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Researcher career development and postgraduate research students

The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers

The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers was published in 2008, setting out the expectations and responsibilities of researchers, their managers, employers and funders. It aims to increase the attractiveness and sustainability of research careers in the UK and to improve the quantity, quality and impact of research for the benefit of UK society and the economy. SFC is a signatory of the Concordat.

A copy of the Concordat can be found at: http://www.researchconcordat.ac.uk/

Scottish Research Career Coordination Forum

The Forum met for the first time in May 2009. The aim is to bring key players from the Scottish Universities, Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council together to identify ways in which these bodies could work together in implementing the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers Scotland wide and support the career development of researchers within Scotland.

Postgraduate research student experience

SFC, QAA Scotland, Vitae and the Higher Education Academy ran a series of events in 2009 and 2010 designed to identify and explore the issues affecting the postgraduate researcher (PGR) experience in Scottish HEIs. The partners, together with the Scottish Research Career Coordination Forum, are continuing to explore the challenges, opportunities and good practice in responding to these issues, as well as implementing appropriate measures to improve the PGR experience.

Postgraduate Research Student Numbers

In order to explore the numbers of postgraduate research students in Scotland and UK higher education, SFC commissioned an analysis by Targeting Innovation which has now been completed.

This analysis of RAE and HESA data indicates that Scottish institutions have, on average, lower postgraduate student numbers than the UK, with variations across disciplines. Scotland is, however, broadly comparable with the UK when the significant effect of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge is disregarded.

The detailed data and analysis will be of interest to many and is available below with the final report published on 28 January 2010. Through survey work the study also examined the principal factors influencing research student choice of university. The report indicates that key factors include availability of funding and reputation of institution. The survey data is also available here for those who wish to explore it further

Full report

Number of Postgraduate Research Students in Scotland [PDF]

Appendices