75 Ideas to Organise your Research Community

May 29

I am a big believer in helping to organise your own research community. First, it's truly joyful to bring people together. Second, it’s a great way to give back. Third, it’s an easy way to demonstrate leadership, which is key in getting a permanent position. Finally, it’s a very effective way to build your network. Particularly for the last point, I always recommend younger researchers get involved early on. A strong network is crucial for a career and can help you to get permanent positions, collaborations, funding, etc.

There are many ways you can get involved. You don’t have to be a senior figure, nor do you need funding. Here is a list of 75 ideas that hopefully inspires you to organise your community. Some of these tasks overlap and can be combined. Look out for synergies! Find the ones that resonates with you. Maybe there is something that you are already doing on your own and that could be useful for others. Choose something that sounds like fun to you. You will be doing a much better job if you’re enjoying it.

Make sure you set up ways to collect quantifiable data on whatever you are doing, e.g., number of participants, their affiliation, number of visitors to your webpage, followers on social media, etc. Also, try to get feedback to obtain some testimonials. If you keep doing it for a longer period of time, make sure you collect data on the growth, e.g., from one year/event to the next. This will make it much easier to use it in your CV.

1. Networking and Community Building

This category includes activities that foster connections, collaborations, and community among researchers, students, and other stakeholders, for building a strong and fun research environment.

1. Set up a discussion forum – People working in the same research field often have very similar questions. Also, discussions almost naturally lead to collaborations. Create an online channel for your research community (e.g., on Discord, Slack, etc.) for researchers to exchange ideas and collaborate. You can also have different channels for different needs.

2. Set up a network people can join – Establish a formal or informal group to connect researchers with shared interests. Sharing an online space (webpage) and organising regular (online) meet-ups as a central focal point can help people to find each other. You can also formalise such groups with official support (e.g., IEEE groups, or similar).

3. Bring mentors and mentees together – Mentoring is crucial. While universities often have an official programme and approach for mentoring, they often don’t consider whether mentor and mentee are a good fit. Create a mentorship programme pairing early-career researchers with experienced academics to help them progress. By the way, you don’t have to be senior to mentor others. You just have to be a little bit further along. For example, a third-year PhD student can mentor a first-year PhD student. Additionally, collect and provide resources for them on how mentoring works and how to make it more effective.

4. Organise meetings between PhD students – If you work in a smaller group, being a PhD can feel very lonely. It’s good to have some space and time that you share with others who are in a similar situation. Host regular meet-ups for PhD students to discuss challenges and share experiences.

5. Set up a LinkedIn group – LinkedIn is currently one of the most thriving social media platforms for research. Build a professional community for discussions, job postings, and networking in your research field. LinkedIn is just one possibility. Consider also other social media platforms. Think outside the box, e.g., how could you use TikTok to organise your research community?

6. Organise regular coffee meet-ups with colleagues – Sharing experiences and information in an informal environment can be very powerful. When I started out in my department, I learned the most important information, e.g., how the university is run, who makes decisions, which deadlines are hard and which aren’t, etc., during coffee breaks, not from the hundreds of emails that are centrally sent. Host informal gatherings to build camaraderie and discuss ideas on how to improve your own department.

7. Organise a “research speed-dating” event – Finding collaborators is not always easy. Going to many events is time-consuming and not always fruitful. Organise “speed-dating” for researchers. Facilitate quick meetings for researchers to pitch ideas and find collaborators.

8. Organise events where PhDs students from different fields talk to each other – As a PhD student, you can feel isolated from other fields. You are so deep into the weeds that you seldom have time to look up and beyond your own research field. It can be very inspiring to talk to other researchers who are doing very different research. Organise cross-field meet-ups and help people to make connections.

9. Organise cross-institutional brainstorming sessions – In a similar fashion, you can organise meetings between various research groups where people have short (1-3 minute) presentations and follow-up brainstorming session. This is especially great if you have just started out as a young researcher at a new place and you want to build up your local network for collaborations.

