Career Development Award Report - Dr. Fraje Watson
10/27/2026 2:23 pm
On Tuesday 16th June, I was fortunate enough to attend the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) Induction training course. I had been attempting to transition from Postdoctoral Researcher to Research Management for most of 2026 but hadn’t had any luck. I had joined ARMA earlier in the year, on the recommendation of a university career advisor. I thought the Induction training day would be a good opportunity to learn some early skills, understand the landscape, and show a commitment to this line of work. But funding-wise, this put me in a predicament; my Postdoc funding didn’t cover it because it was to do with my research career, but I didn’t have a Research Management job yet to claim it from either!
Luckily, I’ve been a member of International Women in Biomechanics (IWB) since its inception in 2020 and have been an active volunteer for most of that time. I started as a Social Media volunteer and am currently Director of Member Support. IWB launched their $250 Career Development Award (CDA) in 2024, specifically to provide broad funding opportunities where few currently exist to support women in periods of development and transition. Even though I knew the funding scope was broad, I was concerned the CDA wouldn’t cover something if it wasn't directly related to a career in biomechanics. I needn’t have worried: I was assured that the CDA was there to cover exactly the type of training course I was looking at, so I applied. Amazingly, my application was successful and the IWB CDA team even reached out to ARMA to request matched funding. ARMA agreed to waive the course fee, which meant my CDA could cover my travel to Harrogate (a very pretty town 3 hours north of London where the training was being held) and allowed me to stay overnight. I felt so fortunate to be part of two welcoming communities who came together to give me the opportunity to attend the Induction training course.
I’ve been working in biomechanics since starting my PhD in 2018. Prior to that, I worked in veterinary medicine with a musculoskeletal/orthopaedic focus. My decision to pivot came following a few unsuccessful fellowship applications. I decided I’d given that route a good go, but that I wasn’t willing to get stuck in the cycle of trying to get a fellowship or lectureship whilst balancing fixed term contracts as a postdoc. I did my PhD much later, so was 35 by this point and wanted to feel more settled in my career and where I lived. I knew I wanted to stay working within academia and to surround myself with research, so I started looking into research-adjacent roles. I realised that Research Programme Management matched my skills quite well; I’m organised, enjoy working with people, managing relationships, and variety, and have good scientific writing skills.
As it happens, I secured a Research Programme Manager role starting on 1st June, so the 16th of June course was extremely well-timed. I thought I’d be the most recent starter there, but someone I sat next to had started her job just the day before! The course was split into pre- and post-award sections with impact introduced early on and sprinkled through the whole day. We used an example research project that we could use to apply the knowledge we learnt at every step. Overall, the course provided a brilliant introduction to research management, and I came away with lots of ideas to implement in my work and a better understand of the jobs other people do around me.
A few quick questions with Fraje about her CDA experience:
1. What were some highlights of taking part in the course?
Connecting with others in a similar role
2. What’s one (or more) important thing you learned that you’d like to pass along to anyone considering applying for the CDA?
Don’t assume what it does and doesn’t cover, it’s so easy to email and ask, and you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised!
3. What's one (or more) important thing you'd like to pass along to anyone considering a career in research management?
I’m very happy to chat to anyone considering a move into a similar role. I would speak to a careers team who can help you adjust your academia-specific CV to align more closely with CV expectations for this role.
