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Doctoral College Newsletter - 6 January 2025
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Survey- your thoughts on Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast
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We are shaking things up this year for our Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast. We want to make the content student-led, and we need your help! Please fill out this quick survey where we will be asking what you think of the current Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast and your ideas for our revamped Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast.
You do not need to be aware of the current podcast in order to complete the survey- we welcome feedback from all PGRs and your thoughts and ideas will help shape the new direction of the podcast to truly make it student-led. This survey will close on Monday 20 January 2025.
If you fancy getting involved even further, why not consider becoming a presenter or a guest? We will be sending out an expression of interest form later in January 2025 so watch this space!
You can listen to Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast on our website, PodBean, Spotify or Amazon Music.
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Presentation Opportunity at National Student Pride- ‘Researching the Rainbow’
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As part of the National Student Pride event on Friday 28 February - Sunday 2 March 2025, Researching the Rainbow is an opportunity to put queer research into the spotlight and for students to present their work to a panel of academics. Researching the Rainbow allows students to bring attention to their LGBTQ+ research and to meet with other researchers in their fields. This will take place at our Free Daytime Festival on Friday 28 February 2025.
For the application, Masters/PhD students can submit an abstract of 300 words (max), detailing their research, including success, challenges and impact, for the panel's consideration. 4 students will be selected to present a poster/slide at the event.
Deadline for submissions is Wednesday 15 January 2025. If you have any questions please contact our Awards and Academics Officer, Alex Powell (he/they) at alexp@studentpride.co.uk.
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Opportunity to be a PI on GW4 Project
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As part of GW4’s ongoing childcare campaign, it is looking to develop the evidence base for its policy asks as set out in its policy paper: ‘Who cares? How postgraduate parents fall through the gap for government childcare grants, and how to fix it’.
It is seeking a small research grant from CIPD's Professor Mick Marchington Research Grant (up to £6,000) to build additional capacity around the policy ask on improved data collection on childcare responsibilities for postgraduate students, and looking for an early career researcher (includes PGRs) from one of our member universities to act as the named Principal Investigator (PI) for this project.
The project will include collecting data from across universities on current recorded levels of postgraduate students, exploring the data universities do or do not hold, and any systematic barriers that are preventing this data being collected in a uniform way. A final paper and report will be delivered outlining the data currently held, the current barriers current faced by administrators, and making recommendations on how data collection could be improved.
This would be an excellent opportunity for an ECR with an interest in social sciences, human resources, data analysis or childcare. You will be supported by GW4 throughout the course of this project, including direct project support from GW4's Public Affairs Lead, Billy Davis.
Interested applicants would need to provide a Narrative CV (please see UKRI's guidance on how to write these). Please contact Billy Davis, GW4 Public Affairs Lead, for queries.
Deadline: Wednesday 22 January 2025
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Entrepreneurial Futures SPF project: Poster Competition
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The Entrepreneurial Futures SPF Project invites students to participate in the ‘Future Plastics’ student poster competition. The competition is part of the “Future Plastics: Returnable, Home-Compostable or Alternative Materials?” event on Tuesday 4 February 2025 at Tremough Innovation Centre in Cornwall. Participants should design an A1 academic poster on the theme of future plastics, focusing on sustainability, compostable materials, and alternative solutions. Submissions should be emailed in PDF format to m.ferri@exeter.ac.uk by 5pm on Friday 20 January 2025.
Selected posters will be displayed at the event, where finalists can present their research to business representatives, policymakers, and researchers. Judging criteria include content clarity, message relevance, and design creativity. Winners will receive eco-friendly prizes made in Cornwall, and all finalists will receive a certificate of participation.
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Job Opportunity: New Impact Community of Practice Coordinator
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Job Description
Hours: 12 hours per month
Contract Duration: Fixed term, 12 months
Location: Flexible (Remote/Streatham-Based)
Are you enthusiastic about fostering collaboration, building engaged communities, and embedding research impact into academic life? The Impact Community of Practice (ICoP) is seeking a pro-active and organised postgraduate researcher to join us as the Impact Community of Practice Coordinator. As Coordinator, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth operation of the Steering group. Reporting to our Chair and the Impact Evidence and Evaluation Manager (Policy & Systems), you will provide essential administrative and coordination support to foster collaboration and deliver impactful initiatives.
