Two researchers looking at culture dishes in the lab, two more researchers working in the background

Professional career development

The Institute of Cancer Research is committed to the professional development of its staff. In addition to the training and support provided within individual teams, the Learning and Development Team provide a variety of resources to assist individuals with personal development.

The ICR’s Learning and Development team’s Training Course Catalogue (PDF) provides an overview of some of the training and development resources available to staff and students at the ICR. It includes:


  • Technical courses, such as statistics, advanced computing (R, Graphpad, Python), science communication;
  • Career development training tailored for students, post-docs, and clinicians;
  • Professional development training, with topics such as personal effectiveness, leadership development.

The Learning and Development Team liaise with ICR faculty, technical experts and external consultants such as Babraham Bioinformatics to deliver the training programme. The team is comprised of former postdocs who work with Academic Board, Research Degrees Committee and staff associations to tailor training to meet researchers' and corporate staff needs. All training is free for ICR staff to attend.  Where appropriate, events are run in collaboration with partner institutions, including the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.


We are committed to building the careers of our research staff and tracking their success. We run Pathway to Independence for postdocs and clinical researchers (on alternate years) to prepare them for their transition to academic independence.


The ICR has an appraisal system designed to enable staff to engage in a constructive dialogue with their manager on their development, career progression and aspirations. The ICR has successfully retained its HR Excellence in Research Award.


Results of a staff attitude survey of all staff and students together with our AdminNet and OneICR managers forum, helps staff and their representatives to develop an action plan ensuring that the ICR remains a great place to develop a career while undertaking or supporting world class science.

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