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Doctoral College Newsletter - 4 March 2025
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Update your public profile on University of Exeter website
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A public profile enables you to be more discoverable, promoting collaborative opportunities, connections, and visibility. Although not mandatory, all PGRs are encouraged to have a public profile. Visit the Profiles SharePoint site which has a quick start video, comprehensive guidance, and FAQs about how to set up your profile. Once you have made your profile public (guidance on how to do this is on the SharePoint site), it will be displayed on the University’s powerful new search tool, Discovery- where you can connect with our community to explore exciting new possibilities.
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Cultural Festival (Monday 3-Sunday 9 March 2025)
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There are a fantastic range of things going on as part of the Cultural Festival (Monday 3-Sunday 9 March); all students and staff are invited to all events. Here is a selection:
• Tuesday 4 March, 12.00-14.00 Forum Street: Societies Showcase
• Wednesday 5 March, 11.00-15.00, Terrace, Devonshire House: World Kitchen!
The first 300 dishes served from our menu will be a lip-smacking £2.25 (then going up to regular price)!! No pre booking required.
• Friday 7 March, 17.00-21.00, Great Hall: Open Iftar
Join our Islamic Society and friends for a Ramadan Iftar meal. Everyone is welcome. Please book your free ticket by 12 noon on Wednesday 5 March.
• Sunday 9 March, 17.00-20.30, Great Hall: Cultural Variety Show
Come and see some fantastic performances from a variety of cultural societies and talented individuals. Before the show come to the Terrace to see an exhibition of photographs from the week and a textile piece that has been created. You don’t need to book a ticket but early bird tickets do include a free soft drink and snack!
Events on the Cornwall campuses include a St Piran's Day celebration, Social Football World Cup and many more!
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Community Radio: Free Media Training for Researchers
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Soundart Radio is a community station based in Dartington, Totnes. As their production company Stelllaria Media, they specialise in building relationships between research and community media, including FUTURES on Air, a UKRI project with South West universities.
On Friday 7 March they are hosting a free workshop for researchers to find out how to collaborate with community media, gain public engagement experience and learn practical, creative skills for disseminating research.
There is funding that can help with travel costs within the South West; please contact Alice Armstrong via alice@soundartradio.org.uk for further details.
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Forest Bathing: Experience the benefits of shinrin-yoku on Penryn Campus
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Dates: Tuesdays 4, 11, 25 March and 1, 8, 15 and 22 April
Time: 8.00 – 9.00
Where: Multifaith chaplaincy near Tremough Barton farmhouse (start and end point)
What: Start your day gently with a one-hour forest bathing session involving a walk and short mindful activities in the outdoors led by local practitioner, Paul Simmons. Forest bathing is a playful, slow and childlike exploration of the woodland surroundings with all our senses. Be prepared for all weather and bring something waterproof to sit on! A small tea ceremony will end the session at the chaplaincy.
This event has been organised by the Cornwall Wellbeing Network, a campus staff community network, and is open to all staff and postgraduate researchers from the University of Exeter, Falmouth University, FX Plus and the SU.
Please sign up here. You are very welcome to email Paul (ps527@exeter.ac.uk) with any questions.
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Feed back at Research & Impact Strategy 2026-2031 Session
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All postgraduate researchers are warmly invited to join a session on the emerging themes in the new Research & Impact Strategy 2026-2031. The session will be hosted by Prof. Krasi Tsaneva-Atanasova, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & Impact, and Prof. Stacey Hynd, Dean of Postgraduate Research and of the Doctoral College, who will provide an update on plans and meeting attendees will have an opportunity to feed back on the developing strategy.
The session takes place from 13.00-14.00 on Wednesday 26 March 2025.
Please contact RandIStrategy@exeter.ac.uk with any questions.
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Virtual launch of Exeter Impact Podcast Episode Five: "Broadening access to research with impact” with Professor Joe Kember
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Join us for a virtual screening of episode five of the podcast with Professor Joe Kember and a live Expert Impact Panel from 12.30-14.00 on Friday 14 March!
The Exeter Impact Podcast hosts engaging conversations with research experts, sharing their insights, approaches, and solutions for advancing the impact of research at the University of Exeter and beyond.
