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

In the following sections you will find:

• PGR Induction Portal - find PGR resources and support here!
• Call out for posts for Doctoral College Blog
• Paid work opportunity for PGRs at the Students' Guild
• Policy@Exeter Resources Hub & Training
• PGR Study Space
• Training and Development
• 1-2-1 Careers Appointments
• Opportunities
• Research Studies
• Reminders
• Wellbeing Support and Sessions
• Enquiries

If you have a news story or an opportunity you would like to advertise in the next newsletter (16 October), please email ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk by Wednesday 11 October.

Please refer to our style guide before submitting your item.

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.

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.

We are looking for items for our Doctoral College Blog. Writing blog posts is an excellent way to practice your writing, express your ideas, and showcase yourself to future collaborators or employers. It's a great asset for a CV regardless of what career you are going into so why not give it a go?

We have a quick presentation which covers the basics of writing a blog post and if you have any queries, please email researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk. Blog posts should be emailed to researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk.

We look forward to receiving your posts!

Exeter Students’ Guild are looking for two students to represent the postgraduate research community as PGR Officers! Improve research culture and student wellbeing, and work with the Guild and the Doctoral College on opportunities for PGR development and engagement.

This is a part-time casual staff role based in Devonshire House, Streatham Campus, from November 2023 until July 2024. Hours will fluctuate with the need of the team, averaging at 3-5 hours per week. Find out more and submit your application on Handshake - the deadline for applications is Friday 6 October. Please contact voice@exeterguild.com with any queries.

Interested in engaging with policymakers but not sure where to start? Check out the new Policy@Exeter Resources Hub, a one-stop shop for all capacity building resources related to policy engagement here at Exeter.

As part of its ongoing support to researchers, Policy@Exeter also delivers monthly training and advice sessions for anyone who is at the start of their policy engagement journey.

These sessions are available to all members of staff (academic and professional) and students (UG, PGT and PGR) at the University of Exeter, regardless of career level or discipline. Everyone is welcome! Visit our Resources Hub.

PGR Study Space is an online workspace run by PGRs for PGRs. You can use these sessions for writing, reading, planning, corrections...anything you want to focus on!

PGR Study Space's usual core facilitated sessions are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10am-12pm and 2-4pm. There are unfacilitated sessions outside of these hours.

Always keen to have new people join us – everyone is welcome!  

If you would like to join PGR Study Space, join the Teams group or email Jo Sutherst.

We are also looking for additional facilitators; if you are interested, please email Jo Sutherst.

Here are some of the courses coming up in the next few weeks:

• How to manage your career (Wednesday 4 October, 11am-12.30pm via MS Teams)
• Overcoming Imposter Feelings (Thursday 5 October, 09.30am-12.45pm via MS Teams)
• The Impactful Researcher (Tuesday 10 October, 10am-12pm via MS Teams)
• Publishing in open access (Wednesday 11 October, 10am-10.45am via MS Teams)
• Getting Stuff Done (Tuesday 17 October, 14.00-15.30pm via MS Teams)
• Mapping and Marketing Your Skills (Wednesday 18 October, 11am-12.30pm via MS Teams)

Check out our full list of upcoming courses here.

We use iTrent as our booking system for training.

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.

Deadline Monday 9 October: Call for Abstracts: Postgraduate Pedagogies Journal

Postgraduate Pedagogies Journal are calling for early career researchers and PhD candidates to submit an abstract for their fourth volume of academic articles authored by postgraduate researchers and academics working with them, due to be published in summer 2024.

Postgraduate Pedagogies is an online open-access journal devoted to articulating and sharing the perspectives of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). They publish texts that convey the experiences, reflections, and analyses of current and recent graduate teaching assistants, those who work with GTAs, and those who support them. The journal publishes a variety of contributions, including Reflective Essays, Opinion Pieces, Case Studies, Book Reviews, and Technology Reviews.

This is open to doctoral researchers and early career researchers (up to a maximum of three years postdoctoral) who are currently based in the UK.
Submit here.

