Free online professional development festival launches this autumn
Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) is among the founding partners behind a brand-new national initiative supporting researchers, research support staff and research leaders across the UK.
Running from 28 September to 16 October 2026, the National 10 Development Days Festival for Research Staff 2026 has been created by King’s College London in partnership with 14 UK higher education institutions. ENU encourages members of its research community to take part and invest in your professional and career development.
The free online festival celebrates the 10 professional development days available to research staff through the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers. It brings together experts, researchers and sector leaders from across the UK, giving participants the opportunity to connect, learn and develop.
Why take part?
Whether you’re an early-career researcher, an experienced research staff member, a principal investigator, or a manager of researchers, the festival offers something for everyone.
Across three weeks of expert-led sessions, participants will have the opportunity to:
- Learn more about their 10 Development Days entitlement and how to make the most of development opportunities available to them
- Connect with researchers, professional staff and sector leaders from institutions across the UK
- Build skills, confidence and resilience to support career progression
- Explore practical approaches to goal-setting and career planning
- Create a personalised development plan to support future success
Taking time for professional development can help you build new skills, expand your networks and explore future career options. The festival offers practical advice and fresh perspectives from colleagues and experts across the UK.
For principal investigators and managers, the programme also offers valuable opportunities to better understand researcher development, support career progression within teams and help create positive research cultures.
A national collaboration
The festival offers a unique opportunity to connect with colleagues from universities across the UK. By bringing together researchers, research support professionals and research leaders, it creates space to share ideas, learn from different experiences and build new professional networks.
For Edinburgh Napier colleagues, the programme provides access to a wide range of expertise and perspectives from across the sector, helping participants identify new approaches, develop their skills and support their future career ambitions.
How to get involved
The festival is open to all research staff, principal investigators and managers of research staff across the UK.
With sessions running across three weeks, colleagues are encouraged to browse the programme early and select events that match their interests and development goals.
Don’t miss the chance to take part in this exciting new national initiative, broaden your networks, develop new skills and make the most of your professional development entitlement.
Browse the programme and book individual sessions via the King’s College London Festival webpage. King’s College London website >