We are delighted to publish the results of the Early Career Research survey that we ran over the last three months of 2017.

Face to face interaction, networking and mentoring

The Early Career Researchers (ECR) who responded to the survey were strongly in favour of increased face to face interaction and networking.

All expressed an interest in visiting other research centres and were supportive of competitive conference attendance bursaries as a means to facilitate conference attendance and interaction.

94% of those that responded felt that one to one mentoring from a senior academic would help support their career development and 74% supported the idea of group mentoring activities.

Communication

Webinars were also popular.

94% were interested in participating in webinars and the most popular topic choices were statistics (55%) and biomarkers (27%).

Some ECRs were also interested in evidence updates and some suggested additional topics including;  research design, use of technology, engaging consumers and cultural adaptations for risk reduction messaging.

Challenges

Perhaps unsurprisingly the importance of being in the right group and difficulties accessing mentoring, networks and funding were highlighted as potential barriers.

Thank you to all the ECRs that participated in the survey. The survey results not only help to support the development of the IRNDP but also provide insight to support progression of the wider research area.