Category Archives: Researcher development
UON Research Conference 2024 – call for submissions deadline extended to 13th May!
The call for submissions for our Annual Research Conference is open to all researchers at UON, so whether you are a PGR student, an early career or more experienced researcher you can apply to present your research on Tuesday 25th June (on campus) and/or on Wednesday 26th June (online). You have the choice of a 20 min oral presentation, chairing a round table discussion, facilitating a workshop, presenting a 20/20 Pecha Kucha (20 slides, each for 20 secs!), designing a research poster/infographic for an online collection or submitting an artefact/object for a ‘touch the exhibits’ display on campus. You can enter as many of these categories as you would like. The call closes at midnight on 13th May. To enter read on…..
Read the rest of this entryDr.App: NEW video support for postgraduate researchers & their supervisors
The Graduate School has purchased licences for Dr.App., designed for PGRs and staff supervising research degrees. Dr.App is an online video resource covering everything from working with supervisors and preparing for the viva examination to coping with stress and mental health challenges, from research impact to presentation and networking skills. It has content PGRs should find helpful at every stage of a research degree, in any discipline. For supervisors there are a number of videos on good, supportive supervision. More than 8 hours of videos are organised into topics for easy reference and are developed in association with academic consultant Prof John Wakeford of The Missenden Centre. To access the resource follow the information in the flyer attached below.
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Call for Posters from PGRs! Enter the Postgraduate Researcher Poster Competition 2024
The Graduate School has launched the call for entries for the 17th Annual PGR Poster Competition, which will be held on campus on Thursday May 23rd. Our Poster Competition is open to all doctoral students at UON and is an excellent development opportunity for presenting research, for improving communication and for networking with other doctoral researchers & visiting staff. The Entry Form is here, the new deadline for entering is April 29th. You have until May 23rd to produce and print an A1 landscape poster, which you need to bring with you. There will be Amazon voucher prizes to win – £100 for the winner and 2x £75 for the runners up!
Read the rest of this entryReading and writing retreats: Support in academic writing for PGRs
This academic year we have chosen academic writing support as a focus for our postgraduate researchers, with a monthly online Shut Up & Write! and a series of academic writing related webinars and workshops.
Writing your Thesis so Your Examiner Can Read It ran yesterday, facilitated by the experienced Dr Katy Mahoney.
Next week, on 16th January, Emma Kimberley and Samantha King from LLS will be facilitating the Graduate School’s first Reading Retreat. And on Tuesday January 16th February we are running a full day’s guided Writing Retreat on campus, facilitated by Dr Alison Hardy from Nottingham Trent University.
Our series of online Shut Up & Write! for 2024 starts on 30th January, with an optional social session afterwards to chat with fellow PGRs after a morning of writing. Other dates for SU&W! are 28th Feb, 16th April and 7th June, all with taught input sessions on a different theme. For details and to book see the Gateway Calendar.
Graduate School Development Days 2023-24
Graduate School Development Days on campus have all been finalised for the 2023-24 academic year. You are invited to browse through the days and topics below and plan ahead to set aside time for the ones that you would like to attend to meet up with other PGRs and attend some development workshops. Here is a brief overview with links for more information and to book.
Development Days are full days on campus, with lunch, based on a particular stage of study or theme. They are designed to be experiential, discussion-based and involve networking with other PGRs Face to face opportunities are proven to decrease feelings of isolation amongst research students and will allow you to make new friends with fellow PGRs for future support and connections.
13th November 2023 Finishing stage – Editing, proof reading and viva ‘experiences’
Strategies for managing the final editing & proofreading of your thesis. Hear from visiting alumni on their viva experiences and ask all those tricky questions.
15th December 2023 Unlocking the World of Quantitative Research: Philosophy and Practice: (Half day)
Join us for a comprehensive workshop designed to demystify the art and science of quantitative research, equipping you with essential knowledge and skills to conduct meaningful research in your field. This workshop will be for about 3h, immersing you in the philosophy, questionnaire design, and data analysis using SPSS.
16th January 2024 ‘Reading’ Development Day
Improving your reading skills will also improve your writing skills. This development day will involve a reading retreat and will feature links between good reading skills and writing at Level 8.
16th February 2024 ‘Writing’ Development Day
Dr Alison Hardy is back with her legendary writing retreat, where she will first introduce 90 minutes of good writing strategies, followed by dedicated writing slots to enable you to get on with your doctoral writing tasks.
7th March 2024 Presenting and disseminating your research with impact
This day will focus on impactful research, methods of dissemination, improving your presenting skills and getting your research out there by building your digital presence.
15th April 2024 Progressing from the middle stage of your doctorate
Maintaining momentum, managing your supervisor and their feedback, overcoming procrastination and improving productivity – just get your thesis done! Here are lots of tips and tricks that will help you achieve progression in this latter stage.
Writing your first article and increasing your chances of getting published in journals, with ‘expert’ academics talking about their experiences and giving tips.