To apply, please send a covering letter with a 500-word expression of interest explaining your suitability for the role with reference to the Job description and a current CV to Emma Sherriff at e.sherriff@exeter.ac.uk.
Application Deadline: Friday 24 January 2025, by 5pm.
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Support new PGRs as a mentor
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How did you find your transition to postgraduate study? What did (not) help you?
If you had someone to support you, or would like others to be supported with this transition, why not sign up to be a PGR Peer Mentor?
The PGR-PGR Peer Mentoring scheme puts PGRs starting their 1st year of study (Mentees) in touch with students in their 2nd-final year of PGR study (Mentors).
You and your Mentees have control of when, where, and how often you meet during Term 2, making this a rewarding and informal way of helping others navigate the transition to postgraduate study – having navigated it yourselves!
Other benefits include:
• Using your mentoring to apply for AFHEA and/or boost your CV;
• Invites to Peer Support events;
• and more!
Sign up as a Mentor now to support students starting this January or contact Benny (Streatham and St Luke’s), Tasha (Penryn) or Emma (both campuses) if you have any queries.
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Upcoming British Library Doctoral Open Days
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Booking is now open for the following British Library Doctoral Open Days:
• British and European Collections: Antiquity to 1800 - Friday 31 January 2025
• Global Languages, Cultures and Societies (collections covering Africa, Asia, Americas, Oceania and Europe) - Friday 14 February 2025
Our Doctoral Open Days are for PhD students interested in working with our collection during their studies. Attendees will learn how to access our collections, get expert advice from our curators and reference specialists, and meet researchers with similar research interests.
Please see the attached programmes for more information. To book your place, please visit our webpage.
Further information on the rest of the series will be released in due course:
• Post-1800 and Contemporary British Society and Culture - Friday 14 March 2025
• Not Just Books: Music, Sound and Vision – Friday 25 April 2025
• Not Just Books: Digital Collections and Resources – Friday 23 May 2025
If you have any questions about our Doctoral Open Days, please contact pgr@bl.uk.
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Apply Now: Entrepreneurial Researcher Programme 2025
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If you’ve got a potential solution that addresses regional, national or global problems and would like to explore it further then apply now for the Entrepreneurial Research Programme (ERP) 2025.
Now in its twelfth cohort, this intensive 7-week programme is delivered via four online facilitated sessions and through your own market research activity. You’ll join a small cohort of UoE peers and mentors to draft, test and refine a model for taking your solution forward as a viable and sustainable proposition.
Postgraduate research students (MRes or PhD) are welcome to apply but must gain approval for participating in the programme from their supervisor prior to submitting an application. If you are a student and aren’t eligible for the ERP, you can access further support via the student start up team (studentstartups@exeter.ac.uk).
Cohort dates, more information on the programme, and application details are available via the Ideas Hub.
Deadline for applications: Friday 14 February 2025
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Applications open for University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment (IonE) Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme
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University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment (IonE) are looking for PhD or PhD candidates who are interested in interdisciplinary academic research and community-engaged scholarship, with a focus on solutions-oriented research in sustainability, to support an equitable and just transition for all.
For more information on IonE Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, please see the fellowship description.
They will be hosting multiple live calls for you to connect and ask your questions. If you'd like to know what it is like to be an IonE Postdoctoral Fellow, we encourage you to attend one or more of these webinars.
How to Apply: Visit IonE Postdoc Fellowship "Apply Here" page. They are accepting applications until 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time on Sunday 2 February 2025.
Please reach out to ione-research@umn.edu with any questions.
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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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Join the Penryn Campus Sea Shanty Choir!
Calling all seasoned sailors and landlubbers alike! Come and join our relaxed and friendly singing group for a weekly maritime singsong, guided by local musician and singer Charlotte Cripwell. Enjoy the mood-boosting effects of group singing while having fun and learning some traditional Cornish sea shanties.
When: Every Wednesday, 13:00-14:00
Where: Stella Turk Seminar room, Penryn Campus
Brought to you by the Cornwall Wellbeing Network.
If you have any queries or wish to receive a calendar invite, please contact Tasha Hammond.
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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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