In our penultimate episode in the series, Professor Joe Kember shares his experience of opening unseen heritage collections to new audiences through his work with museums. Joe’s work on the ‘A Million Pictures: Enhancing the Curation, Dissemination and Re-use of Neglected Magic Lantern Media Heritage’ research has helped deliver the world’s largest open access database of more than 200,000 magic lantern slides.
Review our programme, panel details and biographies, and register your attendance in Eventbrite.
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The Sasakawa Japanese Studies Postgraduate Studentship Programme – call for nominations
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The Sasakawa Japanese Studies Postgraduate Studentship Programme supports the development of Japanese Studies in UK universities. Funded by The Nippon Foundation and administered by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, it offers up to 30 UK postgraduate studentships annually, each worth £15,000 (or £7,500 for part-time) for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Studentships are open to all nationalities, aiming to develop UK specialists on Japan. The application involves:
1. Providing background on Japanese studies at Exeter and the impact of the Programme.
2. Nominating up to three students pursuing a Masters or PhD in Japanese studies or related fields.
If interested, please inform your department DPGR by Sunday 9 March.
Recipients can receive other funding, as long as it doesn't exceed the Foundation's award. Please note, the Foundation do not normally consider an application for a fourth year of a PhD if this consists largely of writing up a thesis.
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Participants Needed for Online Survey About Grief and Recovery
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Have you suddenly lost a loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic?
A study in the Psychology department is looking for individuals who have experienced loss during the COVID-19 period. We would like to understand how a person’s self-view and thinking style are related to their response to losing a loved one during pandemic. If you seem eligible, complete the online questionnaire at your convenience from any technological device. At the end of the research participants will earn 1 course credit or have the chance to win a £20 Amazon voucher (10 winners).
Interested? Contact PhD Student Melis Gün Ertan (mg852@exeter.ac.uk) or click on the button below.
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Connecting single cell and spatial sequencing researchers- Networking Event
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Date: Wednesday 2 April 2025
Time: 13.00-16.00
Venue: St Luke’s Campus
Do you use single cell or spatial sequencing techniques and data in your research? Join us at this networking event to meet other Early Career and Postgraduate Researchers and discuss opportunities and challenges in this field. The event is open to both experimental and computational researchers using these methods across the university.
Please register using our Eventbrite page linked below by Thursday 27 March and contact Ann Babtie at a.babtie@exeter.ac.uk with any queries.
This activity is a Researcher-led Initiative that has been funded by the University of Exeter Researcher Development and Research Culture team.
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PRES Survey- search PRES in your inbox for your unique URL!
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Have you completed the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2025? Tell us about your experience as a postgraduate research student and donate to charity by completing the PRES 2025 survey today.
To complete the survey, search 'PRES' in your inbox to find your unique URL to the survey. The survey closes on Monday 28 April 2025.
To find out more about PRES 2025, please visit PRES 2025 or contact the Doctoral College at doctoral.college@exeter.ac.uk.
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The Future of AI and Its Impact in Mathematics Symposium
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📅 Date: Wednesday 7 May 2025
📍 Location: Laver 320, Laver Building, Streatham Campus
The Future of AI and Its Impact in Mathematics is a one-day, in-person symposium exploring the transformative role of AI in mathematical research and applications.
This conference will feature thought-provoking discussions led by renowned speakers, including:
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Prof. Yang-Hui He, Royal Institution, London
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Dr Sander Dieleman, Google DeepMind, London
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Prof. Ricardo Silva, UCL, London
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Prof. Chico Camargo, University of Exeter.
These experts will share their insights on AI-driven advancements in mathematics. It will be a great opportunity to engage with leading researchers, exchange ideas, and explore the evolving intersection of AI and mathematical sciences.
Please note that registration is mandatory; however, it is free. You can find out more on Eventbrite and secure your spot by registering using the button below.
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Join fellow PGRs in this online space, led by PGRs for PGRs to focus individually on whatever tasks you would like to work on. You can join the PGR Study Space Microsoft Teams Group here, or for further information, please contact Jo Sutherst.
The PGR Study Space core facilitated hours are:
Monday 10:00am-12:00pm
Wednesday 10:00am-12:00pm
Friday 10:00am-12:00pm
There are unfacilitated sessions outside of these hours so you can fit it around your working patterns.
