Support platform for research careers

Introduction

 

This platform has been designed to provide information about career development and to provide tools to support and advise UOC staff, especially research staff.

 

The EURAXESS Network is a European Commission initiative created with the aim of supporting researchers, regardless of their area of expertise, nationality and/or location, to facilitate mobility and the retention of research talent in Europe. FECYT, the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, an organization that coordinates more than 85 universities and other research bodies in Spain, is responsible for implementing this initiative in Spain.

The UOC is part of the ODISEA working group. ODISEA aims to design a common strategy for career development at each stage in the professional careers of research staff. The group is made up of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), the IMDEA Materials Institute, IMDEA Water, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), the madri+d Knowledge Foundation, the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and Bizkaia Talent.

 

1.1. Self -appraisal: tools for personal planning

 

  • Carrer Orientation tool: a tool aimed at researchers who want to assess their motivations and identify the resources available and the actions necessary to build their careers. It can help researchers in their early working life to start considering career development and how to manage their professional career more actively.
  • PIPERS Project Career Kit: a collection of learning resources dealing with entrepreneurship, intellectual property, leadership skills, research career management, professional development, self-assessment for researchers, the exploitation of research results and working with industry.
  • Discover: careers beyond academia. Information about career possibilities and options in other sectors: information on different sectors, jobs and the competencies required, career planning, and testimonies of researchers working outside academia

 

What is EURAXESS?

EURAXES FOR YOU

Improving your career prospects

  • Talent Development Suite: a tool to help with the personal planning of professional development, analysing past and present, and helping researchers to decide what their future career could be. There is also a section with a road map, where you can say how you see yourself in the future and what milestones you hope to achieve.
  • myIDP: a free professional planning tool to help pre- and post-doctoral science researchers define and pursue their career goals
  • e-Skills Match: an EU-funded initiative, offering a demonstration platform for learning technology, which operates at European level to support training in the digital and cyber skills essential for individuals and businesses to remain competitive in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector.

 

Research career map for the UOC and Spain

For more information go to this link:

 https://www.fecyt.es/es/publicacion/researcher-career-path-spain-glance-6th-edition

 

2.1. Information about job offers for researchers

 

2.2. Other resources for development outside academia

  • Researchers Beyond Academia
  • EURAXESS Smart Talks. The EURAXESS Smart Talks podcast is your personal guide to career in research, innovation and entrepreneurship

 

 

In addition to scientific and technical training, the UOC offers its employees cross-disciplinary training that is useful for career development, so that staff can acquire essential skills, such as the following:

  • Professional conduct: intellectual property rights and copyright, through seminars on intellectual property.
  • Communication and dissemination: methods and media, through courses on scientific dissemination.
  • Research management: project planning and execution, through seminars on calls for applications and funding opportunities, the presentation of proposals, etc.
  • Courses on research, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship: for PhD students, researchers and teaching staff to support research in academic, scientific and business fields. These are short programmes, focusing on learning and developing competencies related to research work.

       - Academic Presentations. How to Give an Effective Talk.

       - Entrepreneurship for Researchers

       - Introduction to Patents and Intellectual Property

  • Library Welcome Kit – Doctorate: library services and resources that are essential for doctoral students at the UOC.
  • Knowledge base: preparing a CV, bibliographic searches (such as the courses offered by the FECYT) and writing scientific articles.

 

3.1. Resources

  • In this section we will try to help you prepare your CV and covering letter, which will be the first impression you make on thecompany/recruiter and will determine whether you get to the next stage of the selection process. Your CV must be a clear
    reflection of the conclusions you have reached about your professional goals, having considered them carefully before
    starting to send applications. In marketing terms, your CV will be like a brochure that we receive in our mailbox advertising a
    product, which in this case is yourself.
  • The UOC's Online Employment Fair, #FiraOcupacioUOC, is a chance for students, professionals and companies and
    institutions to meet and exchange experiences and knowledge. #talentUOC
  • Europass CV: standardized European model. Used with companies and other contacts. CVs are not stored on a server,
    but can be exported and imported. It also allows you to write statements of interest.
  • Standarized CV editor (CVN): Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) model. Online application that enables researchers to create a CV in standardized format (CVN) from scratch or to modify an existing CV. It is a multilingual, digital and standardized tool for producing CVs with common content and format. It allows CVs to be exported to the abbreviated (CVA) format.

