Professional and Personal Development

The University Mentoring Scheme is open to all staff. The aim of the scheme is to provide support to staff with their career and professional development. We have mentors from across the University at different levels and areas, both from Academic and Professional Services.

Find out more information about the University Mentoring Scheme.

Springboard is a work and personal development programme created specifically to support women to achieve their full potential both at work and in their personal lives. This programme is suitable for staff working in any area of the university. Visit Springboard Women's Development Programme for more information.

St Mary's University offers a range of short courses for staff. There is a fee for taking part in these courses, so you will need to agree funding for the course with your department or self-fund. 

St Mary’s staff are also able to claim discounts across our selected range of short courses and evening classes. There is a dedicated page for courses eligible to be discounted which will be updated throughout the year, so do keep checking back for new courses. You can view the full list of short courses at St Mary's Discounted Short Courses.

Departments can fund conferences and short courses from local budgets. If there is a conference or short course you are interested in attending, speak to your line manager in the first instance. The Learning and People Development Team can signpost you to courses on topics such as personal development or leadership development if required.

A good starting point for courses relevant to Higher Education is Advance HE, a member-led, sector-owned charity that works with institutions and higher education across the world to improve higher education for staff, students, and society. To view their programme of events, please visit Advance HE Events.

If the course you are interested in is more than £1,000, you can also apply for central funding.

You can find high quality learning for low or even no cost from a range of sources. You can also develop through informal or on the job learning in a range of ways. 

Work shadowing

You can spend time shadowing in another department or even another organisation, to learn about other ways of working, or to understand another area in more detail. To arrange work shadowing, reach out to the department or your contact directly to ask if you can shadow them, or speak to your manager to see if they can make an introduction.

Stretch projects

Stretch projects are projects you take part in to help you develop your knowledge or skills in a new area through real experience. It is best combined with coaching by your line manager or a colleague who is more experienced in the area you will be working on.

Task rotation

Task rotation involves rotating responsibility for tasks within a team, giving people the opportunity to gain experience of new areas or different parts of a process. This also had the advantage of reducing single person dependencies, where only one person knows how certain tasks are completed.

Join a committee or working group

Joining a committee or working group can give you experience and insight into organisational decision making and how different departments work together. An option open to all staff members is joining one of our EDI Staff Networks, which are involved in initiatives to improve Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at St Mary's.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)

There is an increasing number of providers offering open online courses. Many of these are delivered through partnerships with universities and specialist organisations, and often available for free or for a low cost. Examples include FutureLearn, OpenLearn, Coursera, and EdX.

SMILE Catalogues

You can browse through a suite of online courses specially curated for St Mary's staff on our local Learning Management System, SMILE (St Mary's Integrated Learning Experience).

Essential training

Some courses related to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion are required for all staff to complete. These include Equality and Diversity, Safeguarding, and Dignity at Work. Access our e-learning modules.

Getting involved with one of our six EDI Staff Networks is a great way to learn more about different experiences and challenges facing individuals. 

There are several learning opportunities offered, such as:

• attending events organised by the EDI Staff Networks
• browsing the resources on the EDI Network Pages. The networks have put together suggested resources where you can learn more
• having a conversation with one of the Network Chairs. All our network chairs are happy to have a chat if you want to learn more about a particular area of inclusion
• joining a network.

Find out more about the EDI Staff Networks.

St Mary's organises a range of EDI events during the year, some of which are organised in partnership with the EDI staff Networks. Others relate to EDI Programmes and Initiatives, such as the Race Equality Charter, Athena Swan Charter, or Disability Confident. 

• Let's talk about race: Members of the REC SAT host monthly conversations for St Mary's staff and students which seek to provide a safe space for staff and students to have difficult conversations about race, ask questions, and learn. Find recordings of previous conversations.
• Menopause workshops: St Mary's offers sessions on menopause focused on the importance of getting to know your body, whatever your age, and listening to and celebrating your body at every stage of your life! Details will be published on the website and in the staff newsletter when dates are available.

The Sunflower Scheme Resources Page on Moodle contains resources, information, and video training on supporting students with a disability (including Mental Health) or who are neurodiverse. This includes recordings of training on Hidden Disability, Deaf Awareness, making digitally accessible content, and more. Access the resources.

Student Services have developed detailed guidance on supporting students in distress, as well as a two hour workshop on the same topic. The training will be advertised on the website and in the Staff Newsletter when dates are available, or the Wellbeing Team can arrange to deliver sessions directly to teams.

Read written guidance and resources.

Contact wellbeing@stmarys.ac.uk if you would like to arrange a session for your team.

The IPD route (PGCert in Academic Practice programme) is designed to support you as a new academic to develop your teaching practice. The taught modules provide grounding in pedagogic and professional practices, scholarship of learning and teaching, and inquiry into practice.

If you are applying for Fellowship of the HEA, CTESS offer support for your application. This includes Induction workshops, virtual writing retreats, and feedback on draft applications from the Academic Development Team.

St Mary's Festival of Learning and Teaching is our flagship annual learning and teaching event. The Festival brings together colleagues from St Mary's, our collaborative partners, and other universities to explore our teaching practices around key themes in higher education.

CTESS offer a range of workshops organised during the year.

Peer Observation for Professional Development (POPD) is for all staff who teach or directly support students’ learning (for example those offering academic study support). The process engages pairs of colleagues in cycles of planning, observation, reflection, and action with the intention of enhancing teaching and the learning environment as contributory factors to student learning. 

All new academic staff must complete five modules covering academic integrity. Topics include how you can support students to learn about good academic practices, and how you can build more robust approaches to academic integrity into your modules and assessments that minimise opportunities for students to commit academic misconduct. Experienced staff are also encouraged to complete modules three to five.

Each module takes 35-40 minutes to complete. You can find out more and access the module here.

Mentoring can support you with a range of professional development, but can be an excellent option to support you to develop leadership or management skills. Working with a mentor who is more experienced in the area of leadership and/or management provides a confidential space to share your experiences and benefit from your mentor's perspective.

The University Mentoring Scheme is open to all staff. The aim of the scheme is to provide support to staff with their career and professional development. We have mentors from across the University at different levels and areas, both from Academic and Professional Services.

Applications for mentoring are welcome from staff of all levels of experience who would like to be supported with their professional growth. Details of the next application window and how to apply will be advertised on staff news and announcements on the website and in the staff newsletter.

Aurora is Advance HE's leadership development initiative for women. Aurora aims to enable a wider range of women in academic and professional roles to think of themselves as future leaders, to develop the skills they will need, and to help their institutions to maximise the use of the skills they acquire. Applications are now closed, and will re-open in 2024.

Visit the Aurora information sheet to find out more.

The Diversifying Leadership Programme is designed by Advance HE to support early-career academics and professional services staff from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds who are about to take their first steps into a leadership role. It explores themes of power and influence, demystifying leadership, cultural identity, and cultural capital, increasing your visibility and authentic leadership, and features leadership stories from high-profile HE leaders. The application window for the Diversifying Leadership Programme will be announced on the website and in the staff newsletter.