Queen Mary has retained the HR Excellence in Research Award for its continued work in improving working conditions and advancing career development for research staff.
The HR Excellence in Research Award marks an institution’s commitment to implement the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, which is the UK proxy for the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.
The standard for retaining the HR Excellence in Research Award involved demonstrating a positive trajectory towards implementing the Concordat and fostering a good research culture that supports Research Staff which included postdoctoral researchers and fellows.
Queen Mary has created a new Concordat Implementation Group, which is headed by VP Sheila Gupta (Concordat Champion) and co-chaired by Professor Janet de Wilde (Director of the Queen Mary Academy) and Dr Anna Price (Head of Researcher Development). The Implementation Group also includes postdoc and academic staff representation from all faculties, and representation from HR.
Commenting on the Award retention, Queen Mary Academy Researcher Development Advisor and manager of the Concordat Implementation Group, Dr Rui Pies Martins said: “The Concordat sets an important standard for how institutions and funders should support early-career researchers. As a former QM postdoc, it is good to see the university getting recognised for the efforts in upholding that standard. This demonstrates Queen Mary’s commitment to providing world-class support for our researchers at every stage of their careers.”
Professor Andrew Livingston, Vice- Principal for Research and Innovation at Queen Mary said: "I am very proud to see Queen Mary retain the HR Excellence in Research Award. One of the pillars of our research excellence is providing world class support to our researchers. This award signposts that we are delivering on this commitment, and it is a tribute to the efforts of the staff we have supporting our researchers and developing a positive, inclusive research culture."
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