Twin for Hope:  University of Glasgow-NaUKMA 2023 Summer Academy on Research Communication

Dr Joanna Royle, Researcher Development Manager and Adam Gordon, PGR Summer Academy Intern in the RCRD Team

The 2023 Summer Academy for Research Communication was a two-week online intensive development programme for researchers at the University of Glasgow (UofG) and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA), as part of the  Twin for Hope response to the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Designed and delivered by the Research Culture and Researcher Development team, it contributed to the long-term strategic partnership between UofG and NaUKMA, focussed on long-term collaboration across research, learning and teaching, and mobility.

Designing the Academy

Designed in consultation with NaUKMA and aligned with UofG’s University and Research Strategies, the Summer Academy for Research Communication aimed to maintain and enhance NaUKMA’s research capabilities, and to further the frameworks of researcher development within our own institution. It set out to help researchers foster the key skills needed for seeking funded collaborations. The Academy brought together 61 Research Staff (60%) and PhDs (40%) from the two Universities for training, and to cultivate space for first contacts that could lead to cross-institutional research collaborations. Including PGRs nearing the end of their doctorate gave them the opportunity to engage alongside research staff and gain insight into research careers.

Through 30 hours of contact time plus asynchronous resources the Academy explored 3 themes: You and Your Ideas; Communicating Your Research; and Engaging Others with Your Research. There were:

• Nine bespoke workshops commissioned from research communication within and beyond UofG
• Three themed discussion panels featuring experts from NaUKMA and UofG, giving participants the chance to learn from the experiences of others and modeling cross-institutional collegiality.
• Open-access custom-built asynchronous resources: with practical exercises for developing draft text for funding applications, encouraging participants to think critically about their research and how to communicate their aims, putting into practice knowledge gained in the sessions. 
• Cross-institutional and interdisciplinary community fostered through launch and landing celebrations, a dedicated MSTeam during the Academy and an ongoing post-Academy peer-moderated LinkedIn.

Inclusive at the point of design

The Research Culture and Researcher Development Team aims to make all events inclusive by design. Some ways we did this for the academy include inviting participants to share accessibility needs at application, and designing all programme content in line with our team standards and UofG guidance. The programme had core and optional elements to allow researchers control over their time while maintaining a cohort programme ethos, and to support participants in VUCA settings all synchronous content was recorded and shared. Participants were invited to enable captioning in Zoom, and asynchronous resources were hosted on Articulate Rise, which has additional guidance. To support equality of access NaUKMA researchers were given a short affiliate UofG status to use institutional digital information and development provision such as LinkedIn Learning .

What impact did the Academy have on researchers’ communication skills?

Participants were invited to evaluate their skills before the Academy started and after it ended (average response rate 44%). We were delighted that by all measures the Academy strongly increased researchers’ confidence in their skills, based on statements of the programme learning aims.  

These statement, and the percentage increase in respondents who agreed or strongly agreed were;

• I know how to identify and engage potential collaborators, 25% (from 80% to 100%)
• I am able to pitch my ideas taking audience and outcomes into account, 425%.(from 16% to 84%)
• I know how to engage the public or patient or community groups with my research, 127% (from 44% to 100%)
• I am able to tailor my writing style for different audiences, 508% (from 12% to 73%)
• I use a diverse range of outputs to share my research, 56% (from 64% to 100%)
• I am able to identify appropriate sources of funding, 288% (from 24% to 93%)
• I use online platforms to bring visibility to my research and expertise, 111% (from 44% to 93%)
• I am able to describe my strengths and expertise, 304% (from 24% to 97%)

What did participants particularly value from the Academy?

Participants fed back how much they valued the transformational effect the fortnight had on their thinking, the acquisition of practical skills in communication and collaboration, and the high-quality instructional design and delivery underpinning the programme. NaUKMA participants also stressed the tangible international collegiality and professional solidarity of UofGlasgow. This was encouraging for the whole delivery team, and we are proud of the selected feedback quotes shared below:

Transforming thinking:

• “My participation in the UofG – NaUKMA Summer Academy has profoundly impacted my perspective and skillset, not only in research but also in my overall academic activity.”
• “The Academy has given me some time and space in which to think more deeply, and to understand and learn about different strategies and techniques that seem more tangible and realistic for me to use than I have taken from other training.”
• “My thinking around how communicating and engaging others with your research and ideas has changed dramatically, because now I can see the assumptions about my audiences that I have believed in. In future, I will approach communication differently, and more openly.”
• “Now as a result of your guidance and support, I have a precious role model for my own career development.”

Practical Skills:  

• “My goal was to come out with a better idea of how to collaborate and the Academy delivered. Lots of very good seeds and food for thought, especially around aligning values, outlining impact and benefit in a tangible way, and how to better pitch and craft stories.”
• “The sessions were very helpful and inspiring. The shift from the in-depth scientific approach to the simple and clear way of popularizing and even selling our research ideas was unexpected, but very useful for me.”
• “The key skill I’ve got is the ability to approach the topics covered during the past two weeks in a systemic and strategic manner (as opposed to “fragmented vision” I had before).”

High quality programme design:

• “The leaders of the workshops were brilliant, the panel members selected with care and tact, and the entire Summer Academy Team were friendly, engaging and so very helpful.”
• “I really liked the work in smaller groups where discussions were often very useful and inspiring effectively supplementing and enriching the main sessions.”
• “The asynchronous resources are excellent. Thank you for all of your hard work.”
• “I greatly appreciated the possibility to interact and listen to so many experts in short time, to observe their thinking, professional reflection, examples from the experiences. I became aware of my better possibilities and inspired to work more as a researcher.”

Collegiality:

• “I am amazed by the generosity and solidarity of the University of Glasgow in involving NaUKMA in the Summer Academy. It was such a delight to be in the company of world-class professionals and get a tone of knowledge and inspiration. My deepest gratitude.”
• “As a postgraduate student of NaUKMA I am really grateful for the opportunity to participate in this Summer Academy, to improve my skills, and to link with colleagues from different institutions and research areas! Thank you for the gift of community!”
• “I want to say thank you for all the work which you have done! It was stunning! For us, as Ukrainian researchers, it is really important! We feel your support and this inspires us to fight and move forward!”

Legacy

The feedback that we have received, both formally and anecdotally, gives a clear indication that the Academy added to participants’ range of skills and helped develop their confidence in using them. The sense of collegiality was vital to this achievement, and the LinkedIn Community established after the Academy provides an ongoing space for exchange, and is managed by a researcher from each institution. We hope that the Academy has made a real contribution to the ongoing collaboration between UofG and NaUKMA, and to the researchers involved.