Category Archives: Researcher development
Practising your presentation skills in a supportive environment
Delivering good research presentations to others is a skill which requires practice and an absolutely essential research skill for PGRs. With this in mind the Graduate School are offering Presentation Cafés every month as an opportunity for PGRs to present their research and/or be in the audience to listen and ask questions. The online Cafes are a great opportunity for PGRs to gain confidence and feedback on their presentation without being judged, in a friendly and supportive environment. Whether you are rehearsing for a Transfer seminar, a presentation for a conference or simply wish to talk about your research to others, the Presentation Cafes are there for you to develop those skills.
To sign up to present your research at an online Café, please fill in this form. Presentations should be 10-15 minutes long with time for questions after. Cafes are planned for 15th Feb 4pm; 13th March 12 noon; 20th April 10am; 16th May 3pm; 12th June 1pm.
To be in the audience (no presenting required!) just click on the green Respond button on the Café workshop pages on Gateway calendar. Please note, do think about signing up to make a presentation at some point – we will have to cancel sessions if we don’t have any presenters! If you are interested in presenting at an in-person Cafe on campus please contact Simone or Lina from the Graduate School.
Images of Research deadline extended to 6th February 2023!
Winner of the UON Images of Research 2021-22 by Oluwaseyi Omoloso (as chosen by our guest judge)
Runner-up of the UON Images of Research 2021-22 by Peter Jones
The Graduate School’s Images of Research (IoR) competition’s deadline is extended to 6th February 2023! ! If you haven’t yet sent in your submission this is your chance to take part in this exciting opportunity to showcase your research.
All researchers (staff or research students) at the University of Northampton are invited to participate. Create a unique image – a painting or a photograph – that captures the essence of your research or captures an element of it in an artistic way. Include a catchy title and a 150 word summary and your entry for Images of Research will be ready for submission. You can find more information on how to apply in the IoR 2022-23 Rules and Guidelines.
Read the rest of this entryWellbeing Day for researchers on January 18th 2023
Following on from our successful Wellbeing Week in September, we are hosting, on campus, a Wellbeing Day for researchers on the topic of Resilience in Research on the 18th of January. It is open to all postgraduate researchers and all staff doing research at UON. There will be two main sessions held on the day.
The morning session will be facilitated by Daniela Bultoc, an award-winning emotional intelligence and resilient leader coach. This interactive session aims to provide researchers with the space to focus on themselves, review where they are now and gain a renewed perspective on what is important to them. The session provides practical insights into building resiliency and refocusing in times of uncertainty or when dealing with setbacks.
Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on what helps them be at their best, what motivates them and what their strengths are. They will become more aware their own communication approach in different situations, and especially when solving problems or working with others.
The afternoon session will be facilitated by Cathy Smith, Dean of Research and Innovation, and will be a discussion based around different themes concerning the various challenges and concerns faced by researchers. There will be an opportunity for attendees to briefly discuss wellbeing issues they have experienced as a researcher at UON. And the discussion will cover how the University can support the researcher community and how we can support each other. You can choose to remain anonymous by submitting your thoughts, experiences, and questions around these areas beforehand to be brought up at the event in this section of the day. You can follow the links above for the sessions’ respective Gateway pages for more information, to see the schedule and to sign up for the sessions. Please note that the two sessions have separate sign ups and you need to sign up for both of them if you wish to attend the whole day. Lunch will be provided
Images of Research is accepting submissions!
Runner-up of the UON Images of Research 2021-22 by Peter Jones
The Graduate School’s Images of Research (IoR) competition returns! All researchers (staff or research students) at the University of Northampton are invited to participate as the Call for Images is open. Create a unique image – a painting or a photograph – that captures the essence of your research or captures an element of it in an artistic way. Include a catchy title and a 150 word summary and your entry for Images of Research will be ready for submission. You can find more information on how to apply in the IoR 2022-23 Rules and Guidelines.
As previously, this year’s IoR will consist of two parts – viewers can vote for their top three favourites and an expert judge will pick their top three as well. All you need to do is make sure that your entries follow the Rules and Guidelines linked above and email them to Lina El-azhab by the close date of January 9th 2023.
The Graduate School launched its first Images of Research in 2013. Justin Lance, then Head of Corporate Programmes at NBS said of it “this is such a wonderfully simple, yet powerful, concept to showcase the diversity and flamboyance of research across the University.” Indeed, this is a perfect opportunity for you to express your creativity and engage a broader audience with your research. Every year, Images of Research get displayed around campus and selected images find their way into different University publications.
Browse through the Images of Research 2022 Brochure to have a look at last year’s entries.
If you are a researcher we invite you to participate in our 11th Images of Research. If you have any questions please contact Lina in the Graduate School.
