Skip to content
Sign in
Artwork for Research Talk
Education

Research Talk

Jisc

Podcast by Jisc

Play
Open in
  • 20 episodes
  • Avg 41 min
  • English

Episodes 20

NewestOldestLongest
All20Unplayed20In progress0Played0
  • Sep 4, 2025 · 35 min

    Collaborating for a sustainable future in research management

    In this episode, Kathryn Smith speaks with Sue Starbuck (Royal Holloway University of London) and Sophie Collet (University of Bristol) about how universities can collaborate to achieve efficiencies, strengthen processes, and tackle shared sector challenges. The conversation draws on themes from the Collaboration for a Sustainable Future report and recent discussions at the ARMA Conference, covering both the potential of joint working and the practical barriers that need to be overcome. Key discussion points include: How system complexity and inconsistent external requirements affect collaboration The role of alliances, associations, and shared templates in creating efficiencies Avoiding unnecessary duplication and making better use of shared resources The importance of trust, governance, and clear value propositions for collaborative projects How funding and central support can enable long-term change Show notes Views shared by research talk guests do not necessarily represent the views of Jisc ARMA: ARMA – UK's professional association for research managers and administrators Brunswick templates: Brunswick Templates – ARMA SETsquared partnership: https://www.setsquared.co.uk SETsquared IMPACT-IP Programme: IMPACT-IP Programme - SETsquared GW4 alliance: Welcome to GW4 - GW4 Subscribe to our Headlines newsletter, which has all the latest news, guidance and events tailored to you Find out more about the Collaboration for a Sustainable Future report.

  • Jun 9, 2025 · 36 min

    A Rights Retention journey with Leeds Beckett University; what happens after a policy is published?

    In this episode, Liesl Rowe, Ellie Clement and Peter Findlay talk about rights retention policies, focusing on what needs consideration when a policy has already been published by an institution. They also explore the vital importance of institutions working together to develop the policy landscape, rights retention and the research excellence framework (REF) and the fact that senior leadership support is essential to getting a policy to work. Key discussion points include: · Institutional drivers for ensuring clarity about creator ownership · Pushback from publishers · Monitoring & reviewing of repositories and workflows · Resistance to the new policy from authors and working with authors to implement the policy · The longer-term impacts of the policy at the university and in the wider sector in terms of open research practices. Show notes · Views shared by research talk guests do not necessarily represent the views of Jisc · Find out more about developing and managing institutional rights retention policies · Subscribe to our Headlines newsletter, which has all the latest news, guidance and events tailored to you

  • Feb 12, 2025 · 36 min

    Exploring Areas of Research Interest: Connecting Academia and Policy

    In this episode of Research Talk, host Tim Fellows, product manager for the UKRI funded Octopus open research publishing platform, is joined by James Canton, deputy director of public policy and engagement at the economic and social research council (ESRC), and Nicola Buckley, chair of the universities policy engagement network (UPEN) sub-committee and Associate director of the policy fellowships programme at the university of Cambridge. Together, they explore the UK government's areas of research interest (ARI) database and its collaboration with Octopus.ac and the Government Office for Science to facilitate the sharing of research priorities. James and Nicola provide insights into the evolution of ARIs as a tool for bridging policymakers and researchers, emphasising their role in shaping impactful, evidence-based policies. They discuss the challenges and opportunities in making research accessible to policymakers, as well as the significance of open research practices in strengthening research-policy engagement. Key discussion points include: · The origin and purpose of ARIs in informing public policy. · How Octopus integrates ARIs to foster researcher engagement with government priorities. · The importance of open research and accessibility in policy-making. · The evolving role of UKRI in supporting research-policy collaborations. · The future of research engagement in the policy landscape. Join us for an insightful conversation on how open research and innovative platforms like Octopus are reshaping the way research informs policy and drives societal impact. Show notes · Views shared by research talk guests do not necessarily represent the views of Jisc · Subscribe to our Headlines newsletter, which has all the latest news, guidance and events tailored to you · Find out more about Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) · Learn more about the Octopus open research publishing platform · Discover UKRI's strategic themes · Learn about the 44 policy fellows working in government and the What Works Network

  • Sep 30, 2024 · 46 min

    Navigating academia: Conversations with an early career researcher and career researcher