Deadline: Monday 9 October

Monday 23 October: British Library Doctoral College Open Day- Contemporary Society and Culture Collections

You are warmly invited to the British Library’s next exciting Doctoral Open Day onsite at St Pancras, London.

How can you unlock the potential of millions of items in our contemporary collections? Learn how to navigate the manuscript, archival, digital, oral and print sources for the study of 20th- and 21st-century Britain and Ireland, including resources you won’t find anywhere else.

Book here.

This annual series of Doctoral Open Days offer PhD students the chance to discover our research resources and explore the practicalities of using the Library. These days are aimed at first-year doctoral students, but those in other years who want to increase their knowledge of The British Library and its collections are also very welcome!

Deadline 1st April 2024: Artwork Competition for Postgtraduate Pedagogies Journal

Postgraduate Pedagogies Journal are in search of a piece of refreshing design or artwork to dress the forthcoming volume of the journal.

This opportunity is open to doctoral researchers and early career researchers (up to a maximum of three years postdoctoral) who are currently based in the UK.
 
There are three prizes up for grabs.
First prize:
• artwork printed on the front and back covers of Postgraduate Pedagogies Journal Vol. 4
• £200 (voucher)
2 Runners-up:
• artwork printed inside the Postgraduate Pedagogies Journal Vol. 4
• £50 (voucher) each

Artwork specifications:
Format: JPEG
              300dpi (final version)
              31.2x21.6cm
Please submit file size 180dpi

All artwork submissions to be sent to: postgrad.pedagogies.journal@gmail.com by 1 April 2024.

Deadline: 1 April 2024

Call for Participants - Online Survey Investigating Cross-Cultural Differences in Stress, Stigma and Religion within the Doctoral Researcher Community

This study is investigating types of stress responses for current doctoral researchers and what mental health support would be beneficial at universities and within the healthcare system.

Eligibility criteria - Over 18 years old, currently completing a PhD at a UK institution and identify as being part of British, American, Chinese or Indian cultures.

The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete and all participants can enter a prize draw at the end for a £25 gift voucher. Fill out the survey here.

Wednesday 11 October: Human Tissue Act Training

This training is mandatory for anyone wishing to store ANY human samples at the University of Exeter. The next session is on Wednesday 11 October 2023, 13:00-14:00 on MS Teams.

If you plan to collect informed consent as part of your research, there is also the Informed Consent training held on Wednesday 11 October 2023, 14:15-15:15 on MS Teams.

Please contact HTA-return@exeter.ac.uk for further enquiries or to book your place.

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.

World Mental Health Day- 10 October

World Mental Health Day (10 October) is about raising awareness of mental health and driving positive change. It’s also a chance to talk about our wellbeing, how we can look after it and how important it is to get help if we need it. 

By sharing our stories about mental health, we reduce stigma and encourage hope. Why not have a read of your colleagues' mental health stories which have been shared so far via This is Me? These can be viewed by topic alongside relevant support. You can share your story anytime (anonymously or with your name) via this form.

There is also a wide range of wellbeing-related events and activities being run this month- join here.

To find out about the wellbeing-related support available to you, please visit the Colleague Wellbeing pages or contact one of your local Mental Health Champions.

Multifaith Chaplaincy

The Multifaith Chaplaincy is here to offer support, friendship and faith community links for all students.  We invite you to drop into our weekly free Connections Café (Tuesdays 2pm-4pm in the Forum Library entrance) and Soup Lunch (Thursdays 12.30-2pm, on the 1st floor of Staff House, St Luke's Campus), or book one of our Time to Talk slots if you would like to talk with a Chaplain privately. 

Please find details of these events on the University website or follow us on Facebook and Instagram for up-to-date events and information.

Free Mindfulness Sessions

Mindfulness is an evidence-based way to help with anxiety, stress and low mood.

Free mindfulness sessions are provided by an experienced clinical team at our own Mood Disorders Centre. To find out more, please visit our mindfulness webpage.

Our Buddhist Chaplain also offers free weekly, lunchtime mindful meditation sessions. Please see the group page for details and email StaffLife@exeter.ac.uk to join the mailing list.

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, you can do so here.