Our Research and Innovation (R&I) staff networks bring together colleagues from across the University to share experiences, exchange ideas and build supportive professional communities.
Each network creates space for open discussion, collaborative learning and opportunities to connect through events, forums, meetings and peer‐to‐peer networking. Whether you’re looking to get involved in a particular area of practice, broaden your professional network or simply stay informed about upcoming activities, our staff networks are here to help you engage and thrive. If you would like to be added to the mailing list for any of the networks outlined below, please contact risdevelopment@port.ac.uk.
Research Staff Forum
Welcome to the Research Staff Forum.
The Research Staff Forum is a supportive community for temporary and contract research staff. We run regular informal networking events to provide peer support, strengthen relationships within the researcher community and support a strong research identity.
The forum provides a platform to discuss development opportunities and other topics relevant to research staff. It is led by convenors who will organise events, and represent contract research staff on the University’s Research Culture Development Group (RCDG).
This gives research staff a voice and provides a communication channel between the University and contract research staff. This allows research staff to feed into the Research and Innovation Staff Development Programme and provide oversight to the University’s alignment with the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.
If you would like to be part of the Forum, please contact risdevelopment@port.ac.uk.
Devran Gülel - Research Staff Forum
My name is Devran Gulel and I am a Research Fellow at the Faculty of Business and Law. I have a PhD in law and am actively involved in interdisciplinary research that spans various fields, including law, politics, society, and organisational studies. My research interests encompass feminism and gender politics within a global context, welfare states and policies, human rights in authoritarian regimes, women’s labour market participation and workplace representation, and misogyny in political discourse, the judiciary, and law enforcement. Between April 2023 and the present, I have been working in a multi-partner EU Horizon Project called "Realising Girls’ and Women’s Inclusion, Representation and Empowerment (RE-WIRING)", which has already produced a number of reports, working papers, toolkits, and academic publications. In addition to my active participation in EDI initiatives at the University of Portsmouth, I also serve on the Executive Committee of the Centre for the Advancement of Equality, Gender, and Inclusion Studies (AEGIS).
Nichola Renwick - Research Staff Forum
I’ve been a research staff member for nearly four years within the School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences. I’m passionate about improving research culture across the University and want to work collaboratively across schools to drive positive change for those in research roles. With experience spanning both research and innovation, I hope to bring insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by research staff and the ways these areas intersect. I’m passionate about strengthening visibility, inclusion, and meaningful representation for researchers, and I aim to help shape a more integrated and supportive R&I environment.
Ehsan Khalefa - Research Staff Forum
I am a Research Fellow in the School of Environment & Life Sciences, specialising in remote sensing for environmental applications. I am a former Commercialisation and Innovation Fellow and current Research Contract Representative. I am passionate about research impact, researcher development, and collaboration, and actively working to strengthen our research community across the University.
Researchers’ Network
Welcome to the Researchers’ Network.
We aim to offer a forum where early and mid-career academics can discuss research related issues and to give staff access to insights/information/wisdom of a research related nature. We are also hoping to connect staff so that they may find potential collaborators/expertise to continue their research journey, and will listen to staff and feed their queries through into the Research Culture Development Group (RCDG).
We will be organising a series of events throughout the year, so watch this space for more information!
If you would like to be part of the Researchers' Network, please contact risdevelopment@port.ac.uk.
Simon Hobbs - Researchers’ Network
My name is Simon Hobbs, and I am a Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture, based in the School of Architecture, Art and Design (Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries). I am a media scholar who focuses on the ethics of the true crime genre, with a particular focus on representations of victimhood in post-#MeToo true crime content. I am the Chair of the CCI Ethics Committee and have a keen interest in researcher well-being. I am excited about the prospect of meeting more researchers from across the University and developing a welcoming and open environment for scholars to meet and collaborate. Please drop me an email if you have any thoughts on any events you would like to see take place, or any themes you would like to be part of the Researchers Network - simon.hobbs2@port.ac.uk.
Roja Hadianamrei - Researchers’ Network
As an MCR, I have been involved in some of the programmes aimed at supporting the development of ECRs as a speaker and a mentor. This made me realise that there are many common interests and concerns among all ECRs regardless of their discipline and area of research. I strongly feel the importance of having a safe space for all of us across different faculties to share ideas, discuss common challenges that we are facing and come up with joint solutions to enhance our research capabilities. Therefore, I decided to join the RCDG to have more involvement in the researcher development plans and to help in feeding the voice of ECRs/MCRs to the URIC to be considered in policy making.
Sarah Atkins - Researchers’ Network
My name is Sarah Atkins and I am currently a Senior Lecturer at the School of Law in the Faculty of Business and Law. I joined the university in 2015 as a Teaching Fellow. Being an active early-mid career inter-disciplinary academic myself, I look forward to playing a more active role in our research community at the University of Portsmouth, both at Committee level and at peer level. As a co-convenor of this network I want to continue my commitment to enhancing and supporting the research community at the University of Portsmouth, thus supporting our strong research culture and helping to develop our early-mid career academics to reach their full potential. I hope we can all work together to organise events of interest to our researchers across all faculties. I’d love to hear your thoughts on past and future events, so please get in touch via email at sarah.atkins@port.ac.uk.
Sepehr Abrishami - Researchers’ Network
As a convenor, I want to focus on three priorities: designing an engaging events programme, creating structured peer-mentoring opportunities, and ensuring the early-career voice informs university strategy via the Research Culture Development Group. My leadership of the MSc BIM programme and my cross-disciplinary research in AI provide a solid foundation for this role. I am committed to using this experience to strengthen our research culture in alignment with the Concordat, promoting inclusivity and collaboration across all faculties.
The Associate Professors’ Forum
The Associate Professors’ Forum is held on a regular basis. All members of this group are Associate Professors who are invited upon promotion.
If you are a Reader or Associate Professor who has not received an invite, please contact risdevelopment@port.ac.uk.
The Professors’ Forum
The Professors’ Forum is held on a regular basis. All members of this group are Professors who are invited upon promotion.
If you are a Professor who has not received an invite, please contact risdevelopment@port.ac.uk.