18th June 2024 Building a Research Career
This day will focus on what it takes to build a successful research career, whether you would like to work in or outside of academia. PhD to Prof or another exciting career outside of academia – what is it to be?
As well as our Development Days on campus we are also offering a couple of online days on qualitative research.
Part 1: Qualitative research methods: an interactive guide 14th March 2024
Part 2: The collection and analysis of qualitative data 5th June 2024
We have a variety of short webinars and workshops on offer in the Gateway calendar, so take a look to find what you need. If you would like help deciding what to sign up to then please contact Simone Apel for a 1-1 session on Teams.
Transferable skills development for PGRs in 2023-24
The Graduate School’s transferable skills development programme for 2023-24 is currently under construction in the Gateway Calendar. It is being populated in the next month with new, and repeated, workshops and webinars. Please keep checking back, it’s a work in progress as we confirm dates with facilitators!
Every fortnight we will be sending out the Graduate School Newsletter to PGR and Supervisor UON email addresses (northampton.ac.uk) and a newsletter is due today and every fortnight from now on. In the newsletter you will find a summary of upcoming webinars and workshops, news, transfer seminars, support, services and events to go to, plus Graduate School notices. Please do take a few minutes to read it to keep yourself up to date. If you are a PGR, please do consider taking time to engage with workshops and events at UON – the skills you will learn will be useful for your doctorate and may also be transferable skills for your future career. Meeting and talking to other PGRs, either online or face to face, can also be very helpful for overcoming feelings of isolation. If you are a PGR student and would like to talk to someone about the upcoming academic year please get in touch graduateschool@northampton.ac.uk. The Graduate School are here to support as well as provide development, monitoring and procedure.
Read the rest of this entryGraduate School Update Day & 3MT
Graduate School Update Day is on Friday June 9th and you are cordially invited to join us in the Town Hall for a formal session and follow-up discussions on the broad topic of Supportive Supervision – a session and discussion on how Supervisors can best support PGRs and how PGRs ensure they get the effective support that they need from their Supervisor. We are delighted to announce that Dr Paula Zwozdiak-Myers and Petra Buresova from Brunel University will be presenting in our morning session. Paula & Petra were involved in a fascinating study on doctoral researchers’ perceptions of supervisory relationships on their health and wellbeing. The session in the morning will be followed by lunch (provided) and prompt further discussions after lunch on supportive supervision at UON. Update Day will also feature our annual 3-Minute Thesis Competition at lunchtime – the first competition that we have held in-person since 2019.
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3-Minute Thesis – call for applications extended to Thursday 25th May!
The call for applications from PGRs has been extended to midnight 25th May. If you have reached the Transfer stage (or past Transfer) you will be eligible to apply to take part in this exciting and rewarding presentation event, which will be held at the Graduate School’s Update Day in the Town Hall, Waterside on June 9th at lunchtime. The winner will be awarded a £75 Amazon voucher.
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. Here is 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 be held online. And this year we are hosting it at Northampton!
Skills development “Preparing for 3MT” will be held online on 30th May. Go to Gateway to book your place.
Read the rest of this entryWant to know how to make excellent academic presentations? Come to this Graduate School Development Day!
This experiential one-day course is focused on improving your presentations skills enabling you to deliver confident, clear and persuasive presentations both for internal seminars and external conferences. We will utilise a range of discussions, reflection, and experiential exercises to develop techniques to enhance the impact our presentations have.
Adair Richards is a globally recognised researcher and higher education specialist. He has spoken at many of the world’s top Universities (e.g. UCL, Harvard, Yale), and is now an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Warwick. His PhD was for research into potential cures for antibiotic-resistant bacterial diseases. Across his career, Adair has gained a broad base of academic experience also including postdoctoral research positions in both the sciences – biophysical chemistry, and the humanities – museum studies. His academic publications have received hundreds of citations, including by a Nobel laureate, and he has a particular interest in interdisciplinary studies.
This event will take place on campus on Friday, 31st March 2023 10am to 4pm with lunch provided.
Find out more and sign up on Gateway here.
Call for Posters from PGRs! Enter the Postgraduate Researcher Poster Competition 2023
The Graduate School has launched the call for entries for the 16th Annual PGR Poster Competition, which will be held on campus on Thursday May 25th. Our Poster Competition is open to all doctoral students at UON and is an excellent development opportunity for presenting research, for improving communication and for networking with other doctoral researchers. The Entry Form is here, deadline for entering is April 27th. You have until May 25th to produce and print your A1 landscape poster. There will be Amazon voucher prizes to win – £100 for the winner and 2x £75 for the runners up!
The aim of the event is for PGRs to create a research poster that explains complex research to a mixed audience of non-subject specialists. Your paper poster will be displayed on traditional poster boards in an exhibition in the Owl’s Nest, Learning Hub at Waterside Campus, with an in-person judging session. Entrants must be available from 10am on the day until 2pm.
At whatever stage in the research process you are, do take this opportunity to share your work with others and gain valuable feedback. For further information on the rules of entry, please see the Guidelines.
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