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1-2-1 career appointments available
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1-2-1 careers appointments with our dedicated PGR careers coach, Kenneth Howgill, are available to book on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Kenneth is a qualified and experienced career coach, lecturer and learning and development professional with over 20 years’ experience within the corporate sector, universities, further and adult education. He has held management roles in the public, corporate and not for profit sectors, leading professional development, coaching programmes, and recruiting graduates. Kenneth is a member of the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is a member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council and holds a business degree, a master's in music and a professional career coaching qualification.
All appointments are 50 minutes long. Please contact researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk if there are any technical difficulties.
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Wellbeing Support and Sessions
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Every Mind Matters
Having good mental health helps us relax more, achieve more and enjoy our lives more. The NHS have expert advice and practical tips to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing. See their website here.
Spectrum.Life
Sprectrum.Life provides a confidential telephone, video, and live chat counselling service to help with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, bereavement and more. The Spectrum Life web portal offers wellbeing courses, mindfulness, healthy eating resources and online fitness classes to help you to stay well.
Wellbeing Centre
If you would like to speak to PGR Education Welfare Team for Welfare, they can be contacted at welfare.pgr@exeter.ac.uk or tel: 01392 726207. Further wellbeing information, tools and support can be found on our wellbeing webpages.
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Penryn Campus Community Choir
During a successful first term, our staff choir has evolved and now enjoys singing a range of both classical and contemporary songs, with only the occasional sea shanty 😉 Do consider dropping in for a mid-week singalong and enjoy the mood-boosting effects of group singing while having fun, all under the expert guidance of local artist and musician, Charlotte Cripwell.
Every Wednesday, 13.00 – 14.00, Stella Turk Seminar room, Penryn Campus.
🌱 We are fundraising to keep the choir going for another year – please spread the word! Donations can be made here.
Brought to you by the Cornwall Wellbeing Network- enquiries to Natasha Hammond or Andrew Pye.
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Nurture-U: Are you feeling worried about your thesis or other PhD work?
The Nurture-U team are offering FREE resources and therapies to help with confidence and stress while doing your PhD.
We have:
1. An online toolkit, to help you track your mood over time and manage your busy lives
2. An innovative app to build confidence,
3. Online therapy, with a therapist or self-guided, and
4. A resilience workbook, with support from a therapist.
All these options have been proven to work, we’re just researching who responds best to what type of support. You can hopefully improve your wellbeing, earn shopping vouchers, and help other students in the future by contributing to research!
Any questions, please email nurture-u@exeter.ac.uk. You can also follow us on Instagram.
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Free Mindfulness Sessions for Wellbeing
Mindfulness is a powerful practice of training our attention and an evidence-based way to tackle anxiety, stress and low mood. If you’re interested in exploring more, there is a variety of free internal options available for all colleagues.
Sessions from the internal Mood Disorders Centre mindfulness team include: an eight-week MBCT-L course (2hrs weekly), an eight-week ‘deeper mindfulness’ course for those who’ve completed the MBCT-L course and bespoke ‘healthy mind’ sessions for whole teams, which can be delivered in-person or online.
You may also be interested in trying mindful meditation in 30 min online sessions each Thursday lunchtime. This is a secular practice run by the Chaplaincy.
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Details on how you can contact the PGR support team, either via email, telephone or face to face via our hubs (located on all campuses) is available on our contact us webpage.
Remember you can come along and meet the team or to ask any enquiries you might have at either of our helpdesk hubs below at any of our campuses:
The Streatham PGR Hub is open from 10.00am – 3.00pm Monday to Friday. The Streatham Hub is situated in the Old Library Ground Floor next to the Quiet Study Space and Bill Douglas Centre.
The St Luke’s PGR Hub is open from 10.00am – 3.00pm on a Monday and a Thursday. Students wishing to access the hub should go to the Info at St Luke’s desk and request PGR support, the PGR team will then be called to see you.
The Penryn PGR Support Office is open from 10.00am – 2.00pm Monday to Friday. It is based in the Postgraduate Suite in Daphne Du Maurier building 3 (next to the SU and opposite the Stannary).
For enquiries surrounding training and development, please contact the team on: ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk
You can view previous versions of the newsletter here.
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