If someone needed your help, would they be able to find you?
Your UTS Discovery Profile (which can be public facing or internal only) is an obvious platform from which to showcase your research and professional achievements and interests. But are you optimising it with the right keywords?
Using keywords in your Discovery Profile
To help you enhance your profile and make it easier for people to find you, teams in the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and the Research Office collaborated to develop a set of keywords as part of the updated UTS Research Outcomes Capability Framework (ROCF).
“The keywords are a way to support research staff to have the language to showcase their capabilities and act as shared terms to increase the ease of find academics and professionals with specific skillsets," said Serena Ekman, the Support Lead, Research Initiatives, Deputy-Vice Chancellor (Research), who worked on this project with Yuveena Gopalan, Research Data Insights Analyst.
Aligned with ten research capabilities included in the new Framework, each set of keywords represents the skills and capabilities needed to undertake or support research initiatives as well as relevant knowledge about UTS operations and facilities.
By including keywords relevant to your ROCF capabilities in your profile, you will have a greater chance of being found by others searching for your particular expertise and experience.
Those who neglect to align their profiles with ROCF keywords may miss valuable opportunities for connection and collaboration.
"Using the right keywords helps ensure your unique research skills are easily discoverable, especially when someone is searching for expertise like yours,” explained Yuveena, emphasising that using shared language makes it much easier to connect.
“It’s really important that we each communicate how we can offer support to the UTS research community as well as what are the research capabilities and attributes we possess. By simply using a keyword, we can improve how anyone finds the capabilities they are looking for at UTS.”
We began this keyword project as an exercise in identifying how staff capabilities as identified by their Discovery Profiles mapped to the updated Research Outcomes Capability Framework (ROCF), but realised this project had so much more potential to support staff.
Serena urges academics and research support and enablement staff to incorporate critical keywords related to their specific capabilities into their Discovery Profiles.
“I have worked with RES Hub, eResearch and ASPIRE on updating training of various digital tools, so I feel confident in sharing knowledge in this space, but it wasn’t listed on my profile until I saw the ‘digital tools’ keyword.”
“I also have knowledge about how to interact with and contribute to UTS policies, but I realised that if other staff are looking for help in these areas, no-one would have known that they could ask me for assistance until I added the ‘research policy’ keywords to my profile."
How to use ROCF keywords
- Check out the keywords listed below. The keywords are grouped under the new ROCF capability areas.
- Start by picking an area that reflects your skills and experience. Then look at the keywords listed to see if any reflect specific knowledge and expertise that you want to showcase.
- Integrate the keywords of your choice into your UTS Discovery Profile by logging into Symplectic and updating your biography.
- Search for keywords in areas you'd like to learn more about in the search bar for UTS Profiles and see who you can find.
List of Research Capabilities Keywords
Below are the updated ten research capabilities included in the new Research Outcomes Capability Framework (with intended release in early 2026). Each overarching capability area includes:
- an example desired outcome, which were developed in response to feedback by academic and professional staff
- a summarised list of key capabilities associated with the overarching segment
- a set of keywords that are representative examples of skills and capabilities needed to undertake or support research initiatives and relevant knowledge about UTS operations and facilities.
Collaborating with Researchers and Research Concentrations
Desired Outcome: Fostering collaboration within and beyond the institution across academia.
Key Capabilities:
- Identifying complementary skills and building inclusive, respectful partnerships.
- Facilitating cross-disciplinary and external collaborations.
- Scaling up to form research concentrations and networks.
- Leveraging collective expertise to address complex challenges.
Key Words
- connecting researchers
- capability mapping
- collaborative tools
- coordinating research networks
- facilitating collaboration
- multidisciplinary collaboration
- pan-university support
- partnership development
- relationship management
- strategic partnerships
Engaging and Partnering with End-Users
Desired Outcome: Connecting research with external stakeholders for greater impact.
Key Capabilities:
- Identifying and building relationships with industry, government, and community partners.
- Co-designing research with end-users and tailoring outputs to their needs.
- Managing formal partnerships and networks aligned with strategic priorities.
- Supporting large-scale, multi-partner projects.
Key Words
- agreements
- communicate benefits of research
- engagement strategies
- formal partnerships
- institutional priorities
- knowledge exchange
- productive partnering
- relationship management
- stakeholder engagement
- value proposition
Outputs and Dissemination
Desired Outcome: Creating, sharing, and maximizing the impact of research outputs.