    In this episode of Research Talk, Emily Wild is joined by Dr. Amelia Morris and Professor Marcus Munafo to discuss the hurdles and opportunities in sharing research openly at different stages of an academic career. Amelia Morris reflects on the barriers facing early career researchers, such as the high costs of academic publishing and job insecurity, while Marcus shares how open research practices are reshaping academia and supporting emerging scholars. In this thought-provoking episode of Research Talk, the guests also discuss the systemic issues facing academia, such as marketisation and the pressures of a publish-or-perish culture. Their discussion emphasises the need to better support early career researchers to ensure the future of open research. Together, they uncover solutions that empower early career researchers in navigating the evolving academic landscape. Don't miss this opportunity to be inspired and rethink the future of research! Show notes · Views shared by research talk guests do not necessarily represent the views of Jisc · Find out more about Dr Amelia Morris and her work here · Read up on Professor Marcus Munafo and his work here · Subscribe to our Headlines newsletter, which has all the latest news, guidance and events tailored to you · If you want to come on the show, or have any questions, you can get in touch with us by emailing podcast@jisc.ac.uk

  • Aug 20, 2024 · 41 min

    REF reflections: its legacy, current impact, and future directions

    In this episode of Research Talk, Liz Bal leads a discussion on the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF), exploring its evolution, current practices, and future directions. Steven Hill discusses the strategic needs and priorities of REF 2029, highlighting shifts towards emphasising research culture and open practices. Rachel Bruce elaborates on the impact of UKRI's open access policy and the broader implications for open research. Dr. Alex Freeman provides insights from a researcher's perspective, emphasising the need for a more comprehensive approach to open research beyond just open access. The conversation delves into the challenges and opportunities presented by REF, including the proposed changes to the assessment of research culture and the broader implications for the research community. Topics Covered: · Strategic priorities of REF 2029 · The role of open access and open research in the REF · The evolution of research assessment practices · The impact of REF on research culture in the UK · The balance between cost and benefits of REF Show notes · Views shared by research talk guests do not necessarily represent the views of Jisc · Read more about Ref 2029 · Discover Octopus, the new publishing platform for scholarly research · Subscribe to our Headlines newsletter, which has all the latest news, guidance and events tailored to you

  • Jul 17, 2024 · 43 min

    Research Talk: Open access monographs

    In this episode, we dive into the transformative world of open access monographs with Anna Hughes, Dr Joe Deville and Lucy Barnes. Our guests Dr. Joe Deville, Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University, and Lucy Barnes, Senior Editor and Outreach Coordinator at Open Book Publishers bring a wealth of experience in open access publishing, from managing community-led initiatives to driving policy development in Europe. They share insights on the COPIM project, which develops community-governed infrastructures for open access book publishing, and address misconceptions about open access, such as the feasibility of physical book sales and the inclusion of images. Their discussion highlights the critical role of collaboration among academics, publishers, and librarians in reshaping the future of scholarly publishing.

  • May 13, 2024 · 52 min

    Research Talk: Octopus and the research culture landscape

    Exploring the findings from the University of Bristol's research culture report, Dr Pen-Yuan Hsing's work on research culture, and identifying markers for change. Join our host, Emily Wild as she interviews this episode's guest Dr Pen-Yuan Hsing, a senior research associate at the University of Bristol. Pen's research is in open source, open research, and citizen science, with previous work in ecology and biodiversity conservation. In this episode, Emily speaks with Pen about his work on open research, and the potential for change moving forwards. Pen shares insights from a recent research culture report commissioned by Octopus.ac, discussing motivations for open research and barriers preventing researchers from sharing more. They delve into findings from interviews and surveys, highlighting the challenges of time constraints and fear of "scooping" among researchers. Pen suggests possible solutions, such as evidence-based assessment procedures and expanding open peer review processes, emphasising the importance of making research assessment more transparent and inclusive across disciplines.

  • Mar 8, 2024 · 38 min

    Research Talk: A review of transitional agreements in the UK - Chris Banks and Stephen Curry

    Anna Vernon hosts an exploration of the recently launched review of transitional agreements with community experts Chris Banks and Professor Stephen Curry. In this episode, our guests discuss the review of transitional open access agreements. They focus on reactions to the review, what the review means for the research sector, and the feasibility of achieving a more open research culture. All views from the speakers are their own personal views and do not reflect the views of Jisc.

  • Feb 1, 2024 · 50 min

    Research talk: Research assessment, the Hidden REF, and Octopus - Alex Freeman and Simon Hettrick

    Emily Wild hosts a discussion on research culture and assessment with Alex Freeman, creator of Octopus, and Simon Hettrick, chair of the Hidden REF. In this episode, our guests discuss the need for change in research assessment and how this can be achieved. Delving into the limitations of traditional methods, the conversation introduces the innovative Hidden REF initiative, championing a shift towards broader recognition of diverse contributions to research beyond the confines of conventional academic outputs. Join the guests as they navigate the complexities of the current research assessment landscape and offer a glimpse into the promising future envisioned by the Hidden REF campaign. Alex explores the Octopus platform and its role in reshaping research sharing and assessment. The conversation delves into the difficulties of assessing nontraditional outputs and the concerns raised by researchers about the peer review process for such outputs. The hosts reflect on the potential for iterative changes leading to a better research assessment landscape, with a focus on the REF 2029 submission cycle.

