Welcome to this fortnight's issue of the Doctoral College Newsletter and our first issue for 2024.

In the following sections you will find:

• Annual Monitoring Review 2023/24
• 2024 Researcher Led Initiative Awards – applications open!
• PGR Induction Portal - find PGR resources and support here!
• Applications close Wednesday 17 January: Turing Institute Enrichment scheme
• Spotlight on...
• PGR Hybrid Writing Retreat (Online and Face-to-face at Streatham Campus)
• Paid Opportunity: Pilot of Profiles Project for Discovery search tool
• GW4 Building Communities Generator Fund now open for applications in all academic areas – up to £20K for 6-month projects
• PGR/ECR Creative Writing Group
• 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 (22 January 2024), please email ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk by Wednesday 17 January 2024.

Please refer to our style guide before submitting your item.

The Annual Monitoring Review (AMR) will be launched week commencing 30 January 2024. AMR is the University’s primary monitoring exercise for PGR student progression.  It is a confidential survey which is completed by every PGR student and their supervisory team. From 30 January 2024, you will receive an email, with a link to your individual form. The deadline for submission of the completed form is 29 February 2024.

Based on feedback from previous years, we have created a new AMR webpage which details the full AMR process and should answer any queries you may have.  This webpage also outlines the questions you will be asked in the form, please do take the opportunity to start discussing AMR at your next supervisory meeting.  This is a compulsory part of your PGR journey therefore please plan time to complete the form!

Your Faculty PGR support team will be sending email guidance about the AMR process, in the meantime please contact them with any queries you may have.

The Researcher Development and Research Culture team has funding for up £2,000 per Researcher Led Initiative (RLI) 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.  

If you have any queries, please contact researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk. Apply here.

Deadline: Friday 26 January 2024 at 12 noon.

The Doctoral College Online Induction Portal is an online portal which allows you to learn about the University, the Doctoral College and its teams, along with all the student support services and how to get started with your degree. In order to access the portal you will have needed to have registered as a student first.

We recommend that all new PGR students should work through the induction portal before attending the face to face or online induction.

However, you don't need to be new to us to use the portal. This site is for all PGRs. We hold lots of references to contacts, sources of supports, reminders of information touched on at your welcome induction that you may have forgotten about, videos by our PGR Support team and how you can get involved as a PGR to really enhance your PGR experience (and more!)! We recommend you give this webpage a bookmark in your web browser and get in touch with us at Doctoral.College@exeter.ac.uk if you have any questions.

The Enrichment scheme is designed to give students from any discipline who are using data science within their research the opportunity to enhance, refresh, and broaden their research with The Alan Turing Institute’s community and in recognition of their place within the UK’s growing data science and AI research community. Award holders receive funding to physically or remotely access The Alan Turing Institute’s facilities whilst also building both online communities and facilitating other activities such as attending training courses, going to conferences and visiting collaborators.

A webinar was recently held to assist supervisors to better support their students with the application process. You can watch a recording of the webinar here. More details on the Turing website.

Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (IDSAI) are here to help support your application. Please contact idsai@exeter.ac.uk or Institute Manager, Emily Paremain.

Deadline: Wednesday 17 January 2024 at 12pm.

Looking to boost your self-esteem? We have two upcoming courses dealing with this topic, delivered by Lucy Cox, Director and Lead Coach of The Academe.

The first course is 'How to get confident - Overcoming imposter syndrome', taking place on Thursday 1 February, 13.00-14.30pm via Zoom, which you can book onto here; the second is 'How to get out of your own way - challenging self-sabotage', Thursday 8 February, 13:00-14:30pm, which you can book onto here.

The courses complement each other so if you can, we would encourage you to take both.

A retreat is called a retreat for a reason: it is a space where you can pull back from the world, get away from it all, and your focus is not distracted by mundane things such as grocery shopping. The aim of a writing retreat is to write. Write some more. And write even more. At this retreat, we have four hours of writing time. During these sessions, we recommend turning off phones and email. At the end of each writing block, you will be encouraged to reflect on the progress of your writing goals and make notes that will help with getting back into writing after the break.

PGR Hybrid Writing Retreat (Online and Face-to-face at Streatham Campus) will be taking place on Wednesday 21 February 2024, 10am – 4pm.

• Spaces limited to 40 face-to-face, online unlimited
• ONE/TR01 - Pearson Teaching Room /Building:One
• Last sign up is 20 February 2024- sign up here.

If you would like to join online, here is the Teams link.

Can you help us improve our online visibility for PGRs by taking part in a pilot for Discovery, a new online search tool? 

The pilot forms part of the ‘Profiles Project’ which is a university-wide project that will overhaul our current staff and PGR profiles system. 
  
Initially, we want to test the search tool ‘Discovery’, which will transform how searchable our academics, PGRs and PS staff are, including making it easier for potential PGRs to find a supervisor. You can read about Discovery here.    
   
What does this entail?  
  
Via Teams, there will be two sessions:
  
Session #1: Managing and updating your profile in Symplectic Elements  
Thursday 18th January 1400 – 1430 (+15min to complete survey)
  
Session #2: Using Discovery  
Thursday 25th January 1400 – 1430 (+15min to complete survey)

You will be renumerated for your time at a rate of £19.70 per hour.

