One of the best parts of academic life is the opportunity to work on projects with other researchers. Whether you’re combining expertise from different disciplines or just sharing ideas with someone who approaches a problem differently, collaborative research can be hugely rewarding. It’s also increasingly expected by funders and institutions alike.
If you’re new to research, it’s not always obvious where to begin. How do you find collaborators, and what does a strong partnership look like? Once you’re working together, how do you keep things on track? And if you’re a PhD student, how much collaboration is actually acceptable?
In this post, we’ll look at why collaboration matters and how to find the right people to work with. I’ll also share some of my top tips for ensuring your academic collaborations are a success!
Why Collaborate?
Collaborative research isn’t just a buzzword. Done well, it can help your work achieve a far greater impact than you’d have managed on your own.
Here are some of the most common reasons to collaborate:
1. Bring in additional expertise
Sometimes your research will hit a wall – not because you’re doing anything wrong, but because you need knowledge or skills your team doesn’t currently have. This is particularly common in research at the boundaries of disciplines, where no one single researcher is an expert in the whole range of topics involved.
During my own PhD, we needed help with biological imaging techniques (histology). No one in our group had this expertise, so we reached out to a biology lab and set up a collaboration. Thanks to their input, we were able to generate data we couldn’t have produced on our own, and this made for a more impactful journal paper.
2. Generate new ideas through shared discussion
Even if someone works in a similar field to yours, talking through problems together can spark new ideas. You’re combining brainpower, background knowledge, and different perspectives. Often, it’s the conversation itself, not the formal meeting, that leads to the “lightbulb” moment.
Collaborative research is especially useful when you want to explore a new direction but aren’t sure whether to commit time and resources alone. These discussions can act as a useful sanity check: if you’re both excited about the idea, it’s likely worth putting more time and energy into.
3. Access something new
Entering a collaboration could enable you to access something you couldn’t otherwise. This might be:
- A specialist facility (e.g. a wind tunnel, MRI scanner, clean room)
- A unique dataset
- A specific participant group
Collaborating with someone who already has access to these things can accelerate your research significantly.
4. Justify a research visit
If there’s a particular university, city, or country you’d love to spend time in, a collaboration can be the perfect reason to go. When I attended a conference in the US, I extended my trip to visit researchers at Harvard and MIT.
It was an extra journey, yes, but much easier than organising a separate trip from the UK at a later date. It hasn’t yet let to a long-term collaboration, but cold-emailing these researchers still led to a warm response and an offer to meet and discuss research.
Last year I went on a six-week research visit to Tromso in Norway, way up in the Arctic Circle. It was amazing, and came about because of a collaboration with the research group there.
I initially asked them at a conference whether they hosted research visitors, and that laid the groundwork for my visit. If you’re keen to do your own research trip, be sure to check out my post on How to Plan a Research Visit.
5. Strengthen grant applications
Many funders now expect collaborative proposals, requiring applicants to come from a variety of different institutions (and sometimes countries). If you can show you’re already working with researchers in other departments or institutions, you’re off to a flying start.
And even if the funding you’re applying for doesn’t require it, your grant application may be seen as more robust and impactful.
How Much Are You Allowed to Collaborate During a PhD?
To be awarded a PhD, it must be evident to your exam panel and the university awarding you the PhD that you carried out a significant amount of high-quality research. As such, collaborating with other researchers during your PhD can sometimes move into a grey area where you have to be a little careful to ensure you’re not giving the wrong impression about what you did yourself.
However, as long as you clearly acknowledge what you did versus what other people contributed, you’re generally fine.
You can do this by including a statement at the start of each chapter, outlining the part of the work that other people contributed to. For example, here is the start of a results chapter from my own thesis:
The author wishes to thank Maria Parkes for providing specimens, Farah Ahmed and Brett Clark for their assistance with the micro-CT imaging, Lorraine Lawrence for histological sectioning and staining and Kiron Athwal for assistance with the statistical analysis.
Generally speaking, if collaborators are providing narrow contributions: data, access to equipment etc, you’ll be fine. The important things are that:
- You still carried out the majority of the day-to-day work yourself
- You contributed heavily to the intellectual elements of the project
Therefore, collaborating with someone who has specialist knowledge, such as a medical doctor, will be fine (and usually seen as a good thing), since there is no real concern that their work is seen to be such a high proportion of the day-to-day work required to get the research complete that you’ll have any issues. In other words: they’re merely an extra advisor for the piece of work.
I know of many PhD students who had Master’s students do some heavy lifting for their PhD theses – effectively having the Master’s students work on a project which they could use in the PhD students’ theses. To me, this gets into slightly dodgy territory, especially when it occurs in pretty much every results chapter of the thesis. The main thing is to acknowledge who did what so as not to deceive your PhD examiners. Your supervisor should be able to provide guidance on the appropriate level of involvement of other people.
Finally, remember that not everything you do during your time as a PhD student needs to end up in your thesis: you can be involved in collaborations that are fruitful yet don’t form chapters of your thesis.
How to Find Collaborators
If you’re used to working with a certain set of researchers, or require a very specific set of skills from a collaborator, it can feel tough to find the right collaborator to join forces with. How do you know who is open to collaboration? What if they don’t have the right skills or capacity to help at the moment?
Here are a few practical ways to start finding potential collaborators:
1. Ask your supervisor or research group
Your supervisor or postdocs in your group may already have strong networks you can tap into. If you need a certain type of expertise, ask if they know someone who works in that space. Often a warm introduction is all it takes to start a fruitful conversation.