  • Nov 13, 2023 · 41 min

    Research talk: humans and machines - Ruth Ahnert

    We've reached the final episode of our "Is AI for me?" miniseries, in which Ruth Ahnert joins guest host Peter Findlay to discuss the relationship between humans and machines. In the final instalment of our miniseries "Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities", we're joined by Ruth Ahnert, professor of literary history and digital humanities at Queen Mary, University of London. A Turing Fellow and co-author of Collaborative Historical Research in the Age of Big Data, Ruth's academic career started as an "analogue" humanities scholar. Since then, she has collaborated with data scientists, and her work has increasingly engaged with computational methods. In this episode, Ruth and Peter explore the relationship between humans and machines, how the latter can aid critical thinking and how source evaluation of data can help us understand the outcomes of AI processes. They go on to talk about 'Living with Machines', a five-year research project conducted by the Alan Turing Institute, delving into some of the findings that show humanist approaches are influencing how scientists tackle complex problems. Ruth talks about large-scale data and the shift towards its use in the humanities. They close this final episode, touching on the transferable skills for the workplace that humanities students develop by mastering digital methods and a critical grasp of cutting-edge technologies.

  • Oct 16, 2023 · 52 min

    Research talk: librarians, researchers, and collections in the age of AI - Huw Jones

    In the penultimate episode of our "Is AI for me?" miniseries, guest host Peter Findlay is joined by Huw Jones to discuss the age of artificial intelligence. We've almost reached the end of our miniseries, "Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities", with the fifth instalment as Huw Jones, head of the digital library unit and digital humanities coordinator at the University of Cambridge, joins us to discuss librarians, researchers and collections in the age of artificial intelligence. Huw's role has evolved beyond the library, being both the creator and the facilitator of digital content creation. In this episode, Huw and Peter discuss the different ways to provide digital collections, and they explore how AI might impact collection research and what it might mean for librarians to be confronted by an entire collection generated by AI. Together, they consider how digital methods allow librarians to learn new things about their collections and the value of seeing what is revealed through processes and techniques for engaging with collections.

  • Sep 14, 2023 · 53 min

    Research talk: enriching research with computational methods - Leif Isaksen

    Our 'Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities' miniseries returns with part four with guest Leif Isaksen and guest host, Peter Findlay. Our miniseries returns after its summer break with part four, and we're handing over to a new guest host, Peter Findlay, our subject matter expert for digital scholarship. In this episode, Peter is joined by professor of digital humanities at the University of Exeter, Leif Isaksen. From his undergraduate degree in Philosophy at King's College, Cambridge, Leif has gone on to work in Southampton's archaeology department and Lancaster University's history department. Now at the University of Exeter and as a fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, Leif's interests are in spatial and temporal representation in the humanities - both in the ancient world and the modern one - and the paradigm of Linked Open Data to relate online resources about the past. In this episode, Leif and Peter discuss the impact of digital approaches on historical map research, the emergence of new tools for large multidimensional map datasets and the development of map research at scale. They consider the impact of AI technologies, such as neural networks, and how they affect notions of truth and the role of humans in the research process. Together, they explore interdisciplinary working, how we can evolve a baseline set of capabilities for digital working, and the positive application of AI to learning, teaching and research.

  • Aug 9, 2023 · 57 min

    Research talk: positively disrupting publishing with Octopus - Dr Alex Freeman

    Tim Fellows is joined by Dr Alex Freeman, founder of Octopus.ac, to discuss the platform and its future developments. Together, they explore how Octopus could align with researcher incentives and positively impact research culture. Dr Alex Freeman, executive director at Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication and founder of Octopus.ac, started her career at the BBC. Alex's work not only involved the development and making of television series, but also working with associated content to bring science to the widest possible audience. Her work at the Winton Centre focuses on helping professionals communicate numbers and uncertainty better. Being an advocate of Open Research practices and reform of the science publishing system led her to founding Octopus, a platform designed to provide a new 'primary research record' for recording and appraising research 'as it happens'. In this episode, we examine how Octopus.ac can resolve the current constraints in research publishing and share what we are up to at the moment, from outreach to platform developments. We consider the benefits of discovering research in Octopus, breaking down research into smaller publications and publishing open peer reviews. We also raise the topic of impact factors, the limitations and the alternative metrics that might support quality research.

