Ethos & usage policy

This platform is free to use for everyone. By using Symposed you agree to take part in good faith. Apply to projects you genuinely intend to complete, communicate honestly, and treat collaborators and supervisors with respect.

Creating trust and preventing spam

We want to avoid situations where everyone applies to every project, which reduces the quality of applications and increases ghosting. Commitment to a project is essential to seeing it through, as they take significant time and effort. So we want you to apply to projects you find interesting, that are useful for your future career, and that you can realistically see yourself completing.

For this reason we limit how many applications you can send in a rolling period (the current limit is shown when you apply). This prevents high volumes of low-quality applications and ghosting, and may change over time based on how users feel. If you post a research opportunity with a validated supervisor, you can earn extra applications.

Reviews and reputation

To build trust in the platform and in yourself, you receive reviews of your work on projects, shown on your profile, which you can use in future applications. People posting opportunities use these to judge trustworthiness and commitment. It is your responsibility to ask collaborators and supervisors for reviews.

Accessibility for beginners

The barrier to entry can feel high because projects often look for people with experience, but we all start without any. We promote those who are new to research, every project states whether it is beginner-friendly, and listers who support beginners earn recognition such as the Research Mentor badge. Everyone needed a first project once.

Who can supervise

Project supervisors must be one of: Consultants, Registrars, Dentists, Qualified Nurses, or staff grade at a hospital; or University Professors, Postdoctoral Researchers, or staff grade at a university. Verification is by institutional email (a UK university .ac.uk address or an NHS address).

Acceptable use

• Do not post misleading, fraudulent, or spam listings.
• Do not harass, discriminate against, or abuse other users.
• Do not misrepresent your identity, qualifications, or eligibility to supervise.
• Do not use the platform for anything unlawful or that breaches research ethics or patient confidentiality.

We may remove content or suspend accounts that breach these principles. Questions? See our About page.