10 Days Professional Development
Find out more about what counts towards your 10 days of professional development, getting permission to use them and how they work.
© Department of Psychiatry/Stuart GillespieThe Charter for the Career Development of Researchers lists the University's commitments to support researchers' career development and what researchers are responsible for.
One of these commitments is to 'provide opportunities, structured support, encouragement and time for researchers to engage in a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata per year'.
However, the 10 Days are available to both researchers and professional services staff, and on a pro rata basis for part-time staff.
What professional development activities can I undertake?
Unless specifically excluded by your funding body, you can use your 10 days professional development for activities that contribute to progression in your chosen career. There is no exhaustive or prescriptive list of 'eligible' activities; instead professional development includes anything that enhances your skills and abilities to do your work. It may directly contribute to your current role or to your future career.
Some examples of professional development include:
- Attending workshops, courses or networking events within or external to the University
- Training for and/or taking on a leadership or (co-)supervisor role.
- Taking on an informal supervision of a student or colleague for a short period of time
- Learning from others through regular mentoring
- Arranging a conversation with a person who has a role or career that interests you
- Workplace shadowing in a different role or area of the Department or University, or elsewhere
- Update your CV or develop a narrative CV
- Spending time either being or having a buddy (as a new starter)
- Being part of a project in an area of work that is new to you
- Engaging in coaching – structured, reflective conversation that helps you clarify goals, explore opportunities and challenges
- Using or being a 'critical friend' to help identify areas for improvement
- Learning a new skill or technique either via self-directed learning (e.g. reading, listening to podcasts, completing online learning courses)
- Reflective learning – reviewing a situation you were involved with to identify what went well, not so well and opportunities for improvement
| Read examples of how members of staff have used their 10 days of professional development. |
Which activities count as part of my expected ‘everyday’ academic work, and which are part of my ‘10 days’ allowance? Where do Department or University citizenship activities fall?
If activities are mentioned within your contract and job description, these would normally be counted as ‘everyday’ work, rather than form part of the 10 days allowance. However, what is routine for one staff member may be developmental for another, based on an individual’s experience, job role, career stage or field of work.
Using routine components of academia for illustrative purposes, consider if the activity could be developing you as an individual beyond the standard ‘everyday’ work undertaken in your research.
Would it facilitate you to feel more confident, skilled or effective in your current role?
e.g. activities to improve understanding; learning a new skill, process or technique, to overcome a current gap or challenge;
Would it allow you to gain experience of something that prepares you for your next role?
e.g. applying for funding, generating research outputs or dissemination at a more complex or impactful level than you have before; leading work, events, projects or teams at a more complex level than you have before; engage in teaching or supervision in a more significant way than they have before; provide representation or citizenship duties in a greater capacity or more impactful way than you have before (at local, national or international levels)
Other examples may relate to technical training, leadership and management, scientific writing and communication, business skills and entrepreneurship.
If it still uses skills relating to the research, team work, develops working autonomously, communication or analysis skills, problem solving etc. you could consider these transferable skills as a ‘boundary’.
Do conferences count?
Yes, they may be counted since conferences provide valuable experience and networking opportunities to help build your career. A few individuals may have funding terms that exclude the use of conference days - please check this with your line manager.
Does mandatory training form part of my ‘10 days’ allowance?
No – mandatory training (for example, Information Security and Data Protection or Harassment in Higher Education) are University or legal essential requirements which allow you to be able to safely and satisfactorily conduct your current role.
Am I restricted to a maximum 10 days of professional development?
There is no formally monitored or enforced upper limit on the number of days; it is at the manager’s discretion to determine whether it is reasonable to accommodate.
Am I able to carry over allowance into the next year?
Annual allowances that are not fully exhausted will not normally be carried forward to future years.
Do I need my line manager's agreement to take time for professional development?
Yes - please discuss professional development ideas, opportunities and potential timelines with your line manager. Appropriate activities that can fit around planned work are more likely to be agreed.
For line managers working under tight grant deadlines and competing pressures, how can we ensure they are still able to actively promote and protect career development opportunities for their team members?
Professional and career development is normal practice across the sector, and expected by funder, organisations and individuals. It may be better to consider professional and career development as something built into existing work, rather than an extra.
A continuous improvement approach is the basis of the sector: research is undertaken to improve understanding, knowledge and processes. It is normal to need an iterative approach when developing research (grant application, research outputs), and the same can be considered developing people.
Individuals often want to take opportunities to feel more confident, skilled or effective in their current roles. Line managers supporting uptake of these opportunities benefit from staff feeling better about their jobs, working more effectively, and retaining talent as a return on investment.
What if there is a difference of opinion regarding appropriate professional development?
If differences of opinion cannot be resolved in discussion between the indiviudal and their line manager/PI, they should speak to our Department HR lead for further advice
How frequently should line managers have dedicated conversations with staff about career development goals and opportunities?
Minimum guidance is once a year, twice a year is common practice. However, some opportunities are time sensitive and cannot wait a year or 6 months. Including career and professional development as a topic that can be raised in 1:1s may allow more frequent reflection, or add in ad hoc meeting as needed.
I’ve recently joined the University and still in my probation period – are the 10 days applicable to me?
Research staff who are still within their probationary period will have the usual recommended mid- and end- of probation reviews which will include discussions on development solutions as appropriate.
I’ve recently moved line managers and/or team within the University – what happens to my allowance?
Managers would be encouraged to ask new starters how many training days they have used within past applicable year (1 October – 30 September) so the remaining (pro-rata) balance can be continued to be tracked.
What are the current departmental procedures for logging career development activities?
Logging career development activities is included in the departmental PDR process via Simitive. Other available platforms are used elsewhere in the University, but some only allow researchers to log their time. As the department has an inclusive approach to professional development for all staff groups, these have not been adopted.
For individuals, recording evidence:
- make it quicker when updating CVs
- Can be referred to when working on a grant application narrative CVs, supporting them to write a better justification of why they are best placed to lead that work and be awarded the grant
- Can be used to support professional registration requirements
For departments, recording evidence:
- allows the department to monitor if staff are aware of and undertaking relevant opportunities
- is aligned to other requirements, such as Athena Swan
For the University, recording evidence:
- is monitored and reported on as part of being a signatory to the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers. These reports are publicly available.
What do I do if I am finding it difficult to take professional development time?
If you need support or advice, please speak to your line manager or the HR team. There is also wider Psychiatry welfare support if appropriate.
Are the 10 days part of my annual leave?
No. Professional development is separate from your annual leave allowance and will provide paid work time for you to focus on professional development activities. Your 10 days' professional development per year are aligned to the University annual leave cycle (1st October – 30th September) and are pro-rata for part-time staff.
How does professional development link to my Professional Development Review (PDR) or Career Development Review (CDR)?
Professional development days allow you protected time to focus on your professional development, optimise your skill set and prepare your next steps. Your annual PDR (now live on Simitive) now includes a ‘career’ section that gives you the opportunity to reflect on and discuss your progress with your line manager. Should you wish to have your CDR discussion with someone other than your line manager, you can arrange this. We strongly encourage everyone to take part with the PDR and CDR process and discuss their development time within their conversations
Why is it important to think about this professional development allowance?
The Department of Psychiatry is responding to its most recent 2025 Staff Experience Survey findings that many colleagues are not using their 10 days for professional development. For example, recent survey data show 7% of full-time research staff respondents record 0 days of development time, rising to 29% for part-time.