The Doctoral College Newsletter provides you with fortnightly updates for events, opportunities and news specifically relevant to postgraduate researchers.

We'd like to welcome all our new starters and hope you are settling into your research programme.

Here are just some of the highlights this week:

• If you missed our inductions, or simply want to refresh your memory, don't worry as our Doctoral College Induction Portal covers all this information, plus a recording of the online induction. All the details can be found in our News section.
• We're looking for new presenters for our Exeter Postgraduate Research Podcast- this is a great voluntary opportunity to enhance your presentation and get involved with the PGR community, Head to the Opportunities section for full details.
• The deadline to apply for a RLI is closing soon- find out more in our Reminders section.

To find out more about these, and everything else at the University for PGRs, jump to the relevant sections using our linked contents list:

News

Opportunities

Events

Student Achievements

Reminders

Community

Careers Support

Wellbeing Support and Sessions

Enquiries

The next newsletter will go out on Tuesday 3 February 2026. Please submit items for the next newsletter by Wednesday 28 January 2026. Please refer to our style guide before submitting your item.

You can also share your news and events on PGR Community Hub on Viva Engage, or on our Bluesky account.

The place to look for training and development opportunities at the University and beyond is our Postgraduate Researcher Training and Development Bulletin.

The University will be upgrading RIME Worktribe on Thursday 22 January. This update will bring some enhanced functionality and maintain optimal performance of the system. 

Worktribe will be unavailable from 10:00 on Thursday 22 January to 09:00 on Friday 23 January 

Please note that during the close-down period it won’t be possible to create or update ethics applications.

Our Doctoral College Induction Portal contains all the key information you need to know in your first few weeks in one easy place. Whether you are just beginning your course, or looking to refresh your knowledge, please check out this handy SharePoint resource that covers topics such as PGR Support, wellbeing, student voice, researcher development and peer mentoring, plus many more! You will also find the recording from the online induction held on Tuesday 13 January in the Welcome to the University section.

The Doctoral College and the Wellbeing, Inclusion and Culture team are working together to better understand, and improve, the Wellbeing of our PGRs.  We are hosting a number of online focus groups to explore the PGR experience further. Each online session will be an hour long and will cover topics such as: supervisory and pastoral tutor relationships, support services, and community and culture. The sessions will be recorded for note taking purposes but participation in the sessions and any comments made will remain anonymous. We want to hear from as wide range of PGR Students as possible. You will receive a £10 voucher for participation. If you are interested in taking part in a session and want further details, please complete this form by Tuesday 27 January 2026.

Have you ever thought about having your own podcast? What questions would you ask staff about topics relevant to postgraduate researchers?

After a successful series last year, Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast is back and we are looking for a new batch of presenters: PGRs who would like to gain some valuable presentation skills practice and be the voice of the PGR community through our new Exeter Researcher Podcast. This is your chance to ask any questions you have, explore topics you don’t know so much about or highlight information you think other PGRs would find useful.

We are looking for up to six postgraduate researchers, each of whom would undertake one interview on MS Teams with individual members of staff or a fellow PGR on a topic around support or development of PGRs or their research. Episodes will be around 25-30 minutes. We’re happy to be flexible in terms of topic and questions to meet the interests of our presenters and our audience.

This is a voluntary role but a great chance to develop skills vital to any career path, as well as an enjoyable new experience that will benefit both you and the PGR community.

If your submission goes forward to the next selection round, you will be able to show your presenting skills in a micro-episode with one of our Researcher Development and Research Culture team members, so we encourage you to submit expressions of interest, regardless of whether you have previous podcast/interviewing experience or not.

Expressions of interest form will close at 12.00 (12 noon) on Monday 9 February 2026. If you have any questions or would like to know more, please contact researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.

A new, online, self-access careers resource specifically designed for Postgraduate Researchers is currently being developed, to be released this summer. We would like to hear your thoughts and preferences to ensure the site is as helpful and relevant as possible. If you would like to be involved in a focus group, please contact Katie at k.hoare2@exeter.ac.uk.

The Developing Business Aware Academics (DBAA) Team is partnering with Amazon to host an academia-business networking event at Amazon’s UK Headquarters in London, Wednesday 11 February 2026, 13.00-16.00 (with an optional tour of the building from 11.30).

The event is for doctoral and early-career researchers from all disciplines at the University of Exeter (no prior industry experience required).

Attendees will have the opportunity to create connections, spark ideas and lay the foundations for meaningful, long-term professional relationships.

The afternoon will offer:
• An introduction to university and industry workplace cultures, approaches to research and innovation processes 
• Relaxed one-to-one conversations that encourage curiosity and cultural knowledge exchange
• Facilitated round table discussions exploring innovation themes in:
o AI, and data
o Innovation insights 
o Research – industry culture exchange 

Participation is free and the DBAA project can cover travel costs for attending researchers.

Date Wednesday 25 February (provisional)

Time: 13:30–18:30

Venue: Queen’s Building MR2–3

The Global Area Studies (GLAS) network invites contributions for a half-day workshop exploring how gender is lived, governed, contested, and theorised across different world regions.