 

The following links allow you to access training resources to improve interdisciplinary skills:

 

  • PIPERS Project Career Kit: a collection of learning resources dealing with entrepreneurship, intellectual property, leadership skills, research career management, professional development, self-assessment for researchers, the exploitation of research
    results and working with industry.
  • DocEnhance: courses on interdisciplinary skills.
  • Coursera: courses on personal departament

 

 

 

  • Questions and answers about becoming an entrepreneur. If you are a researcher who wants to become an entrepreneur, at the EURAXESS Startup Hub you can learn the key concepts of entrepreneurship.
  • Manual for Scientific Entrepreneurship. Access resources to learn the basics about entrepreneurship and become familiar with the five main steps for the proper recognition of research results, get practical advice on what to do and what not to do when approaching the business sector and read some recommendations.
  • Complement this information by visiting the EURAXESS Startup Hub database to access hundreds of quality resources for start-up entrepreneurs. Search and browse the categories of online tools, organizations, associations and initiatives, learning and productivity resources, online databases, research publications, blogs and podcasts.
  • Digital tools for scientific entrepreneurs. EURAXESS Startup Hub includes a series of tools to improve productivity, facilitate communication, discover trends, find the right partners and funding opportunities, and even build MVPs (minimum viable products).
  • Entrepreneurship at the UOC! If you are seriously interested in starting a new business, we will support you! Our advisers will help you prepare and offer you the tools and resources you need to define your project.
    Because we are convinced that the effort we put into the preparations will translate into confidence and success throughout the process.
  • Hubbik. Ensure success in the early stages of the development of your business. When you have gained a foothold in the market, and as you progress, we offer different levels of support with services to speed up growth and monitor the development of the business and the results achieved. These services are supported by a network of external agents who are experts in the field of entrepreneurship.

 

  • This website contains important information about the procedures you need to follow before coming to Barcelona, and information about Barcelona and Catalonia.
  • Guide to managing the mobility of foreign researchers in Spain: information on topics of special relevance for foreign researchers arriving in Spain, including the processing of residence permits, the social security and unemployment system, the recognition of academic degrees and R&D&I protection rights. The guide also includes an updated diagram of the different stages in your career in research, detailing the financial support that you can request at each stage.
  • EURAXESS service providing information and assistance for people working abroad in Europe.
  • EURAXESS Spain
    In the EURAXESS Spain portal you will find information on employment and funding opportunities and on administrative procedures affecting researchers and their families when moving to a foreign country. We also provide assistance with professional development matters.
    EURAXESS Spain is part of a European Commission initiative to help mobile researchers. The network is made up of more than 300 European service centres in 40 different countries that offer free assistance to researchers and their families on issues such as visas, recognition of qualifications, social security and any other legal or cultural question.
  • EURAXESS Catalonia
    A network to support mobility and the professional development of research staff, coordinated by AGAUR. This initiative is part of the ERA Talent Platform, the European Research Area strategy for the mobility of researchers.
    The network, with more than 50 local points of contact, provides information, advice and personalized support to research staff and students before, during and after their arrival in Catalonia. It offers support with administrative procedures for visas and residence and/or work permits and advice on practical issues related to staying or living in Catalonia, plus information on opportunities and resources for professional development and access to job offers.
  • Barcelona International Welcome Desks is a service to assist international talent who want to come to the city or have just settled there. Its purpose is to welcome people to Barcelona and help them settle in, so that they can develop their full professional and personal potential.


 

 

  • The mission of EURAXESS WORLDWIDE for Europe is to be a one-stop shop for researchers, scientists, engineers, innovators, students and ambitious entrepreneurs looking to explore and develop their careers in Europe and abroad. We want to be recognized as a networking platform and a toolbox to help strengthen the European Research Area (ERA) and its contributions to a stronger, safer, greener and more connected Europe.
  • The EURAXESS Intercultural Assistant for researchers aims to increase your awareness of the complexity of the intercultural encounters that you are likely to experience as a mobile researcher.