I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to help someone's research vision happen! I really do, do a little dance for joy every time someone (or quite frequently a collaborative team) I've helped via a training course or coaching wins that precious grant or fellowship. Admittedly probably not such a big dance of joy as the investigators themselves do, but I still really care about my all my clients and love to see their ideas get funded!

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HI, I'M BECKY

I'm the founder and still the Principal Consultant here at Research in Focus Ltd. You can find out more about Research in Focus on our main website www.researchinfocus.com this Kajabi courses site is reserved just for our online courses so on this page you can find out more about me, Becky Steliaros, as the instructor on all (so far!) of our courses. 

MY STORY

I started out as an actual scientist (yes that's a dodgy very late 90s photo of me to prove I could, once upon a time, actually do chemistry!), then decided being an actual scientist was taking me too far from seeing the breadth of research to be immersed in, and loved to see flourish, in all it's variety and complexity, so I joined the UK Research Councils. During my 12 years in the Research Councils I got to work on lots of really interesting things and with lots of fantastic people. Then in 2012 I decided to fly solo. Yes it was VERY scary, especially for a civil servant - everyone told me I was utterly bonkers - I did step away from a very nice pension! The truth was working for myself was a dream I'd harboured since I was a child, but it took me a while to work out how, as a public servant interested in supporting research & researchers, I could make that work!  Research in Focus Ltd, whose site you're on today, was the result!

WHY RESEARCH IN FOCUS?

 

Research in Focus was born out of a need I saw for more support for researchers applying for grants than Research Offices were able to offer. As someone who had sat on the inside for 12 years I could offer constructive advice.  BUT if I were simply to take up a job in a Research Office at a university somewhere nothing would change. Hence Research in Focus, a company which is able to support researchers all over the UK, just when you need us, and with a pretty specialised set of skills and experiences.

These days Research in Focus is still, pardon the pun, focused. It's mainly me carrying out all the client facing work but I also work with a range of highly qualified associates; some of whom have similar career histories, and some of whom have completely different but complementary skills.  We team up on large projects or provide substitutes for each other if one of us has an emergency!  Thankfully I'm also assisted these days by 3 part time assistants on IT, finance & general admin and social media!

POLYMATH

 

I've always had a really wide range of interests, many of which have turned into skills (except recoiling the electrical hook up cable for my camper van THAT always manages to get itself in a pickle somehow - ask my husband, he think's it's hilarious that someone, who is otherwise extremely practically capable (also top of woodwork class!) and technically competent can be defeated by a 25m power cable, or indeed a similarly sized water hose!). I was lucky that the Research Councils had excellent learning and development policies and thus whilst I was there I was encouraged to study for various extended qualifications. First, PRINCE 2 project management to practitioner (middle) level, then a PG certificate in organisational psychology (coaching & mentoring, creativity, change management and leadership) and the biggest challenge of them all an MBA! Of course the EPSRC was the subject of all my project work & dissertations so the latest thinking could be brought into the organisation but I was also able to indulge a lifelong love of learning!

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