Researcher Realities is an umbrella initiative that invites conversations among and across the research community about the hows of research – how researchers do what they do. Conversations can be about developing projects, applying for funding, navigating challenges, transitioning into a new role, handling rejections, building teams, having difficult conversations, supporting others, strategizing, collaborating, planning with risks, mentoring, founding a network, bouncing back from when things go wrong, launching a new academic journal and much more. We encourage these conversations in different formats and settings, including an annual virtual event, pop-up in-person events and a curated blog series. To shift the focus from outputs and outcomes to research processes supports our ambition to create and foster an open, transparent, and inclusive research environment. These conversations are envisioned to allow best-practice sharing, championing unheard and underrepresented voices, and building community. There are rich opportunities to take Researcher Realities into your local contexts and we invite you to take this umbrella initiative and make it relevant to your realities. Theme ideas could be #PostdocResearcherRealities; #PIResearcherRealities; #TechniciansResearcherRealities; #NeurodivergentResearcherRealities; #ParentingResearcherRealities. Videos Below are the video recordings from sessions at the annual events. 2025 Annual Event The many Faces of Postdoctoral Life: Identity, Transition and Growth Researchers discuss some of the transitions that take place in and out of postdoc study - understanding what it's like to move into a fledgling independent research career; or establishing your identity in the postdoctoral role, and some stories in-between in video recordings from the Researcher Realities launch event in March 2025. In Conversation with Prof. Sue Fletcher-Watson: Managing Career and Work-Life Balance Work-life balance is a common topic of conversation within Higher Education. We all have different ways of doing it, and many of our colleagues seek advice for improving theirs. In this session from the Research Realities event in March 2025, Professor Sue Fletcher-Watson talks about managing career and, in particular, how to have an effective management of work-life balance Navigating the Arc of the Academic Research Career Researchers uncover the realities of academic research careers sharing how they’ve navigated the arc, what choices they’ve made, and how they have progressed from the Research Realities event in March 2025 2024 Annual Event Reconciling research funding and the real world Researchers offer perspectives on the impact of different life events on the course of their research and offer reflections on how they maintained projects through challenging times or restored their passion for research after the dust had settled. Video recordings are from the 2024 Researcher Realities event. 2023 Annual Event Researcher Career Journeys Researchers share their career journeys, opportunities and challenges, including experiences of precarity in video recordings from the Researcher Realities launch event in May 2023. Journeys to Funding Researchers share their funding experiences and offer top tips for securing fellowships or grants in video recordings from the Researcher Realities launch event in May 2023. Interdisciplinary Collaborations Researchers share how they got interdisciplinary collaborations off the ground in video recordings from the Researcher Realities launch event in May 2023. Notes from the Principal Investigator Researchers share their best practices and challenges, as well as the rewards of being a Principal Investigator in video recordings from the Researcher Realities launch event in May 2023. Further Information About Researcher Realities This article was published on 2023-11-08
