Researchers across the NIHR BRC: Oxford Health and the wider NIHR community have benefited from a diverse programme of training and development opportunities during the 2025/26 academic year, helping to strengthen research skills, support career progression and encourage collaboration.
The core Training Programme delivered 18 sessions, attracting 331 registrations and 216 attendees. Early Career Researchers made up 68% of participants where career-stage information was available, highlighting the programme’s important role in supporting the next generation of researchers.
Sessions covered a broad range of topics, including research methods, grant applications, Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE), career development, communications and emerging technologies. The most popular sessions included Introduction to Collecting Qualitative Data with Interviews & Focus Groups, NIHR Writing Successful Applications and ML 101: Introduction to Machine Learning.
The programme brought together expertise from a wide range of partners, including the NIHR Research Support Service, University of Oxford Careers Service, University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry, BRC: Oxford, King’s College London and external specialist providers. This collaborative approach helped ensure training remained relevant, practical and responsive to researchers’ needs.
Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive. All respondents said sessions were useful, while 96% reported the learning was beneficial or potentially beneficial to their work. Researchers particularly valued opportunities to apply learning in practice, gain confidence and learn from peers. Overall session quality was rated highly, averaging 4.6 out of 5, with several sessions achieving scores of 4.8 or higher.
Alongside the core programme, several initiatives expanded development opportunities during the year. The Research Inclusion Training Programme, delivered in partnership with five other NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, attracted 1,840 registrations and 1,264 attendees from across the NIHR community. The programme focused on improving inclusion and participation in research through sessions exploring ethnicity inclusion, socio-economic disadvantage and practical approaches to inclusive research.
Collaboration was further strengthened through the Oxford-Surrey Neuroimaging & Sleep Research Exchange, which brought together researchers from Oxford, Surrey and other institutions to share expertise, identify complementary research interests and build new partnerships.
Together, these activities have helped researchers develop skills, confidence and professional networks, while creating new opportunities for collaboration across the NIHR infrastructure. Feedback from participants will inform future training provision, with a continued focus on practical, accessible and impactful learning opportunities.
Andreia Costa, Project Manager for Training & Career Development, BRC: Oxford Health said:
“It has been extremely encouraging to see such strong engagement with our training and development opportunities throughout the academic year.
“From research skills and grant writing to leadership development and inclusive research, the programme has supported researchers at different stages of their careers while creating valuable opportunities to connect and collaborate.
“The feedback shows that researchers value practical, high-quality training that they can apply directly to their work, and we look forward to building on this success in the year ahead.”
For more information, visit the BRC: Oxford Health Training Hub.
