In this fortnight's issue of the Doctoral College Newsletter, you will find the following:

Spotlight on...

Workshops for Neurodivergent Researchers

Penryn Wellbeing Day- Wednesday 10 July

Statement on the use of Generative AI

Review your new staff profile and upcoming workshops

Making research assessment fairer for all – Declaration on Research Assessment (DoRA) release new guidance

Human Tissue Act Training- Wednesday 31 July

External Opportunities

PGR Study Space

1-2-1 career appointments available

Wellbeing Support and Sessions

Enquiries

If you have a news story or an opportunity you would like to advertise in the next newsletter (Monday 22 July), please email ResearcherDevelopment@exeter.ac.uk by Wednesday 17 July. After the 22 July edition, the next newsletter will be in September 2024.

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 fortnightly Postgraduate Researcher Training and Development Bulletin. The next bulletin will be sent out on Wednesday 17 July.

PGR Study Space are looking for new facilitators! Join your fellow PGRs in this online space, led by PGRs for PGRs to focus individually on whatever tasks you would like to work on.

Facilitating is quite straightforward- just time-keeping the session to keep it running- and you can use the time to work on your own tasks. You can facilitate as many or as few sessions as you want to suit you.

The role is voluntary and can be used for some of the hours for the LTHE, as well as adding experience to your CV.

If you would like to know more, please contact Jo Sutherst. You can join the PGR Study Space Microsoft Teams Group here.

This series of workshops aims to support neurodivergent researchers in navigating the unique challenges they face during the final stages of their research degree and in transitioning to the next phase of their careers. Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences, learn from a lived-experience advocate, and develop practical strategies for maintaining their well-being, effectively communicating their research, and exploring alternative career paths. We would like to create a space for sharing advice to help our neurodivergent PGRs to manage and develop their research, work with their supervisors, and engage the research communities and opportunities available during their degrees.

The workshops are:

• Being a Neurodivergent Researcher: Communicating your fascination (Wednesday 10 July, 12.30-15.45, in person in Old Library Training Room 4, Old Library, Streatham Campus)
• Being a Neurodivergent Researcher: Blank space, or, the future beyond the MRes/PhD (Wednesday 17 July, 12.30-15.45, in person in Old Library Training Room 4, Old Library, Streatham Campus)

The Cornwall Wellbeing Network is delighted to invite you to a day of seminars, workshops and events designed to promote awareness and exploration of mental health and wellbeing in higher education.

This event is for faculty, professional services staff, ECRs, and PGRs from across the University of Exeter, and to anyone in a student-facing role or with an interest in the HE mental health landscape.

Agenda:
09:30: Tea and coffee
10am – 1pm: Morning seminar & lunch
1pm: Workshop by Quiet Connections
2.30pm: Pilates on the Lawn
3.30pm: ‘Tonic of the Sea’ with afternoon tea

✨ Queries to Tasha Hammond (nh510@exeter.ac.uk).

From 01 August 2024, all PGRs must include a statement in the title page of their upgrade portfolio or their thesis/dissertation which confirms if and how they have used Generative AI in the creation and preparation of their work. Full details are available in the TQA under the relevant chapter:
- Section 5 at 11 - Presentation of theses/dissertations for Postgraduate Research degrees: statement of procedures
- Section 6 at 9 - Upgrade from MPhil or MByRes to Doctoral Study

Further work and consultation is underway regarding the use of AI in PGR Research. Please contact your PGR Support Team if you have any questions or feedback about the above.

The new profiles system launches externally on Tuesday 17 September. There are several bookable and drop-in support sessions available across all campuses including the opportunity to have a new professional headshot taken at our in-person sessions.

We also have some workshops coming up this month, starting with ‘Communicating your research via the media’ taking place on Streatham Campus on Tuesday 9 July, and St Luke’s on Thursday 11 July. These sessions are aimed at PGRs and ECRs. 

