Academic career advice

Tips and resources to help you build a successful career in academia. From skills development during your PhD to securing tenure and preparing for a role in university leadership, all academic career steps are covered here. You will find advice on promoting your work, growing your professional reputation and developing collegiate networks to support your academic career progression - or to help you move into industry.

By Laura.Duckett , 4 September, 2026

You only get one first class of term – make it count

A professor explaining course structure to a class full of students, some of whom have their hands raised

How to create a positive first impression and transform the first class from a passive briefing to an interactive launchpad for learning

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 4 September, 2026

‘What I learned from being a university student again’

female mature-age online student working at laptop

If educators want to understand student confidence, inclusivity, belonging and engagement, they could consider returning to the classroom as a learner

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 3 September, 2026

Redefining success in academia

Advice for looking beyond the traditional academic career trajectory and forging your own path to success in higher education

Reading time

5minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 2 September, 2026

‘Success in academia needs a metric for how scholarship improves lives’

Female architect looking at plans on site

If we want universities to address society’s greatest challenges, we should ask ourselves how our work makes the world better in tangible, measurable ways. Bobby Vance explains how this question has shaped his career

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 26 August, 2026

Common challenges in academic collaboration and how to overcome them

Academics discussing a collaborative project around a table

Academic collaboration requires more than goodwill and good communication. These strategies can help collaborators navigate tensions around critique, hierarchy, incentives and AI-assisted research

Reading time

5minutes

By kiera.obrien , 25 August, 2026

How part-time lecturers can protect their professional identity

You can teach hundreds of students, design learning activities, mark assessments and support academic success – yet still feel like a visitor in your own institution. Find out how to establish a sense of belonging as a part-time visiting lecturer

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 21 August, 2026

How to apply for promotion in higher education

In seeking a more senior role in academia, you will need to communicate a strong, positive story about yourself that emphasises performance and impact as well as contribution to the institution and its reputation

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 19 August, 2026

Teaching is a verb: what sets good teachers apart

Black university teacher calling on a student in class

Reflection is what moves teaching beyond performance and towards continuous improvement, writes William Owen

By Eliza.Compton , 13 August, 2026

Why the ‘lone wolf’ principal investigator no longer works in modern academia

Teams that integrate clinical insight and academic enquiry result in better academic outputs, increased researcher well-being and a sense of community and shared ownership

Reading time

4minutes

By miranda.prynne , 11 August, 2026

Campus webinar: Lessons in academic profile building from those who know how

Hear four academics from Campus+ partner institutions in the UK, Morocco and Kazakhstan discuss how to build a reputation as an expert in your scholarly field

Academic career advice