Activity: External talk or presentation › Invited talk
Description
This presentation seeks to discuss a challenge-based approach to early career researcher (ECR) development. Drawing on the work of the ECR Network at University of Brighton and in specific the Keep Momentum Event and Podcast Series, this training approach critically reflects on how conventional skills-based development can overlook the structural and emotional challenges shaping contemporary academic careers. Instead, the challenge-based approach foregrounds shared experiences and collective responses to key challenges. Running throughout the academic year of 2025/26, The Keep Momentum Event and Podcast series was created as a space for dialogue across disciplines, career stages, and institutional boundaries by focusing on the themes of rejection, wellbeing, inspiration and collaboration. By centring lived experiences rather than deficit models of skill acquisition, the presentation offers a constructive critique of researcher development practices and proposes more inclusive, reflexive, and community-oriented ways to sustain momentum in academia.