Welcome to this fortnight's issue of the Doctoral College Newsletter.

In the following sections you will find:

• Applications Open for the 2024 GW4 Connect programmes
• Get Involved with Doctoral College Blog
• Spotlight on...
• Development Project Series: Creative Toolkits for Education Contexts
• Deadline Thursday 15 February- The Sasakawa Japanese Studies Postgraduate Studentship Programme
• PRISM Exeter Speakers Event for LGBT+ History month: From Crows to the Cosmos
• Policy Engagement Development Programme – applications open!
• Call for Contributions: Patchwork Object
• Advice for postgraduate employability events at Student Guild
• Opportunities
• PGR Study Space
• Training and Development
• 1-2-1 Careers Appointments
• Wellbeing Support and Sessions
• Enquiries

If you have a news story or an opportunity you would like to advertise in the next newsletter (19 February), please email ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk by Wednesday 14 February.

Please refer to our style guide before submitting your item.

Applications are now open for the 2024 GW4 Connect programmes. GW4 Connect is a suite of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programmes which bring together postgraduate research students from diverse backgrounds to form networks of support for marginalised and underrepresented communities in higher education.

This year, GW4 Connect will be offering two new pilot programmes:

1. A 10-month facilitated peer support programme for 12 postgraduate researchers with disabilities and long-term health conditions, and
2. An 11-month facilitated peer support programme for 16 neurodivergent postgraduate researchers.

Participants will be offered the opportunity to work with expert facilitators and coaches, alongside their peers, to create a safe space for honest, free conversations outside of institutional structures.

Find out more and apply via the GW4 website.

Deadline: Wednesday 27 March

Take a break from the formality of academic writing with a chance to write in your personal style and voice!

Writing for the Doctoral College blog is an excellent way of diversifying your writing skills and sharing your experiences with your fellow PGRs and wider public. It is also a great asset for your CV. We welcome blog posts from PGRs at all stages and all disciplines.

Our PGRs have posted about a variety of topics- for example, you could write about your experience undertaking a PhD, your research, events and initiatives you have run. If you'd like to check whether your topic would fit with the Doctoral College blog or would like to send us a draft for review, please email researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk. The recommended word count is 400-500 words.

Jamie Pei from The Messy Coach is delivering four online workshops for us, including two completely new courses!

Firstly we have Kickstart your PhD with joy, clarity and ease (Wednesday 7 February). Perfect for those who are just starting their PhD journey, it offers insight into the personal and emotional aspects of doing postgraduate research so that you can begin your research programme with greater positivity.

Working less, accomplishing more: Alternative practices for getting work done (Thursday 15 February) allows you to discover your own optimal working practices- even if they look very different from others.

And two new courses:

Creating impactful public engagement content (Wednesday 1 May)- Learn clear, practical steps for creating effective, impactful public engagement content, for oral presentations or written platforms, so you can create content relevant and relatable to audiences, and engage them at the highest levels.

Public speaking and presentation skills​ (Wednesday 8 May)- Giving presentations is daunting but a key process in the dissemination of research, and for your future careers. Learn different presentation styles and how to get your key message across.

Date: Wednesday 7 February
Time: 12.00-13.00
Venue: Digital Humanities Seminar Room 1

Dr Caitlin Kight (School of Education, HASS) kicks off this new series of seminars that will showcase many of the innovative interdisciplinary research projects the Societies and Cultures Institute (SCI) supported in academic year 2022/23.

For further information, please click here. To register for this event, please complete this short form.

Please note, this event is in-person only.

The Sasakawa Japanese Studies Postgraduate Studentship Programme supports the development of Japanese Studies in UK universities. Launched and administered by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and fully funded by The Nippon Foundation, the Programme provides up to 30 UK postgraduate studentships annually.

Studentships are open to students of any nationality, but the objective of the Programme is to encourage the successor generation of UK specialists and experts on Japan. University of Exeter is conducting an internal call for potential candidates - in order to nominate up to three students who are pursuing (a Masters or) a PhD in Japanese studies or where the primary focus is Japan.

If you have current research interests in Japanese Studies please contact Rachel Dallyn by 15th February noting how your PhD is in Japanese studies or where the primary focus is Japan.

Deadline: Thursday 15 February 2024

Join two scientists at Exeter Library on Wednesday 28 February from 18:30 for 'PRISM Exeter Speakers Event for LGBT+ History month: From Crows to the Cosmos' to hear about their work in STEMM as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Tickets £4.80 or register here for online access free.

The Policy@Exeter online development programme is open, free of charge, to Exeter researchers from all disciplines and at all career stages, who want their research to impact policy decisions. Over nine weeks between mid-April and mid-June, you will have the opportunity to attend workshops and masterclasses delivered by sector experts, take part in internal and external networking, and receive 1:1 bespoke support to confidently engage with and influence policymakers.

For more information and to apply, visit their website. 

Deadline for applications: Friday 1 March

As part of The Art of Fiction project at Exeter, they are investigating collaborative art making through making something ourselves! Designed by artist Ruth Broadway, the "patchwork object" will tell the story of 'women's creative identities' and they invite you to send them a patch.