Key Capabilities:
- Producing high-quality, discipline-appropriate outputs.
- Planning and implementing effective dissemination strategies.
- Assessing reach and influence using metrics and indicators.
- Sustaining long-term dissemination and influencing disciplinary norms.
Key Words
- assessing reach
- communication strategies
- dissemination strategies
- increased visibility and impact
- non-traditional outputs
- outreach
- publishing
- research output analysis
- storytelling
- visualisation tools
Research Funding
Desired Outcome: Securing and managing funding for research activities.
Key Capabilities:
- Identifying and applying for relevant funding opportunities.
- Developing compelling proposals and accurate budgets.
- Planning long-term and diverse funding strategies for projects and consortia.
- Navigating administrative, regulatory, and reporting requirements.
Key Words
- budgeting
- costing and pricing
- proposal development
- financial sustainability
- funding guidelines
- funding opportunities
- funding strategy
- grants management
- reporting requirement
- research finance support
Pathways to Impact
Desired Outcome: Ensuring research delivers tangible benefits to society.
Key Capabilities:
- Planning for impact from the start, including end-user engagement.
- Identifying and evaluating pathways for research translation and adoption.
- Building capacity for commercialisation, policy influence, and social change.
- Measuring and reflecting on research impact and outcomes.
Key Words
- adoption
- commercialisation
- end user benefit
- impact evaluation
- impact planning
- policy influence
- research translation
- social change
- societal benefit
- upscaling research
International Positioning
Desired Outcome: Building global research partnerships and reputation.
Key Capabilities:
- Identifying and engaging with international partners and opportunities.
- Managing formal partnerships, travel, and compliance with international regulations.
- Leading or participating in multinational projects and consortia.
- Promoting the institution’s strengths and facilitating international exchanges.
Key Words
- global engagement
- global research strategy
- global impact
- international collaboration
- international priorities
- international reputation
- international research partners
- key technology partners
- international staff exchange
- strategic international partnerships
Track Record and Research Profiles
Desired Outcome: Building and showcasing research achievements and impact.
Key Capabilities:
- Documenting strengths, outputs, and achievements for diverse audiences.
- Benchmarking against discipline norms and using metrics responsibly.
- Promoting research profiles for recognition, awards, and strategic goals.
- Representing the institution in external engagements.
Key Words
- benchmarking
- improving reputation
- increased recognition
- institutional ambassadors
- profile management
- showcasing research
- strategic representation
- strategic research profiles
- tailored track record
- visibility
Indigenous-led Knowledges and Research
Desired Outcome: Supporting Indigenous researchers and Indigenous research.
Key Capabilities:
- Centering Indigenous perspectives, methodologies, and leadership in research.
- Ensuring ethical engagement, cultural safety, and benefit to Indigenous communities.
- Supporting Indigenous researchers and knowledge holders.
Key Words
- First nations research
- community engagement
- culturally responsive research
- equity and inclusion
- ethical engagement
- Indigenous knowledges
- Indigenous methodologies
- Indigenous partnerships
- Indigenous researchers
- knowledge exchange
Interrelated Teaching and Research
Desired Outcome: Integrating research and teaching for mutual benefit.
Key Capabilities:
- Incorporating current research into curriculum and teaching activities.
- Creating opportunities for students to engage with research and understand its impact.
- Supporting graduate research students and fostering a high-quality research environment.
Key Words
- curriculum design
- educational opportunities
- graduate attributes
- internships
- learning pathways
- research integrated teaching
- student engagement
- student progression
- supervision
- workforce preparation
Research Foundations
Desired Outcome: Building strong research proposals, work plans, and methods.
Key Capabilities:
- Formulating relevant research questions and justifying their importance.
- Managing project milestones, deadlines, and resources.
- Integrating impact and engagement planning from the outset.
- Using digital tools, data management, and adhering to integrity and ethics standards.
- Ensuring reproducibility, compliance with policies, and best-practice record keeping.
Key Words
- data analysis
- digital tools
- enterprise tools
- project management
- project milestones
- proposal development
- research data management
- research facilities
- research integrity
- research methods
- research planning
- research policy
- research workflows