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

Before we take a rest and return in January, here are just some of the highlights this week:

• Share your thoughts on Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast in the Opportunities section
• Take part in an interactive AI-focused workshop; discover more in the Events section
• All the details on University closure dates can be found in our News 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

External Events

Reminders

Community

Careers Support

Wellbeing Support and Sessions

Enquiries

The next newsletter will go out on Tuesday 6 January 2026 (our first edition for 2026!); we hope you have a great festive break. Please submit copy for the next newsletter by Tuesday 23 December 2025.

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

Please refer to our style guide before submitting your item.

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

This is a quick reminder that the University closure days are Wednesday 24 December-Friday 2 January inclusive; our office will be closed during this period and the inbox will not be monitored until the University reopens on Monday 5 January.

We hope you take this time to get some well-deserved rest, and that you enjoy the festive break.

If you are on campus during the closure period, please click the button below for information on events happening during this closure period and which services are available.

To all in our Exeter PGR community,

I just wanted to wish you all a happy end of term. I know that as PGRs you don’t just work during term time, but the end of term is still a good excuse for celebration.

To those of you who observe these holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Bodhi Day, and Merry Yuletide. And Seasons Greetings to everyone!

We’ve all been working extremely hard this term, so remember to take your annual leave and get some time to rest and relax. I wish you all enjoyable times with your family and friends, with lots of tasty food and fun activities. Personally, I am looking forward to some horrendously cheesy Christmas movies and reading non-work books for a change!

Take care everyone, and we’ll see you in 2026.

Best wishes
Stacey

In our final episode of this series, PGR Sylvie Agnello leads a panel discussion on 'Industry or Academia- which is right for me?'. Her guests are Dr Cédric Mesnage (Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Exeter) and Dr Ana Miguel Cruz (Regional Medical Advisor for a pharmaceutical company and an Exeter alumna), who share their own career paths and the pros and cons of industry and academia.

Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast is a PGR podcast, by PGRs for PGRs, and this series is a mix of personal experience and practical advice. All our presenters are current PGRs and their guests are a mix of current PGRs, Exeter staff and Exeter alumni, delving into the subjects that interest you- from sharing perspectives as mature students to a panel discussion with alumni working in industry and academia

Follow us on Spotify, Amazon Music, Podbean and Apple Podcasts for the latest updates; you'll also be able to access episodes on our Researcher Development Essentials webpage.

We hope you have enjoyed the new series of Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast and would like to give a massive thank you to all of our presenters and guests who offered their time, thoughts, and advice.

To help us shape the next series, we are asking our listeners to fill out a quick survey to share their constructive feedback to find out what makes a great podcast episode for them. The survey is anonymous. Please note that this survey only covers the 2025 series.

Interested in participating in the next series of Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast? We’ll be releasing more information in the new year so keep an eye on the Doctoral College newsletter.

We are seeking doctoral students to speak as part of the Our Body theme at Pint of Science 2026. This opportunity will support researchers in communicating their work to non-specialist audiences and gaining valuable public engagement experience.

Whether your work touches on sleep, stress, movement, nutrition, immunity, the brain, daily habits, or anything that helps us understand how our bodies feel, function, and thrive, we’d love to hear from you. If you enjoy sharing science in a fun, relaxed pub atmosphere—and you’re excited to turn research into stories people can connect with over a pint—then this is your moment. Join us and help unlock more of the body’s secrets with a curious and friendly audience!

For those interested, please sign up via the button below.

The University is seeking to develop a 3Rs strategy to reflect and shape our work on the replacement, reduction, and refinement of the use of animals. For those unfamiliar with the 3Rs, they are a framework aimed at promoting ethical practices when working with animals, improving animal welfare and promoting alternative non-animal approaches whenever possible.

Writing a 3Rs strategy that encompasses the wide-ranging research and teaching that Exeter (and Penryn) support (from biomedical to ecology, from home office regulated to unregulated animal studies and from laboratory to field based studies) is a difficult but important challenge. We hope you will take a few minutes to answer this short questionnaire to help improve our understanding of current practices and values in these different disciplines. We hope this community engagement will ultimately lead to a 3Rs strategy that works for all.

Date: Tuesday 13 January

Time: 10.00-12.30

Where: University of Exeter, Streatham Campus

This in-person interactive workshop prepares you to connect with non-academic organisations and will feature industry representative input from Sony, Ian Jones OBE and Director of space communications consultancy Ibbynet, and business leaders from organisations across the southwest as well as researchers talking about their collaborations with non-academic partners. There will also be delicious lunch and cakes from the Exploding Bakery.

This workshop is part of the Developing Business-Aware Academics research project. If you choose to participate, you will be asked to read the participant information sheet, sign a research consent form, and complete evaluation questionnaires before and after the session.

Date: Monday 23 February 2026

Venue: St Michael's Centre, Bristol, BS34 8PD (5 minute walk from Bristol Parkway). Online Attendance Option available; please select this on EventBrite.

We’re excited to invite neurodivergent (ND) postgraduate researchers from across Cardiff, Bath, Bristol and Exeter to join us on Monday 23 February 2026 in Bristol for a day of connection, celebration and community.

This festival creates space for ND PGRs to:
• share experiences
• build supportive networks
• explore research identity
• meet others navigating academia as neurodivergent researchers

 

We have an opportunity for a Postgraduate Researcher to join our CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) Working Group. The group will develop an action plan over the course of 12 months, based on the ten CoARA commitments, which will help shape our research assessment practices, contributing to fairness for all, and ultimately improving the quality and impact of the university’s research. This is a voluntary role requiring a minimum commitment of 10 one-hour meetings across a year. You will work with a small, varied team of Academic and Professional Services colleagues to identify priorities and develop an action plan. If you are interested, please contact Becky Euesden at r.s.euesden@exeter.ac.uk with a few words explaining why you would like to join the working group by 31 December 2025.

The Doctoral College has developed new guidance on the use of AI for PGR research, which will help PGRs, supervisors and examiners to understand how AI can be safely, effectively and ethically used in your Postgraduate research.

You may use AI in your research, but the use of AI must be declared and documented. You are asked to document your use of AI so your examiners can clearly see how it has been used, and to help you remember how you have used it so you can discuss if required in your examinations. The documentation should be brief, just outline how, where and why AI has been used. If you have been using AI in your research already, just document any main uses so far and keep a record going forward.

If you have any feedback, please share this with dcqualitydevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.

When: Monday and Friday lunchtimes (dates/times are listed in the sign-up form below)
Where: Multifaith chaplaincy near Tremough Barton farmhouse (start and end point)

Break up your day 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! Optional tea/coffee at the end of the session in 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 students 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.

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.

Parent and Family Support (PAFs) is a community of university wide student parents that currently has 100 registered members from the University of Exeter, with individuals choosing to attend inclusive events that best fit their schedules and family responsibilities. The group has expanded to support a wider community, as well as ‘mature-mature’ students with or without children, and postdoctoral researchers, at the University of Exeter who were drawn to our inclusive community.

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.

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.

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.