UK universities win unprecedented number of HR Excellence in Research awards

Research Councils UK (RCUK) congratulates the ten UK universities that have been awarded ‘Human Resource Excellence in Research’ badges by the European Commission (EC). The UK institutions join just twelve other European universities to be awarded the same honour, making the UK achievement even more pronounced. The ten UK universities to win a HR Excellence in Research badge are Aston, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Heriot-Watt, Newcastle, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Reading, Salford and York.

To be eligible for an EC badge, UK universities must be part of a process which acknowledges their alignment to the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for their recruitment. In the UK this process incorporates both the ‘QAA Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes’ and the ‘Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers’. It also includes ongoing national evaluation and benchmarking.

RCUK are signatories to the Concordat and implementing the Concordat is central to the objectives of the Research Councils because of the contribution trained researchers make to the academic sector and the wider economy.

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Further information

Contact:
Rosie Beales
RCUK Research Careers and Diversity
Tel: 01793 444159

Notes for editors

1. The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers can be found here

2. A UK-wide process enables UK HEIs to gain the European Commission’s ‘HR excellence in research’ badge, which acknowledges their alignment with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for their Recruitment. The UK process incorporates both the QAA Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers to enable institutions that have published Concordat implementation plans to gain the ‘HR excellence in research’ badge. The UK approach includes ongoing national evaluation and benchmarking.

3. Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research Councils. We invest annually around £3 billion in research. Our focus is on excellence with impact. We nurture the highest quality research, as judged by international peer review providing the UK with a competitive advantage. Global research requires we sustain a diversity of funding approaches, fostering international collaborations, and providing access to the best facilities and infrastructure, and locating skilled researchers in stimulating environments. Our research achieves impact – the demonstrable contribution to society and the economy made by knowledge and skilled people. To deliver impact, researchers and businesses need to engage and collaborate with the public, business, government and charitable organisations. www.rcuk.ac.uk

   The seven UK Research Councils are:

   • Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC);
   • Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC);
   • Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC);
   • Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC);
   • Medical Research Council (MRC);
   • Natural Environment Research Council (NERC);
   • Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC).