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Centre for Research Staff Development

The Centre for Research Staff Development (CRSD) provides professional development support for research staff to achieve their potential, before, during and after their time at King’s, with active support from the most senior staff in the university. 

The CRSD also actively supports research staff networks that operate across King’s, both at faculty and divisional level and maintains two-way communication with research staff, ensuring that it provides key information about events, careers, funding, and training and that research staff have platforms to contribute their views and feedback.

Research Staff at King’s are postdoctoral staff, research assistants, technicians and teaching fellows, in fact all those other than PhD students who are engaged in research and who do not yet have an independent, permanent academic or managerial position.

Download a copy of our brochure to learn more about who we are and how we support research staff.

The CRSD works with research staff and on behalf of research staff at King's in several ways:

  • Community - We facilitate and support an active, engaged research staff community and ensure there are opportunities for you as researchers to contribute to how King's operates.
  • Careers - We encourage you as research staff to consider and prepare for your future career throughout your contract. We have a qualified careers consultant on the team to assist you with your career plans, whatever they may be.
  • Courses - We deliver professional workshops and events that enhance your skills and improve your understanding of how best to approach your future.
  • Communications - We provide high quality, timely information regarding opportunities within and outside of King's and information about what is happening in the Higher Education sector more generally.
  • Concordat - Your professional development at King's is influenced by the Concordat, a national agreement that sets out standards and responsibilities of the university and researchers. King's aims to exceed these standards.

Contact us

For further information or enquiries about how we support research staff

Waterloo Campus, 57 Waterloo Road London, SE1 8WA

For current Research Staff

How the CRSD supports Research Staff

CRSD inforgraphic

We support the professional development of research staff in a number of ways, including through face-to-face and online courses on 9 different topics, one-to-one careers and writing support, and mentoring and coaching opportunities. Our courses are designed in consultation with research staff to ensure the programme is a true reflection of their needs. Research staff are encouraged to take 10 days of personal and professional training each year.

Professional Future Planning

Our experienced, impartial Career Consultants are available to hold one-to-one confidential appointments with research staff to discuss issues such as next steps after contracts end, maximising the prospects of finding a job within or beyond academia, interview preparation, and creating strong CVs and LinkedIn profiles.

Writing Support

We host two Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellows (2017-2018: Harry Ritchie and Sarah Ardizzone) who are both professional writers. They provide one-to-one appointments to assist with improving and refining writing skills in a range of areas, including:

  • research articles & submitting publications
  • fluent academic style
  • literature reviews
  • job applications
  • overcoming writer’s block
  • accurate grammar & punctuation
  • summary skills
  • correct use of idiom & register
Mentoring & Coaching
Trained staff in the CRSD offer coaching sessions to address specific short-term goals such as workload management, career direction, and personal issues. The CRSD recently launched a pilot mentoring scheme in the Health Faculties, which allows postdoctoral research staff to search for suitable mentors and request pairings to receive support with long-term goals. The scheme will be rolled out to all research staff across faculties by the end of 2018.

King's Research Staff Community

King’s has a diverse and active research staff community, with over 2,000 research staff across faculties. A university-wide Research Staff Representative Committee (RSRC) represents research staff across King’s and their concerns, and an increasing number of research staff networks (RSNs) and societies also operate across the different faculties. The CRSD works closely with the RSRC on policies and with RSNs by assisting in planning events, sourcing employers, and running professional development workshops in consultation with them to ensure the opportunities we provide are appropriate for them.

We additionally host an annual university-wide Research Staff Event on a different professional development theme each year, such as Getting your Voice Heard and Taking Charge of your Future. The Event offers research staff from across King’s a platform to come together to broaden their skills and knowledge, while engaging with one another and building their community.

Research Staff Community

How we communicate with Research Staff

We communicate with research staff in various ways, ensuring that they are informed about relevant news, events, and updates both within King’s as well as in the wider higher education landscape. We provide this information through our intranet pages, a weekly newsletter, and different social media channels. 

We also facilitate opportunities for research staff to contribute their views and feedback on relevant King’s policies, including by giving them opportunities for representation on decision making committees at every level of the university, and by soliciting their opinion through Town Hall meetings and surveys, including the Careers in Research Online Survey.

Visit our blog

For current King’s research staff

Policy & Goverance

Policy & Goverance

We are committed to ensuring research is carried out to the highest possible standards.

Creating Impact

Creating Impact

King's supports its researchers to maximise the impact of their work.