What does it mean to develop researchers or research cultures?

Posted on: 5 January 2026 by Eli Saetnan in 2026

Kay Guccione
Kay Guccione, Head of Research Culture & Researcher Development and Co-director of the Lab for Academic Culture at the University of Glasgow.

I recently sat down with Kay Guccione for a conversation about her journey as a researcher developer. It turned into a fascinating conversation about what research culture is, and what it means to be a developer of both people and cultures.

This conversation is out now on our Developing Practice Podcast and I encourage you to listen to it. In this blog post, I reflect on what I took away from that conversation and how it has impacted my own perspective as a developer.

How do I explain what I actually do as a developer? I didn't even know this job existed before I stumbled into it as a job-hunting early career academic some years ago. I have spent the last 10 years or so getting to grips with what it means to be a developer of people and of practice, and what the impact of that might be both for the people I work with and their communities.

In a recent podcast episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kay Guccione and I asked her same question. What does it mean to do research culture work or to be a researcher developer? It led to a very interesting conversation about her journey into the field and her perspective on what that role entails.

A key take-away for me was the idea that we all have a role to play in uncovering the hidden curriculum within academia, whether that is as supervisors or as researchers or as developers. Start by being curious and asking questions and begin exploring your own academic practices and communities.