How to take part- send a 12 x 12 cm piece of fabric and an
accompanying story (max 300 words).

Follow them on Instagram and Threads, using the project hashtag #patchworkobjectproject to learn more about what they are doing.

If you have any questions, please drop Alex Gushurst-Moore or Patricia Zakreski a line.

Deadline for Submissions: Monday 30 September

The Student Guild are looking at the possibility of creating some more targeted, postgraduate-centric employability events over the course of Term 2.

They are keen to hear from PGRs on what would be beneficial to those in postgraduate education.

If you wanted to be involved in part of a team who might be able to set some of the direction for these sessions, or know someone who might, please email rhys.wallis@exeterguild.com.

Want to learn more about mixed methods research? 

This course from Methodical will be delivered by experienced mixed methods researchers Dr Sarah Jasim, a senior research fellow at University College London and London School of Economics and Dr Ruth Plackett, a senior research fellow at University College London. 

The course will cover the key principles of mixed methods research, how to apply them and how to start writing up. 

When: Monday 26 Feb or Monday 29 April 2024 10-4pm online. 

Cost: £200 PhD students, £300 post-docs/higher education other researchers. Sign up here.

For more info see their website.

Take part in a cardiac imaging exercise study

Are you interested in exercise and cardiac health? We are looking for healthy people, active or sedentary, aged 9-65 to participate in a cardiac imaging exercise study at the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Center, St. Luke’s campus, until March 2024. The study involves cardiac ultrasound being done while exercising on a stationary bike, during a single 2-3 hours visit. A small inconvenience compensation will be provided for your time. If you are interested, contact the study team at dd389@exeter.ac.uk.

Take part in research study- ‘Ageing the Living and the Dead: New Baseline for Age Estimation from Dental Wear’

Are you interested in forensics? Do you want to participate in the development of a new method? If so, PhD researcher Tereza Nesnidova would like to invite you to take part in her project ‘Ageing the Living and the Dead: New Baseline for Age Estimation from Dental Wear’.

She is looking for volunteers over the age of 20 who have spent most of their life in the UK. Taking part would involve answering a short questionnaire about yourself and your dental health, after which she would create a virtual 3D model of your teeth using a digital dental scanner. The whole procedure would take about 15 minutes. You will also be provided with a copy of your 3D digital dental scan!

To sign up, you can email Tereza on tn354@exeter.ac.uk or use the following link.

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.

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.

Here are some of our upcoming courses (if you are working off-campus, you will need to log into the University VPN to access these links). Please check the venue when booking as some courses are in-person:

• Being an international student (panel discussion) (Tuesday 6 February, 10.00-11.30am via Microsoft Teams)
• Publishing in open access (Tuesday 6 February, 13.30-14.15pm via Microsoft Teams)
• Kickstart your PhD with joy, clarity and ease (Wednesday 7 February, 10.00am-12.00pm via Zoom)
• How to get out of your own way - challenging self-sabotage (Thursday 8 February, 13.00-14.30pm via Zoom)
• NEW- Working less, accomplishing more: Alternative practices for getting work done (Thursday 15 February, 10.00-11.30am via Zoom)
• NEW- An introduction to research ethics review (Wednesday 21 February, 10.00am-12.00pm via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- Essentials of Leadership (Wednesday 21 February, 10.00am-12.30pm via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- Mapping and Marketing Your Skills (Thursday 22 February, 14.00-15.30pm via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- How to manage your career (Tuesday 27 February, 10.00-11.30am via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- An Introduction to the Core Issues in Research Integrity (Wednesday 28 February, 10.00-11.00am via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- Maintaining momentum and focus after your upgrade (Thursday 19 February, 10.00-11.30am in Old Library Training Room 4)

Check out our full list of upcoming courses here.

We use PGR iTrent as our booking system for training. Please note that PGR iTrent is separate from staff iTrent; we advise bookmarking this page so that you know you are using the correct links.

You can find presentation slides and recordings of some of our previous courses on ELE. Further resources are also available on researcher-development.co.uk.

You will need to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access iTrent if you are working off campus or not on the University network. You can access information about how to use VPN on the University’s webpages.

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. You can book via MS Bookings; please contact researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk if there are any technical difficulties.

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.

Wellbeing Centre
If you would like to speak to Zoë Hughes, PGR Support Advisor for Welfare, Zoë 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.

Financial wellbeing webinars

Financial education specialists Affinity Connect are running financial wellbeing webinars for staff on 27th February, 12th June and 9th October. These webinars will be relevant to those who are members of the university’s pension scheme-“Universities Superannuation Scheme”, and will help understand your income, plan your spending, review your borrowing, plan your financial goals, prepare for unexpected costs and start planning for life beyond work. Please click here to book your place. 

For further support with your financial wellbeing, please explore our Financial Wellbeing Toolkit.

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.

Information about these sessions, how to sign up and their benefits can be found on our mindfulness webpage.

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 Monday to 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 and 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.

To view previous versions of the newsletter, see here.