Support for Early Career Researchers
ECR Advisors
The department has two Advisors for Early Career Researchers – Professors Xenia de la Ossa and Coralia Cartis. They will be in touch with you directly ahead of your arrival, to introduce themselves and to set a Career Development Review meeting in motion. You can find out more about Career Development Reviews and other training available on our Professional Development pages.
ECR Welcome Event
In a big university like Oxford, it’s not always easy to find out about the opportunities open to you and how to make the most of your time here. The central People & Organisational Development team run a Welcome Event for Researchers; this event will give you an overview of what is available to you in terms of career and personal development and the chance to meet other researchers who, like you, are new to Oxford.
Oxford Research Staff Society (OxRSS)
OxRSS aims to provide a single body to foster the exchange of ideas amongst peers across the University, and to represent them within the University and beyond. A collective voice for researchers at the University of Oxford, they organise social and professional networking activities across departments and divisions.
MPLS Training Team
The Mathematical Institute is a part of the Mathematical, Physical, Life Sciences Division (MPLS), which has its own team to support research staff development, more details can be found here. Their provision is wide ranging; teaching, scientific writing, making presentations, engaging the public with your research, research integrity, and personal development, as well as a programme of events and courses on entrepreneurship, innovation and intellectual property.
Teaching in the Department
There are several opportunities for ECRs to become involved in teaching in the department and they are encouraged to do so. You may have a contract which requires you to offer a certain amount of departmental teaching each academic year (referred to as your "stint"), or you may undertake teaching on top of your contractual duties for additional pay (''without stint'' as is most common for PDRAs). The main forms of teaching in which postdocs are regularly involved are intercollegiate classes, project supervision and summer research projects.
ECR Teaching Opportunities - With Stint.pdf
ECR Teaching Opportunities - Without Stint.pdf
Fridays@4
At 4pm on Friday afternoons in term time, the department runs a varied programme of sessions aimed in particular at graduate students and postdocs (though all in the department are always welcome). This is followed by Happy Hour (or equivalent) in the Common Room at 5pm. Typically twice a term there are regular departmental colloquia, and in addition around twice a term there are 'North meets South colloquia' when a postdoc from the AWB's north wing (which, very roughly speaking, houses pure mathematicians) and a postdoc from the south wing (home of applied mathematics) each give a short colloquium-style talk about their research area. The remaining sessions are quite varied, but include career advice and personal development as well as training aimed directly at mathematicians on writing and presentation skills, teaching and public engagement.
Committees in the Department
The department has a number of committees; you can find their standing orders (description of what they are meant to do, how often they meet and so on) and membership on the website under 'governance' (PROVIDED that you are logged in as a member of the department):
https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/governance/committees/standing-orders-and-memberships.
These include the Early Career Researchers (ECR) Committee which has been meeting since the academic year 2016-17. The ECR Committee meets informally once a term, and includes the ECR representatives on other committees, as well as the organisers of the North meets South Colloquia. It is co-chaired by an ECR and one of the department's Advisors for ECRs.