ Ask Contributors To Get Involved!

Want to suggest a theme? Highlight an amazing project? Ask a burning question? Email us, nominate a friend, or just say hello! If we donā€™t hear from you, we might come knocking (gently, we promise).

We hope that Pathfinder will become a vital part of our postdoc community here at the University of Leeds. Together, with our postdocs, weā€™re shaping a collaborative, supportive research culture at Leeds ā€“ one that recognises every voice.

For questions, stories, or suggestions to do with Pathfinder, please get in touch with Ruth (r.winden@leeds.ac.uk) or Susan (s.donkin@leeds.ac.uk).

Our Pathfinder editions are only accessible internally, to Leeds staff members. But if you'd like to see an example, we are happy to email you a copy so you can get a feel of what it looks like, visually and content wise!

A few explainers and definitions:

OD&PL: Organisational Development & Learning, at the University of Leeds

PI = Principal Investigator

Resources:

Our Researcher Development & Research Culture website

Connect with the host and guest of this podcast episode:

LinkedIn šŸ”—

Ruth Winden, Careers with Research Consultant, Researcher Development & Research Culture Team, OD&PL, university of Leeds

Dr Susan Donkin , Project Officer, Researcher Development & Research Culture Team, OD&PL, university of Leeds


šŸŽ§ All our episodes can be accessed via the following playlists:


Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social, @researchcultureuol.bsky.social 

Connect to us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here)

If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode get in touch: researcherdevelopment@leeds.ac.uk


OD&PL: Organisational Development & Learning, at the University of Leeds


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About the Podcast

Research Culture Uncovered
Changing Research Culture through conversations
At the University of Leeds, we believe that all members of our research community play a crucial role in developing and promoting a positive and inclusive research culture. Across the globe, the urgent need for a better Research Culture in Higher Education is widely accepted ā€“ but how do you make it happen? This weekly podcast focuses on our ideas, approaches and learning as we contribute to the University's attempt to create a Research Culture in which everyone can thrive. Whether you undertake, lead, fund or benefit from research - these are the conversations to listen to if you want to explore what a positive Research Culture is and why it matters.

Unless specified in the episode shownotes, Research Culture Uncovered Ā© 2023 by Research Culturosity, University of Leeds is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. Some episodes may be licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0, please check before use.

About your hosts

Emma Spary

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I moved into development after several years as an independent researcher and now lead the team providing professional and career development for all researchers and those supporting research. I am passionate about research culture and supporting people. I lead our Concordat implementation work and was part of the national Concordat writing group. I represent Leeds as a member of Researchers14, the N8PDRA group and UKRIā€™s Alternative Uses Group.

Emily Goodall

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I'm part of the Researcher Development and Culture team at the University of Leeds, focusing on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), open research, and research integrity provision. I also contribute to our PGR develop programmes and research ethics committees. I joined Leeds in 2022 after several years at the University of Sheffield, where I started out as a postdoc in Neuroscience, before transitioning into Professional Services to managing a large Doctoral Training Partnership.

Taryn Bell

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I work as a Researcher Development Adviser at the University of Leeds. My focus is on career development, with a particular focus on supporting funding and fellowships. I previously worked at the University of York as their Fellowship Coordinator, developing and growing the University's community of early career fellows. Get in touch if you'd like to learn more (T.L.Bell@leeds.ac.uk)!

Katie Jones

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I am a Researcher Development and Culture Project Manager at the University of Leeds, where I lead projects within the Researcher Development and Research Culture Team. My role involves managing projects that enhance the development of researchers and foster a positive research culture across the University and the higher education sector.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths

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Iā€™m a Researcher Development Advisor at the University of Leeds. My work focuses on two key areas, supporting the development of postgraduate researchers (PGRs), and supporting and creating opportunities for research leadership development. Iā€™m also particularly passionate about recognising the contributions of post-doctoral researchers and technicians, especially when it comes to supervision, reward, and recognition. Before stepping into this role, I spent several years as a researcher myself - first as a PhD student, and then as a post-doc, working across two different fields in both Leeds and Manchester. Through that experience, I developed a deep understanding of the challenges and developmental needs of early-career researchers. Iā€™m really passionate about supporting the next generation of researchers and helping them navigate their academic journey.

Ged Hall

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I've worked for over 20 years in researcher development, careers guidance and academic skills development. Since 2011, I've focused on the area of research impact. This has included organisational development projects and professional development for individual researchers and groups. I co-authored the Engaged for Impact Strategy and am heavily involved in its implementation, across the University of Leeds, to build a healthy impact culture. For 10 years after my PhD, I was a consultant in the utility sector, which included being broker between academia and my clients.

Ruth Winden

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After many years running my own careers consultancy business I made the transition to researcher development leading our careers provision. My background is in career coaching, facilitation and group-based coaching, and I have a special interest in cohort-based coaching programmes which help researchers manage their careers proactively and transition into any sector and role of their choice.

Nick Sheppard

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I have worked in scholarly communications for over 15 years, currently as Open Research Advisor at the University of Leeds. I am interested in effective dissemination of research through sustainable models of open access, including underlying data, and potential synergies with open education and Open Educational Resources (OER), particularly underlying technology, software and interoperability of systems.

Tony Bromley

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I've worked in the area of the development of researchers for 20 years, including at the national and international level. I was lead author of the UK sector researcher development impact framework charged with evaluating the over Ā£20M per year investment of UK research councils in researcher development. I have convened the international Researcher Education and Development Scholarship (REDS) conference for a number of years and have published on researcher development evaluation and pedagogy. All the details are on www.tonybromley.com !! Also why not take a look at https://conferences.leeds.ac.uk/reds/