A white background with text which reads: Higher education is changing. Academics have to get better at engaging with multiple audiences in multiple ways and taking their research to new communities. The Conversation is a critical skills development tool. Matthew Flinders, Founding Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics, University of Sheffield. Beside the text is a headshot of Matthew Flinders who wears glasses, a blue suit and a yellow striped tie.

Our courses

Short courses that cover how to pitch and write for The Conversation and reach non-academic audiences.


A read background with text which reads The Conversation: who we are and how we work with academics


A black background with text which reads: How to write for The Conversation
A green background with text which reads: How to pitch to The Conversation


A blue background with text which reads: Writing for Insightsrm features


Aligned with Vitae's RDF


The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) by Vitae describes the competencies (knowledge, behaviours, skills and attributes) of effective researchers, as identified by the higher education sector. The RDF provides researchers with an internationally recognised route map for their professional development. This approach is now embedded across over 140 higher education institutions in the UK. Vitae also supports almost 200 HEIs globally from 20 different countries.


The benefits of taking The Conversation's training courses have been mapped by Vitae to the RDF in both its original (2010) and updated (2025) versions. This mapping shows how our courses can support researchers to develop competencies to enhance their knowledge and intellectual abilities in all three of the RDF 2025 domains, researcher, research and research communities.


See individual course pages for further breakdown.

About The Conversation


The Conversation is an independent source of news analysis and expert comment written by academic experts, working with professional journalists who help share their knowledge with the world.