Two University of Aberdeen academics have been accepted on to one of the UK's flagship leadership and development programmes for researchers.
Dr Hannah Burrrows and Dr Silvia Gratz will participate in Scottish Crucible, which brings together talented early-career researchers from across Scotland for a series of intensive two-day ‘labs’ during which they can explore and expand their creative capacity and problem-solving potential in ways they may never have considered before.
The Scottish Crucible was developed by NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) and is supported by the Scottish Funding Council. The scheme has been running since 2009 and is designed to help researchers achieve their full career potential and maximise their contributions to pushing the boundaries of knowledge.
More than 100 researchers across Scotland applied from a variety of subject areas with 30 being successful. Aberdeen has again achieved representation amongst a highly competitive field.
Activities on the Crucible programmes are designed to expand creative capacity, encourage networking, enhance problem-solving and enrich societal and economic impact of research.
The first session took place in the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Scottish Parliament with Dr Burrows (School of Divinity, History and Philosophy) and Dr Gratz (School of Medical Sciences, Medicine and Nutrition) attending as the Aberdeen representatives. Among other opportunities, researchers met with a panel of top science journalists who shared their experience of making research appeal to a mass audience.
Dr Burrows said: “I'm thrilled to be part of Scottish Crucible 2017. For a researcher in the humanities, this is a unique opportunity to talk about research with natural scientists and engineers, and there is a huge degree of openness and mutual respect. I've already begun to discover connections and potential collaborations, and have scaled up my thinking by an order of magnitude with respect to collaborative projects and research impact."
Dr Gratz added: “The first lab has been an inspiration. Interacting with exceptional speakers and networking with fellow cruciblists has been hugely motivating, and I am really looking forward to the next two sessions."
Professor Margaret Ross, Vice Principal for People said: “We are delighted to again have successful participants at this year’s Scottish Crucible, which reflects not only the outstanding calibre of the applicants but also the mentoring and support from the Centre for Academic Development and previous Crucible participants."
For more information visit http://scottishcrucible.org.uk/