Training and support for staff who act as Principal Investigators (PIs) and research leaders. We provide training and support for all University of Edinburgh Principal Investigators (PIs) and research leaders. Our offer focuses on helping you develop research leadership skills and competencies in areas such as managing yourself and your career, leading and managing people and teams, leading and managing in complexity, and your role in building positive research environments.Explore the various research leadership development opportunities below. Who is this training for, and who is a PI? To understand if this training and support is relevant to you, our working definition of who is a Principal Investigator (PI) is:A Principal Investigator is a staff member who is responsible for the intellectual leadership and overall management of a research project, who may lead or manage individuals or teams.This definition encompasses a wide range of people in research and focuses on the roles and responsibilities of the person rather than their career stage, funding status or formal titles.To read more about how we define a PI, read our blog on “Who is a PI?” Research Leader Programme For new Principal Investigators and research leaders at the University of Edinburgh who want to build positive cultures and support individuals and teams to develop. Scottish Research Leaders Network Join other research leaders from across Scotland for short monthly online events. Open to all aspiring, new or established research leaders. Participative Leadership Training (Deep Democracy) For research leaders who want to enhance their capacity to work within complex social systems and increase conflict literacy. Self-paced leadership resources Explore curated online resources to develop your research leadership at your own pace, for University of Edinburgh research and academic staff. Leadership development consultations Create a personal leadership development plan or get help navigating the available offers to find what's right for you. All support for research leaders and PIs A list of all programmes, workshops and support relevant to research leaders and PIs Other leadership and management programmes For an overview of other leadership and management programmes visit our Research Staff Hub where all opportunities across the institution are listed.Research Staff Hub: Resources for managers of researchers Researcher Realities Researcher Realities is an umbrella initiative that invites conversations among and across the research community about the hows of research – how researchers do what they do. It includes an annual event featuring a mix of panel sessions.Researcher Realities This article was published on Wednesday 3 June 2026
