Getting involved with Eastern Arc
Eastern Arc has a range of opportunities for colleagues at our three member universities – and within our region – to engage with us and benefit from our work. The activies below are an indication of these opportunities, but we are constantly exploring new ways to support our community of scholars and stakeholders.
For instance, we are currently looking at developing a platform through which we can share our world-class facilities and equipment between our partners, as well as making them available to industry beyond, and we are working on a project to open up access more widely to our special collections.
If you have an idea for an initiative or activity that doesn’t fit within these categories, do get in touch.
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In this, the second phase of Eastern Arc, we are focussing our efforts on four areas of common strength:- Health systems, social care and wellbeing
- Human rights, equality and conflict
- Sustainability, natural resources and food
- Culture, connection and creativity.
We have appointed thematic champions to take each of these areas forward, and they will work to identify people working in these areas who would benefit from the collaboration.
They will develop networks and explore potential opportunities to apply for external funding, as well as engaging with regional and national stakeholders. If you would like to get involved in the thematic networks, get in touch with the thematic champions in your area at your university. Their details are here.
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As well as our wider work in developing thematic networks, we are developing ‘Communities of Common Interest’ across Eastern Arc.These are based around directories listing our academics working in specific areas, such as healthy ageing.
These directories enable you to identify people working in areas that may complement or inform your own research.
Alternatively, if you are seeking specific expertise that is not covered by these directories, speak to our Director, Phil Ward, who works closely with both the thematic champions, the associate and deputy deans, and the research and innovation offices across the Arc. He will work with you to identify the most appropriate person to approach about possible collaborations.
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Enabling Innovation: from Research to Application (EIRA) is a progamme funded by Research England that supports innovation in the East of England by providing businesses with access to academic expertise, including consultancy and collaborative research, specialist facilities and funding.The Eastern Arc universities are at the heart of this ground-breaking project, and they work closely with four other partner universities and colleges to offer knowledge exchange across three key areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology and digital creative. These themes support a known market need within the region.
If you want to be part of this collaboration between academia and industry, get in touch with us here.
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Eastern Arc offers us the chance to go beyond the limits of our own university and work creatively with colleagues across the consortium.As well as research collaborations, there is also an opportunity to get a different perspective, alternative insights, and supplementary skills in a wide range of areas relating to our academic life and practice.
Our new mentoring scheme will help to facilitate this. Mentoring can cover all aspects of your career. You can be either – or both – a mentor or a mentee. In standard mentoring it is usually a more senior colleague who mentors; in reverse mentoring the more junior colleague can offer specific insights and knowledge to senior mentees.
To find out more about the scheme, click here.
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With events moving fast around the world, there’s never been a more important time to get thoughtful and informed analysis of the underlying issues.Eastern Arc is home to world-leading research, and our podcast series allows academics at UEA, Essex and Kent to get beyond the headlines to give a deeper understanding of what’s going on.
The podcasts are available on our website, but also available on platforms such as iTunes and Spotify: just search for ‘Eastern Arc podcasts’.
If you have an idea for a future episode, or want to find out about others working on similar issues to you, get in touch with our Director, Phil Ward.
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Eastern Arc represents the collective regional research aspirations of the universities of East Anglia, Essex and Kent. As such, it lobbies on behalf of the three universities and other stakeholders in the East and Southeast of England, and champions the interests of all within our region.As part of this, we engage with policymakers, politicians and others as they develop strategies and policies that affect our region. We have set out our position on these, and the offer an opportunity for all those working in research, innovation and higher education to understand the issues that we face, and their impact on us. You can read these position papers here.
We will continue to monitor the external research and innovation landscape, and will set out our position on significant issues as they arise.
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The Eastern Arc universities are part of three doctoral training partnerships funded by the UK’s research councils. They are:- ARIES (funded by the Natural Environment Research Council)
- CHASE (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council)
- SenSS (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council)
As well as UEA, Essex and Kent, the DTPs include a range of other major instutions in the South and Southeast of England, including Plymouth, Royal Holloway, Birkbeck, Goldsmiths, the Courtauld Institute, Open, Soas, City, Reading, Roehampton, Sussex and Surrey.
Together we offer opportunities for studentships and post-doc fellowships in a range of areas. Click on the links above to find out which competitions for places are currently open.