{"id":8122,"date":"2026-01-12T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/?p=8122"},"modified":"2026-01-12T12:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:20:20","slug":"championing-research-careers-british-academy-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/championing-research-careers-british-academy-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Championing research careers: Dr Tariq Umar represents UWE Bristol at two key British Academy events"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In late 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.uwe.ac.uk\/Person\/TariqUmar\">Dr Tariq Umar<\/a>, from the School of Architecture and Environment at UWE Bristol, contributed his expertise and experience to two major British Academy programmes aimed at supporting Early Career Researchers (ECRs) across the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across both events &#8211; <em>Navigating academic culture and career progression<\/em> (Newcastle, 28 November 2025) and <em>Setbacks to success: Resilience for ECRs<\/em> (London, 1 December 2025) &#8211; Dr Umar provided candid insights on academic progression, resilience, and navigating the complex realities of contemporary academic life. His contributions reflect UWE Bristol\u2019s ongoing commitment to inclusive research culture, researcher development, and sector-wide leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. <strong>Navigating academic culture and career progression<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>British Academy and Northumbria University, Newcastle \u2013 28 November 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This full-day event brought together ECRs from diverse disciplines for a practical and collaborative exploration of academic career pathways. The programme was organised around three tailored breakout sessions\u2014<em>Postdoc to Lecturer<\/em>, <em>Lecturer to Senior Lecturer<\/em>, and <em>Building towards Professor<\/em>\u2014allowing attendees to focus on the transition most relevant to their stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Umar served as a panel member in the <strong>\u201cLecturer to Senior Lecturer\u201d<\/strong> session, where he spoke about the realities of progression at mid-career level, reflecting on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the transition from early independence to leadership and influence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>building a research portfolio that demonstrates coherence, impact and future potential<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>balancing teaching excellence with strategic research development<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>navigating institutional expectations, workload models, and progression criteria<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>developing visibility and networks within and beyond one\u2019s discipline<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He emphasised that progression is \u201ca journey built on consistency, contribution and community,\u201d noting the importance of mentoring, collaborative opportunities, and understanding the wider academic ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond career transitions, the event addressed essential themes that often shape academic wellbeing and sustainability. Parallel panel discussions explored <strong>work\u2013life balance<\/strong>, <strong>managing hierarchical relationships<\/strong>, and <strong>career change<\/strong>, areas where Dr Umar\u2019s own cross-sector experience between civil engineering industry and academia resonated strongly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A signature feature of the event was the afternoon session where successful major-grant holders opened their applications for small-group discussions. This \u2018behind-the-scenes\u2019 look at winning grants gave ECRs rare access to the craft of research funding success\u2014an area Dr Umar has contributed to as reviewer for several research councils and as an active mentor for engineers through the Institution of Civil Engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. <strong>From setbacks to success: Resilience for ECRs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>British Academy, London \u2013 1 December 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two days later, Dr Umar joined a panel at the British Academy\u2019s flagship ECR Network resilience event, <em>From Setbacks to Success<\/em>, held in London\u2019s Carlton House Terrace. The day focused on building resilience, confidence and connection within the ECR community\u2014addressing the emotional, structural, and professional challenges that shape early academic careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Umar joined fellow panellists Dr Olaya Moldes, Dr Rosemary Chigevenga and Dr Sarah Howard for an open, honest conversation about rejection, imposter feelings, precarity, and career obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drawing on his international academic and industry experience, he spoke about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>turning research and funding rejections into learning moments<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>maintaining purpose and motivation during periods of uncertainty<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>building networks that offer both professional and emotional support<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>recognising resilience not as an individual trait, but as a community practice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the importance of mentorship\u2014both receiving it and offering it to others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Panellists also engaged in an extended Q&amp;A, addressing challenges raised by attendees and sharing key pieces of advice to take forward. Dr Umar underscored the message that \u201cno researcher succeeds alone,\u201d reinforcing the collective dimension of research careers and the value of community-building across institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Showcasing UWE Bristol\u2019s commitment to researcher development<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Umar\u2019s involvement in these events demonstrates UWE Bristol\u2019s strong and growing presence in national conversations on academic development, research culture, and support for early-career scholars. Through his research leadership, mentoring roles, outreach work, and professional engagement, Dr Umar represents the University\u2019s values of inclusivity, collaboration and real-world impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His participation also highlights the increasing emphasis &#8211; both at UWE Bristol and across the sector &#8211; on supporting researchers at all stages through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>transparent progression pathways<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>accessible mentoring and peer learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>recognition of diverse career journeys<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>honest dialogue around challenges, resilience, and wellbeing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UWE Bristol&#8217;s Research and External Engagement service continues to champion these principles through its researcher development programmes, ECR initiatives, and partnerships with national bodies such as the British Academy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In late 2025, Dr Tariq Umar, from the School of Architecture and Environment at UWE Bristol, contributed his expertise and experience to two major British Academy programmes aimed at supporting Early Career Researchers (ECRs) across the UK. Across both events &#8211; Navigating academic culture and career progression (Newcastle, 28 November 2025) and Setbacks to success: &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/championing-research-careers-british-academy-events\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Championing research careers: Dr Tariq Umar represents UWE Bristol at two key British Academy events&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":8147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1385,4],"tags":[1541,1393,1536,1537,1540],"class_list":["post-8122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-engagements","category-uwe-bristol-research","tag-academic-careers","tag-british-academy","tag-early-career-researchers","tag-ecrs","tag-researcher-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8122"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8145,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122\/revisions\/8145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}