We look forward to your entries!
Presentation Café on the 23rd of November
The Graduate School invites PGRs to the Presentation Café on the 23rd of November at 2 to 3pm.
Presentation Cafés are a great opportunity for PGRs to practice their presenting skills to each other and to gain confidence and feedback. Whether you are practising for a Transfer seminar, a presentation for a conference or simply talk about your research to others, the presentation cafes are there for you. We will be holding these every month. Presentations should be 10-15 minutes long with time for questions after.
To sign up to present your research at a café, please go fill in this form.
To be in the audience (no presenting required!) just click on the green Respond button on the café workshop page on Gateway. Please note, do think about signing up to make a presentation – we will have to cancel sessions if we don’t have any presenters!
There are more Presentation Cafés scheduled for:
Launch of PGR ‘Writing Buddies’ initiative
Deborah Babalola, Postgraduate Researcher and PGR Rep, and Simone Apel from the Graduate School are launching a new initiative for PGRs called Writing Buddies. Writing Buddies are small ‘micro-groups’ of writers coming together to write in a social space, which may be virtual or physical. They are micro-versions of structured writing retreats, where writers set themselves goals which they share with others, write for set periods together, then use the breaks to discuss ideas, share practice or just chat, often joining up again for another writing session. Social writing has helped many writers with productivity and motivation to overcome writing blocks and, just as importantly, can give support and a sense of belonging in a researcher writing community.
Read the rest of this entryWhat would your research look like as an image? Images of Research is back!
Winner of the UON Images of Research 2021-22 by Oluwaseyi Omoloso (as chosen by our guest judge)
The Graduate School’s Images of Research (IoR) competition returns! All researchers (staff or research students) at the University of Northampton are invited to participate as the Call for Images is now open. Create a unique image – a painting or a photograph – that captures the essence of your research or captures an element of it in an artistic way. Include a catchy title and a 150 word summary and your entry for Images of Research will be ready for submission. You can find more information on how to apply in the IoR 2022-23 Rules and Guidelines.
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3-Minute Thesis 2022 – and the winner is….
The Graduate School’s 3-Minute Thesis competition for PGRs took place online, on Blackboard Collaborate, on September 8th.
Nine of our postgraduate researchers took part, gallantly stepping up to undertake this not-so-easy challenge. To take part, they were timed and judged – presenting their research in just three minutes with only one simple slide!
The winner of our 3MT was Carey Allen, part-time PhD student in Psychology, with her presentation entitled “Can sound bath meditation help students experience durable inner peace?” Judges Prof. Matthew McCormack, Dr Hala Mansour and Simone Apel rated each presentation on content, delivery and slide design. Carey will now represent UON at the East Midlands Doctoral Network (EMDoc) Conference 3MT Competition on 21st September, which will also be held online. Congratulations to Carey and good luck in the EMDoc 3MT!
All PGRs are welcome to attend the EMDoc conference – click on the link above to register. As well as Carey, two other PGRs from UON are presenting their research there. Zoe Stevens from Arts and Humanities, with a paper on “The Female Body: An Interdisciplinarity Approach” and Sally Sharp from Education on a joint presentation (with PGR Rachel York from the University of Derby) entitled “Interprofessional collaboration in qualitative doctoral research”. Best of luck to all presenters.
3-Minute Thesis – call for applications
In 2022 the Graduate School’s 3-Minute Thesis competition for PGRs will take place online on Collaborate on September 8th from 11:30am to 1pm.
To take part, you will be required to outline your thesis in a three-minute presentation and one slide, written for a general audience in plain English! In order to apply you must be a PGR at Northampton going through Transfer at present or have passed the Transfer stage of your PhD. DBA and Professional Doctorate students are encouraged to take part too but you must be in the research phase of your doctorate. Click here for the entry form.
The winner of our 3MT will have the opportunity to represent UON and present at the East Midlands Doctoral Network (EMDoc) 3MT Competition later in September, which will also be held online.
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UON Images of Research 2021-22 – Results!
Dr Cathy Smith, Dean of Research, Impact and Innovation, announced the winners of the 2021-2022 Images of Research competitions yesterday at the UON Annual Research Conference. Congratulations to the winner of the main competition, Oluwaseyi Omoloso from B&L, chosen by our Guest Judge Haley Morris-Cafiero from Art and
Design. Oluwasyi’s image was submitted in collaboration with Ebenezer Laryea, Amin Hosseinian Far and Adrian Pryce and was entitled FRESHPPACT: Levelling our Mounting Plastic Problem (above).
Haley’s runner-up was Dr Peter Jones from FAST, with his image Desire Lines of Physical Activity (right). Images with their abstracts can be seen in the catalogue of entries below.
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