Junior Researcher Programme
The Junior Researcher Programme (JRP) is a global initiative intended for students and early career researchers in psychology and behavioural sciences. We support up to six research projects each year. The projects are developed during the jSchool, our annual summer school and are carried out over the following year – precisely 13 months. The jSchool lasts for one week and typically gathers over thirty students as well as six doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, who develop and propose their projects while functioning as Research Supervisors. During the event, relevant lectures on research and the theme are held. The aim is to explore the current methods and theory in contemporary psychological science for integration into their research.
During the months following the jSchool, all teams commit to either submit a Registered Report to a journal of their choice or formally preregister their study at the Open Science Framework. Participants are invited to attend the jMeeting the following February: this optional 4-day event provides all teams the opportunity to meet again and work on their ongoing projects in person. In August of the following year, all team members, including supervisors, are expected to attend the annual JRP Conference in Cambridge, presenting the outcomes of their 13-month long projects, thus becoming part of the official JRP Alumni Network. Most teams decide to continue working on their research projects after the mandatory JRP journey has completed. Students are also given the opportunity to participate in jGlobal prior to the JRP Conference.
The JRP aims to fully develop the research projects during jSchool and to carry these out for eventual academic publication, providing multiple opportunities for professional and scientific development for all participants. JRP provides a framework, leadership, and scientific support to all students and supervisors throughout the year, while teams work on their projects. In this way, we ensure that all teams stay in contact throughout the year, and successfully present their work to a wider academic community.
Running since 2011 and independent since 2015, over 400 early career researchers have finished the programme and now make up the JRP Alumni Network, building towards our aim of establishing a global network of researchers in psychology and the behavioural sciences. Many alumni continues to collaborate after the annual programme ends. Through our projects and activities, over 100 publications have been published, ranging from research protocols and reports to peer-reviewed articles and books including in journals like Nature Human Behaviour, Scientific Reports, and Nature.
Mission & Vision
Mission: Creating opportunities
The Junior Researcher Programme seeks to create high quality opportunities for the personal and professional development of young psychologists and behavioural scientists. Our primary target is students or recent graduates looking to engage in scientific careers, for whom we aim to generate a diverse range of experiences across the spectrum of skills and activities in research. This is initially done through supporting the research teams inaugurated at the jSchool, as they carry out their projects in the following year. Beyond that, we work to create a stable platform for personal and professional development for both participating and alumni students, continuously expanding partnerships and networks that connect our stakeholders to work and development opportunities.
Vision: A Growing Professional Community
As the programme develops, we seek to create a sustainable platform where past participants become programme leaders, leaders become mentors, and mentors become benefactors. In doing so, we aim to create a community where all such individuals remain engaged in various capacities of direct relevance to our primary stakeholders: early career psychologists and behavioural scientist.