10. Organise meet-ups for international students – For international students, it’s more difficult to ease into university. When they start out, often, they are not confident in the language and don’t know the university system or the cultural expectations. Organise meet-ups specifically for international students (or specifically for students from your country) and help them navigate academia at the new university.

2. Research Events and Conferences

Another great way to build up your network while at the same time helping to organise your research community is to organise research-oriented events. Note that in tenure and promotion cases, this type of work is almost always expected. However, if you are strategic about it, and you choose the ones you would love to do, gaining this extra recognition is just a bonus, not the main motivation.

Talking about motivation, when you start planning such an event, make sure you have a very clear purpose! Why are you doing it? What should the participants gain from it? Too many events are organised without a clear goal. That’s just a waste of time for everyone involved.

11. Organise a seminar series – This is one of the most common activities you can undertake as a PhD student. Host regular talks featuring researchers from your field or related disciplines to share knowledge and spark discussion. Nowadays, with everyone being familiar with Teams, Zoom, etc., it’s quite easy to get top people in your field to participate. Consider also recording a video and uploading it to YouTube or even hosting an online event where everyone around the globe can participate.

12. Organise a conference – This is a little more work. If you have never done it, I suggest you start by getting involved in an existing conference and learning the ropes. Also note, a conference doesn't necessarily have to be international; it can also be local. Does it have to be in-person, or do you reach more people online? Be creative. What does it mean to hold a conference? Think beyond the standard approach!

13. Organise a workshop – Conferences often have workshops with a more specific focus. If you are an early-career researcher, it’s beneficial to organise them with more senior colleagues, as you can leverage their networks to involve other senior researchers. Again, think creatively about how you can make the workshop more engaging. Go beyond the standard approach, which typically includes only talks, poster sessions, and panels! Consider including ideas from the other points in this blog post.

14. Organise a summer school – Develop a multi-day programme for intensive learning and networking for students and early-career researchers. This could be based on tutorials for a codebase you developed, hardware that everyone is using, etc.

15. Organise a PhD-only conference – Create a low-pressure environment for PhD students to present and network. As with a standard conference, think outside the box. If you don’t have funding resources, use this as an advantage and explore creative and innovative approaches.

16. Organise a competition – Research competitions are a great way to stimulate new approaches. Create a competition to bring people together to work on the same problem.

17. Organise a Pecha Kucha competition – A competition can also be about something other then research. For example, you can host a presentation competition. There are a lot of great fast-paced formats like Pecha Kucha (20 slides, 20 seconds each), Ignite Talks, elevator pitches, 3-minute thesis, etc.

18. Organise a hackathon – If you are working in a field that uses specific software or hardware, you could organise a hackathon. Provide participants with interesting challenges. Collaborating through an intensive event like a hackathon brings people together.

19. Organise a “science slam” – Host a fun event where researchers present their work in engaging formats that are very different from standard presentations. For example, ask them to present their work in the form of poetry, a limerick, a short play, or dance (e.g., Dance Your Thesis). Having constraints leads to more creative solutions.

3. Knowledge Sharing

Another excellent way to engage your research community is to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience. We all crave more information, and you can help people learn more easily.

20. Make a regular newsletter – Provide updates on recent publications, events, and opportunities in your field and distribute them through a regular newsletter. The value that you add is the curation and organisation of the information. You decide what is important and make it easy to find. Note that what “regular” means depends on the activity of the field and how much time you want to put in. This can be fortnightly, monthly, or even quarterly. However, keep it regular, so people become used to it and expect it.

21. Set up mastermind groups – The definition of a mastermind group is a small, regular gathering of individuals who support, encourage, and learn from each other, often working towards shared or individual goals. Typically, this is done in small groups. So, if you want to leverage this for networking, help others set up their own mastermind groups.

22. Interview researchers in your field – Share insights from established or early-career researchers via podcasts, blogs, or videos. You don’t have to focus on research only. You can also talk about career stories, advice on how to build up a lab, etc.