  • Jul 1, 2023 · 37 min

    Research talk: messy humanities data - Jane Winters

    Paola Marchionni brings the third instalment of, 'Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities' mini-series In part three of our miniseries, Paola Marchionni is joined by Jane Winters, professor of digital humanities and director of the digital humanities research hub at the school of advanced study, University of London. Starting out working with thirteenth-century materials, Jane is a trained historian. Working out of the school of advanced study, an institution funded to promote and facilitate humanities research across the UK, an important strand of her work is related to digital research and scholarship and supporting others to engage with new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). In this episode, Paola and Jane discussed how data is becoming a primary source for historians working with digital collection and how this data is often complex and messy. They talked about some of the more useful AI tools for analysing historical data sets and the growing importance of transparency, ethics and individual responsibility when making choices about data. They look at the opportunities for the co-production of historical knowledge when marrying together human expertise and AI while concluding it is not a fix-all.

  • Jun 5, 2023 · 50 min

    Research talk: skills for artificial intelligence - James Baker

    Paola Marchionni brings the second instalment of, 'Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities' mini-series In this episode, James Baker, Director of Digital Humanities at the University of Southampton, joins Paola to discuss the skills for artificial intelligence. A historian by training, James works at the intersection of history, cultural heritage, and digital technologies. His interests lay in the history of collecting and describing collections and how curators describe historical collections. Increasingly, James is becoming about infrastructure and how to use it to meet the needs of intellectual agendas. In this episode, Paola and James discussed the need to demystify the digital, the latest and shiniest things, and instead ground it within the continuity of research practice. They talk about the importance of equipping humanities researchers with the right skills to engage with artificial intelligence and how to help students navigate this ever-changing landscape. They also examine the role of the open access publishing platform Programming Historian plays in supporting the development of computational skills.

  • May 1, 2023 · 44 min

    Research talk: the highs and lows of artificial intelligence - Melissa Terras

    Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities – the highs and lows of artificial intelligence Host Helen Clare hands over to Paola Marchionni to bring you, 'Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities' mini-series Research talk resumes with Paola Marchionni, head of engagement, content and discovery, at Jisc. Over the next six episodes, she and her colleague Peter Findley will take over Research talk to bring you 'Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities'. This mini-series will explore what it means to engage with artificial intelligence in the context of the humanities. They'll bring together research and informational professionals who will share their views, experiences and work to help us understand AI's place in today's humanities scholarship. In this episode, Paola is joined by Melissa Terras, Professor of Digital Cultural Heritage at the University of Edinburgh. Melissa has been working at the computational sciences and humanities juncture for over 20 years. Her interests lie in how the tools and techniques from applied computing and engineering can be brought over to humanities subjects, the study of the past, and what the humanities can offer the computational sciences.

  • Sep 6, 2022 · 30 min

    Research talk: digital research infrastructure - Jeremy Frey

    During this episode of the Research talk, Helen Clare was joined by professor of physical chemistry and head of computational systems chemistry at the University of Southampton, Jeremy Frey. As well as his conducting his own experimental research he is; investigating how e-Science infrastructure helps make an intelligent laboratory; an enthusiastic supporter of interdisciplinary research, the PI of the EPSRC Network+ on artificial intelligence and automated scientific discovery. Together they discuss digital research infrastructure, how the current systems and tools need to change to better support research and the opportunities that could be realised with these advancements.

  • May 30, 2022 · 30 min

    Research talk: research environments of the future - Tony Hey

    During this exciting episode of the Research Talk, Helen Clare was joined by Tony Hey to discuss current and future research environments. Tony's extensive career began in 1970 as a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Since, he's worked with Nobel Prize winners in physics, been a professor and head of department at the University of Southampton, held the position of corporate vice president of microsoft research and is currently the chief data scientist at Science and Technology Facilities as well as senior data science fellow at the University of Washington eScience Institute. Tony talks through the research environments of today and how they need to improve, the role of AI, how it needs to evolve and his vision for the research environments of the future.

  • Apr 27, 2022 · 35 min

    Research talk: exploring the assessment of UK research performance - Stuart Fancey and Ben Raynor

    Last month Helen Clare, was joined by Stuart Fancey, Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Ben Raynor, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), to discuss the future research assessment programme (FRAP), from why it was initiated, its scope and the key aims of the programme. Together, they delve into why it's important the UK has a way of assessing research on a national scale, what has changed since REF2021 and how FRAP aims to listen to the views and concerns of the sector. Finally, this episode gleams insights into how the FRAP team are planning to get an understanding of international research assessment practice and the alignment between FRAP and Jisc's priorities.

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes