Research staff and postdocs
The Research Culture & Researcher Development team work with both internal and external facilitators to provide a comprehensive programme of training and support available for research staff and postdocs. Browse our wide range of training via our Skills Programme or by our five key Professional Development Themes below. All training sessions are booked via the University's Learning Management System (LMS) (you will need your York username and password to sign in), where you can also browse our upcoming workshops.
York Researcher Development Programme 2025-26 (PDF 
, 2,736kb)
Key professional development themes
Academic Writing
Effective, Responsible & Impactful Research
- An Introduction to Using Generative AI Tools for Researchers
- Briefly About - Research Project Management
- Copyright and Licensing for Research: the Basics
- Introduction to Intellectual Property and Research Commercialisation
- Managing Sensitive Research Data: Key Principles
- Open Research Practices and Principles: the Basics
- Policy Masterclass
- Rekindling your Research: Finding Focus and Direction as an Established Researcher
- Responsible Research & Ethics
- Storytelling for Policy Training
- Trusted Research and Due Diligence
Online Resources
Employability and Career Development
Managing Your Data
- Archiving your Research Data
- Beginners Guide to Quantitative Data Analysis
- Choosing the Right Statistical Software for you
- Data Management Plans: Getting Started
- EndNote
- Getting Started with RStudio
- Getting Started with SPSS
- Getting Started with STATA
- Introduction to NVivo
- Research Data Management: the Basics
- Using Generative AI with Research Data: Case Studies
Presenting & Communicating Your Research
- Academic Posters - Designing Posters in PowerPoint
- Communicating Research on Social Media: What, How, and Where
- Communicating your Research Using Generative AI
- Designing Presentations in PowerPoint and Google Slides
- Engaging the Public with your Research
- Presenting Data Clearly and Effectively
Online Resources
Public Engagement Opportunities
Research Impact & Knowledge Exchange
Valuing Voices
Valuing Voices Principles for Equitable and Responsible Research:
Wellbeing
- Building Resilience & Balance
- Exploring Imposterness, Confidence and Self-Belief
- Stress Management for Researchers (coming soon)
- Wellbeing for Researchers with Introduction to Bookbinding
Online Resources
York Fellowship Launchpad
Launchpad sessions will return from Semester 2, new dates will be added in due course
- NAVIGATE: Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships
- EXPLORE: Research Funding (and Why it Matters to You!)
- EXPLORE: What is an Early Career Fellowship?
- EXPLORE: Choosing the Right Scheme for Your Research
- EXPLORE: Finding a Fellowship Mentor
- EXPLORE: Developing a Fellowship Application: Step by Step
- NAVIGATE: UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships
- EXPLORE: Identifying your Professional Development Needs in Fellowship Proposals
- EXPLORE: Writing a Lay Summary Within a Fellowship Application
- EXPLORE: Getting Started with Your Narrative CV
- EXPLORE: Planning for Impact in Fellowship Applications
Online Resources
Internal Resources
- eResources Guide
- Interactive Guide to Creating Your Lab Handbook
- Planning your Professional Development
- Practical Guides
- Research Coding Club
- Research Culture & Researcher Development Resources
- Skills Guides
- Subject Guides
- The Anti-Racist Research Toolkit
- The Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) Planner
External Resources
- Narrative CVs (kindly provided by University of Sheffield)
- White Rose University Consortium
Early Career Researchers at York are entitled to participate in a minimum of ten days (pro rata per year) professional development. Our ‘Looking Beyond Horizons’ resources have been developed to help early career researchers to make informed choices about their professional development and career needs. View the Looking Beyond Horizons’ resources
Dates for your diary
Celebrating Spaces - 2026 date TBC
Research Staff Liaison Officers (RSLOs)
RSLOs provide a link between research staff (postdocs, researchers, fellows) and the central support teams. The Officers work with researchers across Faculties and with early career/postdoc associations, to ensure that their needs are represented at the at the University Research Culture Working Group and within the University's Concordat Action Plan.
Learn more about Research Staff Representation
Support for Research Fellows
We run an annual Preparing for Fellowship Success programme to support Fellowship applicants. The programme provides the space, time and support for exceptional early career researchers to develop a Fellowship application. It is aimed at internal and external high calibre postdocs and early career researchers who intend to submit a Fellowship application within 9-12 months. Find out more about our Support for Fellows at the University of York.
British Academy Early Career Researcher Network
Open to all SHAPE Early Career Researchers from social sciences and arts & humanities disciplines, the BA ECRN has launched a new Yorkshire and Humber cluster, offering fantastic opportunities for humanities and social sciences researchers in the region.
The cluster is led by the University of York on behalf of the White Rose University Consortium (which includes the University of Leeds and The University of Sheffield), and York St. John University.
The network is designed to provide tailored support to meet the professional and research needs of early career researchers in SHAPE disciplines, and is open to those who have completed their PhD qualification or have equivalent research experience in the SHAPE disciplines - see the BA website for full eligibility criteria.
Members will benefit from mentoring schemes, training, networking events, grant-writing retreats, academic book publishing conferences, travel grants to attend network events and conferences, and seed funding opportunities. Sign up to be an ECRN member to access the Network’s opportunities & resources.
Celebrating National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2025
As part of NPAW 2025, we invited Staff and Students from the University of York to nominate a postdoc or member of Research Staff who excels in what they do, who goes the extra mile, who contributes to the university, who supports their colleagues and Students, or for any other reason they might deserve the recognition! See the nominations below:
Resources for Researchers
Need help finding funding, writing a grant application, or want to become more involved in public engagement? A wide range of Resources for Researchers are available.