23. Make introduction videos to the field – Produce accessible videos and tutorials explaining key concepts of your discipline. This will help people new to the field to quickly learn about what is important.

24. Make TikTok videos about research in your field – Create short, engaging videos to explain papers from your field. Think of it as Blinkist for researchers. You can start with your own research (which is a great way to promote your work) and then extend it. Consider other platforms as well, such as YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.

25. Share your journey online – Document your academic experiences on a blog or social media to inspire others.

26. Create a blog for your research community – Share updates, insights, opinions, and tips relevant to your field. Regularity is the key.

27. Create a social media campaign for your field – If you are good with social media, promote research or events with hashtags and coordinated posts. Highlight the work and events of other people. Help them to gain recognition. Offer to collaborate with them to build your network.

4. Skill Development and Training

Another way to expand your network is to help researchers acquire specific skills. This can range from technical knowledge to soft skills. Note that you don’t necessarily have to be the expert. You can organise the training by inviting more experienced people, and you can learn alongside the audience.

28. Develop tutorials for people new to the field – Create beginner-friendly guides or videos to lower barriers to entry. Such videos are also a great entry point for people coming to the field.

29. Teach people how to write proposals – Offer workshops on crafting successful grant or fellowship applications. Share your experiences and invite others to do the same.

30. Teach people how to review papers – Run sessions on providing constructive peer reviews for journals or conferences. You can provide examples from your own work, and participants can compare their reviews with the actual reviews you have received. Consider live review of papers on already published work (no paper is perfect) or from volunteers.

31. Teach how to use software in your field – Your research field might have a very specific set of software that many people use, toolboxes developed by other researchers, specific programming languages, or applications. Teach how to use them in the context of the field.

32. Teach how to draw figures – Provide guidance on creating clear, professional figures for publications or presentations. This could be the use of software like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Inkscape, or even how you can use PowerPoint and Keynote to draw. Consider also animation programmes (on the Mac, Motion is great) and 3D rendering (e.g., Blender).

33. Teach people how to be productive in academia – Many people are struggling with procrastination, imposter syndrome, and the pressure to publish and win grants. Simple tips and tricks can make a huge difference. Teach strategies that you have found.

34. Teach people how to do outreach – Run workshops on communicating research to public or non-academic audiences. Help people translate complex research ideas into simple and impactful stories.

35. Run a grant-writing bootcamp – We all write grants in academia. If you have some experience (maybe you’ve won a specific grant already), you can offer training to help researchers secure funding as well. It can be a simple Q&A or a full-blown writing retreat that includes ideation and structuring your proposal. You can also invite more experienced grant writers to provide insights.

36. Teach data visualisation skills – Offer workshops on tools like Matlab, Excel, R, matplotlib, or ggplot2 for creating data visualisation.

37. Run a workshop on academic networking –Teach strategies for building professional relationships. Run scenarios that let people practise. Consider pairing it with a real networking event where participants can apply their skills. Consider a version tailored for new PhD students before they attend their first conference.

38. Host a science communication workshop – Teach researchers how to write for popular media outlets or how to give public talks. Invite experts on the topic. Connect it with a Pecha Kucha competition or a real outreach event. Think also about creative storytelling (maybe, invite authors or editors of public science books). Engage people from your local university who run the outreach programme. They will be eager to help you.

39. Organise a coding tutorial – Offer intensive training in a programming language relevant to your field. Maybe it’s just a specific codebase (maybe, even your own) or specific software. Note that such workshops are often run at conferences.

40. Host a “research ethics” seminar – Discuss ethical considerations in your field’s research practices. Invite philosophers working in the field of ethics. You might want to think about follow-ups like a special issue on the topic, a white paper, or ethical guidelines for your research field.

41. Host a “research impact” workshop – Teach how to measure and communicate the societal impact of research. Find contacts in your university’s impact office. They will be more than happy to support you. Measurable impact is highly important for the prestige of a university.

