The Worldwide Universities Network aims to foster international research collaborations to address global challenges. It brings groups of researchers together to tackle issues of global significance in a way that could not be achieved by universities working in isolation. In our increasingly connected world, the importance of collaboration is more potent than ever. The researcher of today must not only demonstrate academic excellence but should have the skills to work effectively with colleagues locally and internationally.
WUN is a joint venture partner in Global Academy Jobs (GAJobs) that links researchers with top research universities to enhance career prospects. The article below was recently featured on the GAJobs blog:
20 benefits of collaboration you cannot afford to ignore
Scott Wavers writes about how to invest your time wisely as a researcher and how to collaborate well. In his blog post he outlines the top 20 benefits of collaboration for a researcher.
Here are Wavers’ top 20 benefits of collaboration:
1. Higher impact of publications: there is a direct correlation between the number of authors and impact factor.
2. Encourages greater creativity.
3. Future: those you collaborate with today will think of you tomorrow when they are putting together a € 20,000,000 grant proposal.
4. Less work: done well, collaboration means less work for everyone without compromising on results.
5. Criticism: collaborators are more likely to tell you, that in reality the emperor is not wearing any clothes. Debating ideas is also important for creativity and achieving Group Genius
6. Ability to bring more experience to bear: tapping into the distributed intelligence of a group increases you chances of solving problems more efficiently.
7. Efficient learning: Seeing how a team of experts solves a problem is the best learning that there is.
8. Wider array of techniques: a collaboration across lab groups, departments or institutions widens the access to a greater number of techniques used for research.
9. Deeper research: in a collaboration you are forced to do more than clip the top of trees with your research.
10. Funding: Getting funding in Europe and the US it is typically much easier in the context of a collaboration.
11. Increased number of publications: is related to number 9 as the deeper the research the more publications.
12. Better and more concrete networks built through collaborations.
13. Patents
14. Higher likelihood of becoming commercial.
15. More fun to be had with a team than on your own.
16. Knowledge of what others are doing: in particular by simply talking with a fellow team member on the research project.
17. Less risk: there are many more degrees of freedom with a collaborative network than there are with a single lab following a single line of research.
18. Agility: it is far more likely that you can exploit an unexpected finding in the setting of a collaboration.
19. Early adopters: your collaboration partners are almost by definition your early adopters for your novel approach, new technology, or new hypothesis.
20. Impressing investors and funding agencies
For more information on Global Academy Jobs, visit the GAJobs website.