This workshop brings together scholars working on gender from diverse disciplinary, methodological, and geographical perspectives. Through a series of short thematic presentations followed by a closing roundtable, the event aims to open up dialogue on how we can meaningfully study gender comparatively and relationally, beyond single-country or single-region frames.

We particularly welcome contributions engaging with (but not limited to) the following themes:
• Gender and labour
• Gender and migration
• Gender and violence
• Gendered bodies and embodiment
The workshop will conclude with a roundtable discussion on the challenges and possibilities of studying gender across regions, including epistemological, methodological, and ethical questions.

How to Participate:
Please submit a brief expression of interest including:
• Name, affiliation, and role
• Title or theme of your proposed presentation
• 100–150 word summary of your work
• Whether you would like to participate in the roundtable as well

Send to Katie Brown (k.brown4@exeter.ac.uk) and Xianan Jin (x.jin@exeter.ac.uk) by Friday 30 January.

Thursday 12 March 2026 (10 am - 3.30 pm) Penryn Campus, ESI Previthick Room
AND
Tuesday 24 March 2026 (10 am - 3.30 pm) Penryn Campus, Exchange Yellow

It's important you can commit to the 2 full days of this training.

Ever wondered if there is a better way to run a meeting or a workshop?  Boost your confidence, innovative thinking and collaboration skills – and transform the way you approach team meetings, workshops, teaching, and research groups.

Congratulations to PGR Hasan Ogredik, whose article “Military Involvement in Disaster Management: Bibliometric Insights into Central–Peripheral Dynamics and Historical Crises,” has recently been published in the journal Progress in Disaster Science (published by Elsevier Ltd.) ScienceDirect

The study employs bibliometric analysis to examine the role of military resources in disaster management and to map the central–peripheral structure of the field, with particular attention to historical crises and institutional dynamics.

Hasan explains the importance of his research: "Although the military is often crucial in disaster response, we still lack a clear and balanced understanding of its role worldwide.”

The Researcher Development and Research Culture team has funding for up £2,500 per award to support the development and cascading of personal, professional and career management skills by and for PGRs and ECR staff across the University of Exeter.  Staff applicants will need to indicate their job family (i.e. R only, E&R, E&S, Technical Strategy & Operations) and explain how they fit into the Early Career Researcher stage.

Deadline: 12 noon on Friday 23 January 2026

The PGR Community Hub is a collaborative online space for Postgraduate Researchers at the University of Exeter. Posts can be uploaded by PGRs, The Exeter Students' Guild or The Falmouth and Exeter Students' Union, alongside teams that support PGRs such as the Researcher Development and Research Culture Team. Please use this space to discuss ideas, share best practice, ask questions and keep up to date with the latest activities, events and opportunities. Here you can have your voice heard and shape our community and research culture.

Please do not use this channel to advertise/search for rooms to rent; the University has its own Viva Engage channel where you can do this.

The Exeter Wellbeing Network is a social group for staff and PGRs run by volunteers, hosting a variety of events to help colleagues based at Streatham, St. Luke's or online to connect with one another. Recurring events include StaffCraft, singing, Walk and Talk and Fika; find the full list on our webpage.

You can also contact us at wellbeing-network@exeter.ac.uk.

If you are looking for information about activities at Penryn, Falmouth and Truro, please visit the Cornwall Wellbeing Network webpage.

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.

The PGR Study Space facilitated hours are as and when facilitators are available.

There are unfacilitated sessions outside of these hours so you can fit it around your working patterns.

If you have any queries, please contact PGRStudySpace@exeter.ac.uk. 

There are a wide range of societies and/or groups that you may like to join, such as the Mature Students Society and the PG Society (Exeter).

Check out the Doctoral College Networks webpage for full information. Don't forget to also take a look at the societies on offer at Exeter Students' Guild and Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union websites, which include a society for international students as well as various sports and interests.

A relaxed, informal singing group to promote positive wellbeing and a sense of community and connection across our lovely campus. No experience necessary! Open to all staff and postgraduate students from Exeter, Falmouth, FX Plus, the SU, and any other organisation that is based on Penryn campus. If you know someone who might like to join, please encourage them to fill out this interest form.

The University has some excellent resources to help with careers. Whether you plan to work in industry, set up your own business, join the third sector, stay in academia, or are not yet sure and want to explore your options, you can find guidance and helpful pointers using these resources:

• PGR Career Planning Guide - a dedicated website to support your career development. This resource provides in-depth information and practical guidance specifically tailored towards postgraduate researchers whether you are thinking about working in academia, industry, self-employment or research.
• Career Zone- much of the online content is open to all current Exeter students, including PGRs
• PGR Training & Development Resources SharePoint- contains presentation slides from past training sessions. For career skills, check out the Personal Effectiveness section
• PGR Training and Development Bulletin- find out what courses and opportunities are happening at the University in this monthly newsletter, which all PGRs are signed up to
• Upcoming training courses- our training programme is available to book now

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
Spectrum.Life provides a confidential telephone, video, and live chat counselling service to help with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, bereavement and more  (sign up using your University of Exeter email address).. 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.

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.

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 10.00 – 15.00 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 10.00 – 15.00 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 10.00 – 14.00 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.