42. Organise a “research methods” workshop – Teach experimental design, statistics, or qualitative methods relevant to your field. You could start small within your group. Maybe develop a booklet for newcomers that could then expand to the wider community.

5. Resource Creation and Open Access

Another wonderful way to serve your community is creating and sharing resources, tools, or guides to support others, especially with an emphasis on open access and accessibility..

43. Write (open source) code that is useful for the community – Develop and share tools or scripts on platforms like GitHub to aid research. Maybe there is a recurring problem that you need to solve for your work. Why not put some extra effort into documenting it properly and making it available to your community.

44. Create a resource for teaching online – Share best practices for virtual lectures or workshops. Consider including material for public school teachers. Teachers are eager to learn ideas for teaching engaging research topics and are always looking for exercises. Note that different ages require different levels of complexity. Talk to teachers to understand their needs.

45. Collect FAQs for people who want to stay in academia – Compile a resource addressing common academic career questions. This could be specific to different levels, such as securing a PhD scholarship, securing an academic position, achieving tenure, etc.

46. Collect FAQs for people who move into industry – Create a guide for transitioning from academia to industry roles. For example, Ashley Ruba on Twitter/X is a great example of helping people to transition.

47. Collect FAQs for people who want to start a start-up – Develop a resource for researchers interested in entrepreneurship. Where to get funding, explanations of terminology, legal questions, etc.

48. Collect resources for people who want to get into the research field – Create a centralised repository for newcomers. Provide them with a shortcut. For example, this could be a curated list of introductory papers, reviews, outstanding tutorial talks, key figures in the field, a short section on the history of the field, etc.

49. Make a persistent webpage for your yearly conference – Create a dedicated site to archive materials, schedules, and recordings. This could also be done for regular meetings, symposia, summer/winter schools, etc.

50. Develop open-access teaching materials – Share lecture slides, syllabi, or assignments for free use by educators who teach in your field. When you have accumulated enough material, consider compiling everything into a textbook.

51. Create a repository for shared datasets – Build an open platform for researchers to share and access data specific to your field. Consider ways to make it accessible for users. You could provide video tutorials demonstrating how to use the datasets. Also consider how you could facilitate others in sharing their datasets.

52. Develop a mobile app for your community – Create an app for sharing resources, events, or networking opportunities.

53. Develop a resource hub for funding opportunities – Curate a list of grants, fellowships, and scholarships. Also provide links to videos and blog posts on writing grants, new calls, tips and tricks, podcasts on this topic, etc.

54. Develop a guide for navigating academic conferences – Share tips for first-time attendees on networking and presenting. Add tips on travelling, how to prepare a poster, how to acquire a visa, how to transport a poster, how to pay lower fees (early bird), etc.

55. Create a database of open-access journals – Help researchers find reputable venues for open-access publishing in your field. Provide short summaries of what these journals are looking for. Link to good examples.

56. Develop a guide for academic job applications – Share tips for writing compelling CVs, cover letters, and teaching statements. Include tips on where to find job announcements.

57. Develop a guide for work-life balance in academia – Share strategies for managing stress and burnout. Include links to YouTube videos, podcasts, blogs, and a reading list, and share your own story, etc.

58. Provide resources for young parents in academia – How to apply for and organise parental leave, where to find support, tips to make it easier, etc.

59. Develop a toolkit for public engagement – Provide templates for outreach activities or public talks. Link to public outreach events like Pint of Science, different formats (Pecha Kucha, Lightning Talks, etc.), books, podcasts, and videos on public speaking, etc.

6. Outreach and Public Engagement

These activities aim to connect the research community with the public, schools, or other non-academic audiences to foster a broader societal impact.

60. Organise outreach events – Host public talks, science fairs, or demonstrations to engage the broader community with your research. Contact your university’s outreach office, which is eager to support you and provide contacts and resources.