Then, from Monday 22 July, online sessions begin with expert trainer and founding partner of Optix Solutions, Alastair Banks, ‘‘Maximising your online presence’. These are available to all academic staff and PGRs. 

Take a look at our website to book on to our training sessions and to see the guidance available.

We want research assessment to be fair for all, with everyone’s contribution recognised. Signing the San Fransisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DoRA) in 2020 means that everyone at our university, involved in research assessment, is committed to not using journal-based indicators.

DoRA have more recently extended their guidance to cover Indicators and wider core principles which complement our own Guiding Principles and Indicators Guidance (see ‘Further information’). Together these documents help anyone involved in assessing others’ research ensure they are assessing responsibly and fairly, using a range of appropriate measures and indicators, and most importantly expert (i.e. peer) judgement. This is also relevant to researchers earlier in their career and not yet involved in undertaking research, as it will help you to understand how to convey the value your research brings.

Find out more about responsible metrics and their importance in making research assessment fairer for all.

Are you removing, storing or using any human tissue for research or teaching?  The Human Tissue Act (HTA) training is mandatory for anyone working with human tissue samples at the University of Exeter.  The next session is on Wednesday 31 July 2024, 10.00 – 11.00.

If you plan to collect informed consent as part of your research, you need to attend the Informed Consent training, also held on Wednesday 31 July 2024, 11.15 – 12.15, also online.

Please contact Christine on HTA-return@exeter.ac.uk for further enquiries.

The University of Edinburgh Venture Builder is a five-month programme of interactive, online workshops and three in-person events. It specialises in bridging the gap between academia and entrepreneurship, guiding participants to develop a robust commercialisation and funding strategy.
It has partnered with Cancer Research Horizons to offer researchers from across the UK working on data-driven oncology-related innovations the chance to take part on this transformational programme.

Key features and benefits:

• Access to funding
• Travel and accommodation costs covered to travel to Edinburgh
• Chance to become part of a growing, supportive network.
• Expert coaching and mentoring across the University of Edinburgh and Cancer Research Horizons networks.
• Tailored support as part of a cohort featuring startups from different sectors
• Designed to work with existing commitments.

See previous cohorts here or get in touch with the programme team.

Deadline: Midnight on Monday 15 July

JPAG (Joint Pharmaceutical Analysis Group) are delighted to announce their annual Pharmaceutical Analysis Research Awards & Careers Symposium event which will be held on Tuesday 12 November 2024 at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) headquarters in Burlington House, London. JPAG has been hosting this event for pharmaceutical researchers and early career industrial scientists for several years and is now welcoming abstracts for presentations/posters for the 2024 edition. We are encouraging all early-career pharmaceutical scientists (undergraduate, postgraduate or industrial) to submit abstracts for podium presentations or posters via the JPAG website before the deadline (Saturday 31 August 2024).  Selected abstracts will be entered into the prestigious Geoffrey Phillips Award for best podium presentation, with prizes for runner-up and best posters too.

Deadline for abstracts: Saturday 31 August

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.

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.

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.

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.

Writing for Wellbeing, funded by Wellness Creation Project, is a space for students to either bring their own creative writing projects, or be guided through journalling, etc. It's open to all registered students including INTO, those with first languages other than English, any and all experience of writing creatively.

Sessions are in-person, every Tuesday at 12.00-14.00 in Queen's Building, and facilitated by Wellbeing Services staff.

The Nurture-U team are offering FREE resources and therapies to help with confidence, imposter syndrome, 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.

Join a lunchtime group for a power walk- meet outside Washington Singer Labs, Streatham Campus.

When: 12.30 every Thursday
What: Brisk 20 mins power walk around the university grounds
Who: Open to all – students, staff and even their dogs!
Why: Get active, socialise, enjoy fresh air and natural beauty, improve PM productivity

This concept was selected by the Mental Health and Wellbeing Group to receive funding assistance from the Wellness Creation fund.

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. 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.