If you would like to participate, please email Profiles@exeter.ac.uk.

The GW4 Building Communities Generator Fund is open for applications, offering up to £20K for 6-month projects, supporting both the creation of new GW4 communities and the development of the strongest ideas emerging from our existing communities. 

The fund is an open call in any area of research or innovation, with the purpose of addressing a major research or societal challenge.

To be eligible to apply, research communities must involve academic partners from at least 3 of the GW4 institutions. Interdisciplinarity is encouraged and projects should look to engage both academic and external partners.
  
Please visit our GW4 Generator Fund webpages for further guidance on applying, as well as to access the application form, and application guidance webinar.

Please direct any further queries to the Building Communities Manager, Dr Harriet Mills- communities@gw4.ac.uk. 

Deadline: Monday 5 February 2024

This term, we are continuing our creative writing group for PGRs/ECRs. The group is run by Theology students and welcomes all interested in creative writing regardless of research subject or writing experience. There will be opportunities to write to prompts and to receive feedback on creative pieces. Sessions take place weekly on Microsoft Teams on Wednesdays between 17:30-18:30, with the first session of this term taking place on Wednesday 17 January.

Email Ellen Grace Lesser for more information and access to join the meeting.

Applications Open Tuesday 9 January 2024: Scholarships for Canadian Postgraduates studying in the UK

The Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund (CCSF) award competition opens Tuesday 9 January 2024 and closes Friday 10 March 2024 for applications by Canadian students pursuing full-time, multi-year postgraduate programmes in any field of study in the United Kingdom..

Further information may be obtained from the CCSF website. If you have any queries, please contact scholarship@canadianscholarshipfund.co.uk.

Activities at Venice International University

VIU will offer a wide range of Intensive Graduate Activities in 2024.

Students and scholars from the member universities (of which University of Exeter is one) are encouraged to explore the programs on offer in 2024 and apply early to guarantee their place.

The programs are the outcome of intense collaboration among the universities and have been developed based on the mandate of the member universities through the VIU Academic Council.

For more information click here.

Workshops and Webinars from AHRC’s iDAH Digital Skills Training Network

As part of the AHRC’s iDAH Digital Skills Training Network, the University of Exeter are delivering workshops and webinars intended for academic professionals, researchers in Higher Education Institutions and Research Organizations, and librarians conducting research related to Arts and Humanities topics. They are beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. They will be conducted fully online, with a maximum of 20 participants on a first-come-first-served basis. To apply, and for a list of workshops, please check out their 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, or for further information, please contact Jo Sutherst.

PGR Study Space core facilitated hours are:

• Tuesday 10:00am-12:00pm
• Wednesday 10:00-12:00am; 14:00-16:00pm
• Thursday 14:00-16:00pm

There are unfacilitated sessions outside of these timings.

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):

• Success at Interviews (Tuesday 16 January, 13.30-15.00pm via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- Conducting a literature review Part 1: searching, reading and note-taking (Thursday 18 January, 10.00-11.30am via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- Working with your supervisors (Monday 22 January, 10.00-11.30am via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- Things I wish I'd known when I started my PhD (panel discussion) (Tuesday 23 January, 13.30-15.00pm via Microsoft Teams)
• Depositing your work to Open Research Exeter (ORE) (Wednesday 24 January, 10.00-10.45am via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- Conducting a literature review Part 2: critiquing, structuring and writing (Thursday 25 January, 10:00-11:30am via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- Developing Effective Networks for Research Projects (Tuesday 30 January, 10:00-11:30am via Zoom)
• NEW- PGR Coffee, Cake and Conversation (Tuesday 30 January, 10:30am-12.00pm in Old Library Training Room 4)
• NEW- Build Your Wellbeing using Lego Serious Play (Tuesday 30 January, 13.00-14.30pm via Microsoft Teams)
• NEW- How to get confident - Overcoming imposter syndrome (Thursday 1 February, 13.00-14.30pm via Zoom)
• NEW- How to get out of your own way - challenging self-sabotage (Thursday 8 February, 13.00-14.30pm via Zoom)

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.

Regression with R Workshop (Friday 26 January, 10am-1pm)

The Coding for Reproducible Research are running workshop on Regression with R on Friday 26 January, 10am-1pm. The session will take place in Old Library Training Room 4, Streatham, with some limited spaces to join virtually. Registration is on a first-come-first-serve basis. Register here.

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 Zoe Hughes, PGR Support Advisor for Welfare, Zoe 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.

Supporting Your Health & Wellbeing During the Current Events in Israel, Palestine and the Middle East 

We know how distressing the ongoing situation in Israel and Palestine is, and the particular impact this is having on those in our community with family, friends, loved ones and other connections in the region. Our thoughts remain with all who are affected.

Our focus has been on supporting those members of our community who have been most impacted, to ensure we can hear about their experiences and to let them know about the support that is available. 

Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) Spectrum Life has established a dedicated contact number to support those directly or indirectly affected by the situation in Israel and Palestine. They can provide in-the-moment support to any colleagues and PGR students and their dependents over 18 years old. The team of counsellors are available to talk to confidentially 24/7 and can be accessed as often as you wish. You can also call for advice on supporting another team member or colleague. All calls are confidential. You can reach this dedicated line and speak to a counsellor by calling: 0800 6525008.

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.