Author(s): Lees, James ; Gorini, Lucrezia ; Torjussen, Stian ; Oliveira, Margarida ; Pinto, Paula ; Potes Barbas, Maria ; Martins, Madalena ; Jones, Melanie S. ; Sheppard, Victoria ; Petronilho, Ana ; Trindade, Margarida
Date: 2023
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/158469
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Subject(s): Researcher development; Skills awareness; Transnational added-value; Wider employability; Education
Funding Information: Paula Pinto acknowledges the Life Quality Research Centre–UIDP/04748/2020, a programme financially supported by FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/ Ministério da Educação e Ciência. The project on which this article is based was made possible by an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership grant from the European Commission (TRANSPEER: a Transnational Project to Enhance the Employability of Researchers [2017–1-SE01-KA203-034535]). The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Funding Information: The project on which this article is based was made possible by an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership grant from the European Commission (TRANSPEER: a Transnational Project to Enhance the Employability of Researchers [2017–1-SE01-KA203-034535]). The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Funding Information: Paula Pinto acknowledges the Life Quality Research Centre–UIDP/04748/2020, a programme financially supported by FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/ Ministério da Educação e Ciência. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, James Lees, Lucrezia Gorini, Stian Torjussen, Margarida Oliveira, Paula Pinto, Maria Potes Barbas, Madalena Martins, Melanie S. Jones, Victoria Sheppard, Ana Petronilho and Margarida Trindade.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an example of best practice towards enhancing employability in the cross-sectoral labour market for doctorate-holders. This was achieved through an Erasmus+ KA2 (Strategic Partnership) skills development project which created a training programme (TRANSPEER) involving a multi-disciplinary cohort of researchers at a range of career stages, drawn from universities in Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the UK. Design/methodology/approach: Research support staff designed and delivered four transnational training events for the cohort, with the overarching theme of enhancing researcher employability. An initial skills awareness survey of the researcher cohort was undertaken prior to the start of the programme; this survey was repeated after each event. An additional aim of the project was the development of the consortium’s research support staff through exposure to the facilitation techniques and methodologies of their international colleagues. Findings: The findings indicate that transnational collaboration in researcher development enhances the learning environment for participating researchers and provides significant professional development opportunities for both researchers and researcher developers. The findings further suggest the benefits of mixing cohorts across career stages and engaging researchers with novel and interactive approaches on themes not typically addressed in academic competence development offerings. Originality/value: Transversal skills development cooperation between universities – especially transnational cooperation – is rare. Even more so is the professional development of research support staff in a transnational context. This paper outlines the benefits of such collaborative activities.
