PGR Induction week – a warm welcome to our new research students
One of a number of workshop sessions for the new students
A four day induction from 25th to the 28th October saw the Graduate School welcome a further 23 research degree students to the University of Northampton.
The 4-day biannual Induction Programme is run by The Graduate School in October and March and is compulsory for all research students starting out on their PhD or MPhil. The Induction aims to launch research students into their studies by offering them a variety of workshops and talks, covering processes and procedures, skills development and support, library resources, copyright and much more. The students also get a chance to give a presentation on their research topic and meet members of staff in the university who can support them along the way.
New PGRs meet current PGRs for a round the table chat.
Many of our new research students are working professionals and academics, or are studying part time. Induction aims to welcome all new students, helping them to feel part of the University and giving them the perfect grounding for the long research degree road ahead.
Feedback from the programme was excellent. One student commented “The Induction was friendly, welcoming and informative.” Another commented “Great introduction to the services on offer at UN for research students” The next PGR Induction programme will run from Tuesday March 21st to Friday March 24th 2017.
Graduate School workshops for researchers in October and November 2016
The Graduate School Development Programme is designed for all University of Northampton researchers, research students and early career researchers. The following workshops are coming up and are open for booking through Gateway. See the instructions at the end of the post to see the full calendar, or you can click on the links in the table below to the individual workshops. [Please note: you will need to log into Gateway to access the information].
| Finding Resources on the Web | 19 Oct 2016, from 14:00 to 16:00 |
| Shut Up and Write! writing session | 31 Oct 2016, from 10:00 to 13:00 |
| Preparing for the Viva | 08 Nov 2016, from 17:00 to 19:00 |
| Smarter speed reading | 15 Nov 2016, from 12:00 to 15:00 |
| SPSS 1 beginnner’s workshop | 16 Nov 2016, from 14:00 to 16:00 |
| Grounded Theory | 24 Nov 2016, from 10:00 to 12:00 |
| SPSS 2 (follow on workshop from 16th November) | 30 Nov 2016, from 14:00 to 16:00 |
Psychology Research Seminar on 26th October
Submitted by Dr Helen Clegg
The first Psychology Research Seminar of this academic year will be held at Park Campus in F43 on Wednesday 26th October 2016 at 3.30pm. Refreshments will be available from 3.15pm.
Professor Tom Dickins from Middlesex University will be speaking on “Life on the Edge: The first two years of a long-term study of Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla)”
Grounded Theory Forum and GT resources
Submitted by Dr Sarah Neill.
Welcome to a new academic year for the Grounded Theory Forum! The forum will meet approximately four times a year to discuss GT approaches, challenges – this would interest those teaching grounded theory, researchers using grounded theory, post doc and doctoral students.
The new dates this academic year are as follows:
9/11/16 1-3pm C318
15/2/17 1-3pm S007
12/4/17 1-3pm S007
7/6/17 1-3pm S007 (sorry, this date has been cancelled)
For all of you interested in Grounded Theory the University has subscribed to Sage Research Methods, in which there is a plethora of GT material, including an introductory video tutorial by Kathy Charmaz and the whole text of the Sage Handbook of Grounded Theory.
Northamptonshire Local Nature Partnership “Valuing Local Nature”
Posted on behalf of Prof Jeff Ollerton:
This free half day conference aims to highlight the true value that local nature provides to individuals, communities and businesses through ‘ecosystem services’. By adopting this approach, it is clear to see the cross sector benefits to public health, economic growth, flood risk management and more; and begs the question, “what does local nature do for you?”. Read the rest of this entry
Supervisor Development Programme – 2016/17
The university runs a development programme for supervisors who are new to research degree supervision, co-ordinated by Professor Ian Livingstone, Head of the Graduate School. It is a validated university postgraduate course and it is delivered as two modules – Workshops and Observation. It is a requirement of our research degree regulations that everyone who is new to supervision takes the first module – the workshops. The second module is optional but if you complete both you are awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Degree Supervision which you can count as one completion when putting together supervisory teams. Even if you have previously supervised research students, there may be some elements of the programme that you would find useful.
In 2016/17 the workshops will be delivered on two occasions:
Tuesday 14th, Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th February 2017
at The University of Northampton;
Tuesday 4th, Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th July 2017
at Regent’s University London.
Staff from both The University of Northampton and Regent’s University London plus staff delivering our research degrees as international partners are welcome to join either delivery. You only need to join one three-day course, not both. No fees are paid by participants on this programme, but if you will be travelling away from your own university you will need to discuss travel and subsistence expenses with your line manager.
If you are intending to join this programme for either delivery and have not yet contacted Ian Livingstone, please do so now. (01604 893362; email: ian.livingstone@northampton.ac.uk). He will be happy to answer any questions you have about the programme.
Invitation to transfer seminars (Faculty of Business and Law)
The Faculty of Business and Law invite all our research staff and supervisors, PGR students and all those interested to two transfer seminars, happening next week in C227. PGR student, Louise Atkinson, is presenting at 1pm on Tuesday 4th October on “The Role of Community Influences on Socially Responsible Activity within SMEs”. PGR student, Maher Daboul, is presenting at 12.30pm on Wednesday 5th October on “Impact of Brand Crises on Brand Image in the age of Corporate Social Responsibility.” Read on for the abstracts…
Dust off your cameras, dig out your sketchbook – Images of Research is back!
Last year’s winning images.
The Graduate School’s Images of Research competition is back! The call for research images for 2016-17 is open so, if you are a researcher (staff or student) at the University of Northampton, why not take part? Pick up your camera or paintbrush and produce a unique image which captures the essence of your research, or an element of your research, in a visual, artistic or photographic way. Top that off with a snappy title and 150 word summary and that is all you need to do to participate.
Last year’s IoR was judged in two competitions. This year’s IoR will, again, be a double competition, where viewers can vote for their top three favourites and an expert judge will choose their top three. Entries for IoR 2016-17 must be emailed to Simone by November 9th 2016. There will be a launch party, where you can view all the images for the first time, on January 31st from 5-6:30pm in the Avenue Gallery corridor. Read on for the rules of entry…
Beware of bogus academic conferences
I have been made aware of postgraduate research students being targeted by bogus (fake) conference organisers. Early career academics are asked for payment to attend and/or speak at conferences that do not exist. There are blogs and websites that report bogus conferences such as Scholarly Open Access and Bogus Conferences.
Before you commit to attending a conference, discuss it with your supervisor – part of their role is to help you to plan your development. Also, research the conference organiser, look into any badges of authenticity they display on the website and don’t be lured by conferences that are not organised by known, reputable societies or institutions. Other bloggers have provided advice: Journalism Research News, Academia, American Psychological Association
UON Graduate School Blog 