2. Attend conferences and talk to people
Conferences are fantastic for discovering potential collaborators. Go to sessions that overlap with your interests, even outside of your exact niche, and chat to people afterwards. Poster sessions, coffee breaks, and workshops can often be more fruitful than the formal talks.
If someone’s work catches your eye, ideally go and speak to them there and then. Not only are people typically very open to networking and collaborating at conferences, but the conversation will typically flow quite naturally since you can talk about the work you see them presenting.
Conferences, however, are often busy places, so it isn’t always easy to find a moment to speak to a potential collaborator. A message after the event can still open the door. This also works if you’re feeling a bit shy!
3. Read the literature
If you want to collaborate with people doing research you admire, start by identifying authors of recent papers in your field. If their methods, datasets, or ideas align with your goals, they might be especially open to collaboration.
Ask your supervisor if they know any of the authors – often it’ll be the authors with their names towards the end of the list of authors, since they’re the most senior and will have worked in the research area for the longest.
4. Network online
Online networks such as LinkedIn are becoming increasingly useful for researchers. If you’re not already using it to connect with other academics, consider giving it a try.
Friendly public service announcement: when you add someone, please include a short message saying what you found interesting about their work. I get a reasonable number of LinkedIn connection requests and don’t accept lots of the ones which haven’t included a note. Sending even just one sentence about why you want to connect is really useful. The following section includes an example message you could adapt.
Want to level up your LinkedIn skills? Be sure to check out my article on How to Master LinkedIn for Academics and PhD Students.
Reaching Out to Potential Collaborators
Reaching out to potential collaborators can feel intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be.
The good news is that most researchers are typically open to collaboration. And especially so if you’re friendly, clear, realistic about what you’re asking, and offering them something of valuable in return (ie authorship on a paper).
Assuming that you’ve not been offered a warm introducing by a mutual connection, below are a few template examples you could amend to suit your request.
Sample LinkedIn message
Hi [Name], I came across your recent work on [topic] and found it really interesting. I’m working on a related area as part of my PhD and would love to connect. Perhaps we could chat about our shared research interests?
Sample email
Subject: Possible collaboration on [research topic]
Dear [Name],
I hope you’re well. I’ve been reading your work on [topic] and it really resonates with some questions I’m exploring during my PhD. I’m currently working on [brief description] and wondered if you might be open to a short call or email exchange to discuss potential collaboration opportunities?
I’d be happy to share a short summary of my current project if useful. Either way, thank you for your time and for the great research you’re doing.
Best wishes,
[Your Name]
Pro tip: extend your trips
If you’re attending a conference in another city or country, consider reaching out to academics based nearby. You might even be able to tag on a few extra days to your trip for meetings or lab visits. Not only does this make your travel more worthwhile, it also creates natural opportunities for collaboration.
As mentioned above, a few years ago I extended a trip to a conference in the US to include a visit to Boston. That extra journey allowed me to meet with researchers at Harvard and MIT. It was more efficient than organising a separate trip later on and helped build stronger relationships than a virtual chat. Whenever I’m going to a conference I now try to think about if there are potential collaborators based nearby who could be worth visiting after the conference ends.
Additional pro tip: tack on at least a few days of annual leave before or after the conference too. Don’t be one of those people that goes to somewhere which sounds amazing to visit but instead only experiences the airport and conference centre!
Managing Academic Collaborations
Once you’ve set up a collaboration, how do you make sure it runs smoothly?
Managing academic collaborations doesn’t need to be complex, but a little thought up front can help save misunderstandings later on.
1. Set clear expectations
Start by having an open conversation about what each side expects. Are you asking for a specific piece of input for an existing paper? Or is this an exploratory collaboration that could lead to a new project or even a joint grant proposal?
Clarify:
- Who’s contributing what?
- What timeline are you working to?
- Do you already have a publication in mind? Do you foresee your collaborator being an author? Hint: knowing that you’ve already got a research output in mind can be a big motivator for your collaborator!
These conversations don’t need to be formal, but they should happen at an early stage. It’s much easier to agree on expectations up front than to untangle confusion later. For example, you’ll want to ensure that you don’t end up with plenty more researchers expecting to be added as authors to lots of your papers without really contributing anything of value!
2. Schedule regular check-ins
In long-distance or slow-moving projects, it’s easy for things to drift. Arrange regular catch-up calls to keep things on track. They don’t need to be long. Just touching base can maintain momentum and help build trust over time. Of course only schedule meetings at a sustainable pace and at a frequency where progress will have been made between meetings. It’s no good meeting every week if there isn’t much to talk about!
Use shared documents, folders, or project trackers (like Trello or Notion) so everyone has access to the same info.
3. Respect boundaries
Not every collaborator will have the same work style or availability. Academics are typically juggling teaching, supervision, admin, and their own projects. Make room for flexibility, and don’t take slow replies personally. Especially when the collaboration is happening virtually, be mindful that your collaborator probably has a lot going on which you’ll never see.
If things aren’t moving as fast as you’d hoped, it’s okay to check in politely or ask whether timelines need to shift.
Final Thoughts
Collaborative research is a great way to open doors. Whether you’re accessing new expertise, developing cross-disciplinary ideas, or working with a dream team in your field, the benefits can be huge. And while managing academic collaborations does take effort, a bit of planning and clear communication of expectations can go a long way.
So if you’ve been thinking about reaching out to someone, or you’re wondering whether your project might benefit from external input, take this as your sign to go for it!
Send the message. Have the chat. That single conversation could lead to joint papers, research visits, and long-term collaborations!
If you enjoyed this post you may also want to check out: Academic Networking 101: How to Build Your Research Community.
Do you have any examples of collaborative research successes from your own PhD? Please share them in the comments!
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