The nature of contributions you make to projects and your department will evolve over time. However, it is rare that we stop to reflect on how we have developed, what we have learned from experiences and opportunities and how we have built on that learning.
The European Competence Framework for researchers defines the skills and behaviours of effective researchers for today’s evolving research landscape. Use this to reflect on how the types of contributions you are making evolve as you progress through your career. For example, you might have moved from ensuring good ethical practices in your own work, to drawing up guidance for collaborations, then to delivering training or contributing to policy or decision making around ethics at Faculty or Institutional level.
“Career paths are not linear, especially for people working across disciplines, countries, and life stages. Pauses, detours, and hybrid roles are not failures; they are often where the most meaningful insight and growth happen.”
Martina Egedusevic, Impact Fellow, University of Exeter. Read more from Martina.
What will you take forward?
How has the nature of your contribution shifted over the last few years? What does that suggest about what you should prioritise next (and therefore what to deprioritise)?
Related Resouces
See all Established Researcher resources
Connect to your strengths, meaning and purpose: not systems and metrics
Reconnect with what energises you at work, using strengths-based reflection grounded in academic realities.
Why and how to move into a senior leadership role in HE
Explore senior leadership pathways through real stories, not abstract models or job descriptions.
Stepping into senior leadership and learning to think more deliberately about the balance between institutional responsibility and personal research.
From over-extension to intentional focus: redefining progression while balancing leadership, maternity leave, and long-term impact.
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