61. Connect researchers with high schools to give talks – arrange for academics to inspire students with research presentations. Be the link that connects exciting research with curious pupils. Consider creating a webpage for this purpose.

62. Organise a mentorship programme for high school students – Many young people are enthusiastic about STEM and often need academics to provide input and feedback on their school projects. Connect young students with researchers for guidance.

63. Host a virtual lab tour – Showcase your research facilities to inspire or educate others. Look out for national or international events, such as European Researchers’ Night, and similar events in your country.

7. Discussion and Collaboration Platforms

This category includes activities that create spaces for debate, feedback, or collaborative problem-solving, often in settings less formal than conferences.

64. Organise an online brainstorming session – Facilitate meetings to generate ideas for collaborative projects or research challenges. This could be done locally (e.g., to bring different research fields together) or online. The results could include new proposals, papers, or research directions.

65. Organise Spaces on Social Media – Host live audio discussions (e.g., on X, LinkedIn or other platforms) to debate trends or share research updates. Make it a regular event. Invite young researchers, highlight their work, and foster a collaborative environment.

66. Organise debates on hot topics in your field – Facilitate discussions to explore controversial or emerging issues. Provide a structure, such as an Oxford-style debate. Celebrate discussion over winning. Record the discussions and share them (ensure you obtain consent from all participants). Also consider hosting special live events at conferences in your field.

67. Organise “Ask Me Anything” sessions – Invite senior researchers, start-up founders, or industry professionals for open Q&A sessions. These sessions can focus on specific topics, such as careers, funding, research ideas, or well-being, or be entirely open.

68. Organise PhD group discussions – Facilitate peer-support groups for PhD students to address research or career challenges. Encourage students to form collaborations. Consider persuading your university to provide small funding grants to explore some of these ideas.

69. Create a journal club – Organise regular meetings to discuss recent publications in your field. This can be a local event where you book a room or a virtual one. Consider also doing the same for books.

70. Organise interdisciplinary panels – Bring together experts from different fields to discuss overlapping challenges. Let them focus on finding commonalities over differences. This is a great way to inspire collaborations and foster new research ideas.

71. Organise a “research in progress” seminar – Allow researchers to share unfinished work, present obstacles they are struggling with, and obtain feedback from their peers. It’s like a mastermind group for academics.

72. Host a “failure forum” – Create a space for researchers to share setbacks and lessons learned. Invite famous and highly successful people in your field to share their failures. It’s crucial for early-career researchers to see that failure is a key component of success.

73. Organise a collaboration challenge – Encourage teams to work together on a specific research problem. Add time constraints, e.g., 30 minutes to come up with three proposal ideas or three ideas for a paper. Remember, you have to have a lot of bad ideas to have good ones.

74. Organise a “research reproducibility” challenge – Encourage researchers to replicate each other’s results. Include a feedback session. As a follow-up, provide improved processes online for others to draw from. Alternatively, find ways to standardise experiments to make them more reproducible.

75. Host a “meet the editor” event – Invite journal editors to discuss the publication process, special issues, what they are looking for, etc. Sometimes they also support financially additional events like conferences and workshops if this has the potential to lead to publications in their journals.

Final words

These are just a few ideas. There are so many other ways you can help others. I am sure you can come up with something completely new–something you are excited about.

Finally, in whatever you do, consider the following points:

Introduce measurements for success early. Focus on growth! Growing participants, outcomes, webpage clicks, viewers, testimonials, etc. This will make it much easier to put on your CV.
Use ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, etc. to get more ideas and/or to refine them.
Look at something you are already doing, just expand it to be useful for others.
Inspire other people to join and help. This is a great way to demonstrate leadership.
Organise even if you are not an expert (yet). Invite more experienced people and learn along the way with the audience.
Spin it. You don’t have to do things as expected. Make it your own. For example, a newsletter doesn’t have to be simple email; you could make it more like a magazine (publisher, etc.).

I hope this is helpful!

What are you doing? Do you have any suggestions? Please share them below in the comment section.

Helmut Hauser