One of the main aims of the MENASP network is working toward providing more exposure to researchers and academics who are in the early stages of their research career path. The MENASP’s Early Career Researchers (ECR) initiative plans to organise a series of mentoring sessions and webinars with the aim to contribute to enhancing the professional development of early career researchers who are researching social policies in the MENA region.
The main objectives of ECRs representatives are to create awareness on both academic and non-academic career trajectories, to provide networking opportunities for early career researchers, and to allow for learning and highlight work by early career researchers.
The current early career representative at the MENASP network are Samar Abdelmageed (Assistant Lecturer at the British University in Egypt) and Achref Chibani (Nonresident Fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy). You could get to know more about Samar and Achref via this link.
Key activities within the ECR initiative is to provide webinars and mentoring sessions. The mentoring sessions will discuss topics that can contribute to enhancing the professional careers of early careers researchers who are researching social policies about the MENA region. The webinars session will discuss relevant social policies related topics that are current and relevant to the region.
The early career researcher is defined as any individual who is working toward finishing their PhD, finished their PhD, in academic training, independent researchers, or anyone who self-identifies as an early career researcher. We do not have a specific number of years after finishing a PhD or taking an academic role (teaching and research, part and full time) to be defined as an early career researcher.
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To receive updates from the MENA Social Policy Network at large, please do sign up for our newsletter here if you have not done so yet. When registering for the newsletter, there is a box where you can indicate that you are an ECR researcher. Please do tick it, so we can send you tailored news from us. Also, don’t forget to register here to be included in the expert database. You can also join our ECR JISCMail for more lively discussion and sharing.
ECR Events:
- Webinar: Researching social policies in the MENA region: Opportunities and challenges for Early Career Researchers. 28th January 2021
- Webinar: Rethinking inequality in the MENA region. 4th March 2021
- Webinar: The Role of Social Policy in Promoting Human Security in the MENA Region. 26 May 2021
- Workshop: Planning for Publication? A mentoring workshop on how to go about the publication process. 16 March 2022
- Webinar: Gender-sensitive social protection, a possible reality in the MENA? 15 June 2022
- Webinar: Selling Your Research Ideas to Reviewers: Tips for Writing Successful Proposals for Early Career Researchers. 1 February 2024
- Webinar: Targeting Journals for Publication: How Can ECRs Select Journals to Publish their Research?. 27 March 2024
ECR Blog Posts:
- One Year On: Reflections from our Early Career Researchers Representatives
- Join the team and what’s coming up for ECRs…
Past ECR Representatives:
Our 2021-2022 early career representatives at the MENASP network were Noor Alabbas (independent researcher and academic tutor at the University of Nottingham) and Tamara A. Kool (Maastricht Graduate School of Governance). You can read our end-of-term interview with Tamara and Noor here.