Welcome to the Doctoral College Newsletter - your fortnightly update for events, opportunities and news specifically relevant to postgraduate researchers.

Here are just some of the highlights this week:

• Are you a student, in your second year or above, looking for tips on managing your research project? Check out our new Project Management course in the Events section
• Explore this handy visual timeline mapping out the PhD journey from start to end; head to News section for more information
• Does your research relate to healthcare, data or software development? There's an exciting opportunity in the Events section for PGRs whose research is in these areas

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

Events

External Opportunities

Reminders

Community

Careers Support

Wellbeing Support and Sessions

Enquiries

The next newsletter will go out on Tuesday 28 July 2026; It will be the last newsletter until September, as the Doctoral College newsletter goes on a break during August. Please submit items for the next newsletter by Wednesday 21 July 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 Dean of the Doctoral College, Professor Stacey Hynd, and the PGR Support Team are pleased to launch a PGR timeline, designed as a visual checklist to signpost and support our postgraduate research students from their first day up until their graduation, using the key milestones they will have. The timeline can be found here, pictured in the screenshot below.

If you have any questions about the timeline, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your PGR Support Team.

Interested in learning some top tools and techniques to manage your research project? Then why not apply for a place on one of the two full-day intense and compact training happening in September 2026? Designed specifically for Year 2 PGRs and above, and delivered by Fistral Training, the course will provide a high-level overview of key Project Management techniques and concepts. You will gain an introduction to the process of managing projects and the tools to assist in planning and tracking progress and the course is intended to be immediately applicable to planning and managing academic and research projects as well as commercial projects.

Places are extremely limited (20 people maximum) for each course, so please ensure that you are able to commit to attending the full session when you apply.

Course dates and times:
• In person: Streatham Campus: Tuesday 23rd September 2026 09:30-16:30
• Online via Zoom: Wednesday 24th September 2026 09:30-16:30

Please note that the same content will be delivered on both days and you will only be able to attend one session if you are successful in securing a place.

Application closing date is 12 noon on Friday 7 August - places will be offered on a first come first serve basis. Places will be confirmed by Friday 14 August. Please apply online using this MS Form.

Date: Thursday 8 October 2026
Time: 11:00-14:00
Location: Mastek UK Head Office and Green Park conference centre, Reading

The Developing Business Aware Academics (DBAA) project is partnering with Mastek, a leading digital engineering company, to host a researcher workplace visit and networking opportunity on Thursday 8 October, at the Mastek UK Head Office in Reading.

The event is free, open to researchers and PhD students with relevant interests, lunch is included and travel costs for attending researchers will be covered.

The development of digital health identity will be explored via discussion on:

• Future directions for UK health policy 
• Healthcare law and regulation - boundaries for implementation and compliance across organisations
• Clinician and patient perspectives - trust and sensitivities
• International precedents for digital health identities and lessons from other sectors

Attending researchers will have the chance to :

· Align their research with industry needs
· Discuss their ideas with Mastek employees
· Lay the foundations for future collaboration

UKRI's prestigious Policy Internships scheme is now accepting applications for its 2026 cohort. This programme invites UKRI-funded doctoral students to participate in a 3-month internship, partnering with one of 16 Government departments, including the Department for Education, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Government Office for Science, and more.

This is a fantastic opportunity for PhD candidates to consider the policy implications of their work, and gain experience working with non-academic partners. Applications must be submitted by Tuesday 8 September, and more details of the scheme can be found on their website.

Deadline: Friday 18 September 2026 at 23:59
Start date: From March 2027
Location: Hybrid, with offices across the UK
Expenses: Up to £3,594 reimbursed

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) PhD Placement Scheme 2026/27 is offering a three-month secondment with the DWP, where students can step beyond academia to tackle real-world policy challenges, contribute to meaningful social impact, and sharpen their research skills in a dynamic government setting. It’s open to students from all disciplines with at least six months of funded study remaining.

Applications and queries should be sent to: evidence.strategyteam@dwp.gov.uk.

Were you unable to make our physical poster exhibitions for Festival of PGR Research? We've gathered together the digital copies of all entries displayed at the exhibitions, so take a virtual wander by flicking through our Sway presentation of the entries.

It's also a great opportunity to see what makes a poster stand out, which we hope will inspire you when you are making your own research posters.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.