Vitae for postgraduate development

摘要

Postgraduate scientists in Britain have a new national programme devoted to personal and career development. Vitae - the latest incarnation of the UK GRAD Programme - will caterto both postgraduate students and postdocs (often called 'research staff in Britain), whose needs, notably job security, often get overlooked by government and institutions. With 4,500 members, Vitae wants to become academia's national policy instrument for research career development, and to get employers and postgrads talking constructively. It recently released an updated concordat, with seven principles spelling out expectations and responsibilities. These include employers recognizing the need to retain and value good researchers, and researchers sharing the responsibility and taking up lifelong-learning opportunities.