New to the University of Bath

There are many ways that we support you as you start in your new role and throughout your time as a researcher at the University of Bath. This page provides a summary of all the information you may find useful in your first few months working at the university.

Career and Professional Development

The University of Bath is fully committed to creating a productive, supportive and enjoyable work environment for research staff as can be seen in the Vision for Research Staff working at the University of Bath.

Professional development might include attending a training course or workshop, workplace shadowing, participating in a mentoring scheme (as mentor or mentee), committee membership, participating in policy development, public engagement, or knowledge exchange activities.

Development opportunities offered by other departments:

We recommend that you have regular discussions with your line manager and colleagues about your development and career ambitions. You can also book a one to one career development discussion with our Research Development Manager

One-on-one meetings offer a unique, secure space to explore topics that rarely surface during the daily grind. Beyond providing tailored advice and career guidance, these sessions are mentally invigorating. They offer a genuine sense of being heard and supported"

Research Staff Working Group: Improving the working environment for research staff

First published in 2008, and revised in September 2019, the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers is a national document that sets out the expectations and responsibilities of researchers, their managers, employers of researchers and funders, with the aim of enhancing researcher’s career development and the research environment. We encourage you take a look at this to see what we are expecting from you and what you should expect in return!

We are fully committed to implementing the Concordat at Bath and have a regularly updated action plan. As a result the University holds the HR Excellence in Research Award.

The Universities Vision for Research Staff and Code of Practice for the Employment of Research Staff aim to create a supportive and active research culture that fosters high achievement. Research staff and managers are obliged to comply with the Code of Practice. It lists the responsibilities of the University and Principal Investigators, but also those of researchers themselves.

Research Staff News

As a member of research staff, you should receive the Research Staff News newsletter every 2 weeks. This provides you with up-to-date information on courses and professional development opportunities, policy changes within Bath and the UK Higher Education sector, and other important information.

Not receiving this? Sometimes there can be a delay in being added to our mailing list through the central HR system. Email Researcher Development Manager to be added.

Have your say about what goes into the newsletter; email with any feedback, comments, or content suggestions.

Departmental Research Staff Co-ordinators

Departmental Research Staff Co-ordinators are responsible for supporting the department in enacting the code of practice for the employment of research staff, and feeding back on progress to the Departmental Research Committee.

Research Staff Working Group

The Research Staff Working Group represents the interests of research staff and aims to improve the working practices, skill levels, job satisfaction and career management of researchers. If you want to get involved, please get in touch.

Induction for Research Staff

As a new staff member you should receive an induction to the University, your new Department/School and your job as laid out in section 3 of the Code of Practice for the Employment of Research Staff.

The Moodle course Induction for Research Staff contains lots of information and documents useful to research staff in their first few months at Bath. You can access the course using your BUCS username and password. You can also to attend the general Introduction to the University of Bath. General information for new starters is available from the HR web pages.