Blog Archives

A warm welcome to all of our new PGRs! 

March 16 Induction groupFrom March 15th-18th 2016 The Graduate School welcomed 22 new postgraduate research students, all joining the University to start a research degree, some part-time, some full time, with many being members of University staff.

Over the four days they were launched into their doctorate by an intensive series of workshops, including an introduction to the procedures and processes of doctoral study, support sessions where they met members of University staff, IT sessions, networking opportunities and a presentation session where they all gave a 5 minute talk on their research.

Welcome to you all from The Graduate School and Research Support Hub! For further information on starting your research degree, recapping what’s what, please see the Research Support Hub resources here. Or search in the box above using the key word ‘Induction’ for even more tips and tools.

 

 

Part-Time Researcher programme for PGRs running on May 6th

Vitae logo

If you are a Postgraduate Research Student studying part-time then you might be interested in the Part-Time Researcher Development Day The Graduate School are running on Friday 6th May, in collaboration with the Open University and Keele University.

Originally developed through Vitae, the Programme is a day-long series of discussions and workshops, offering part-time research students the time and space to share and discuss issues which directly affect their research degree study. Read the rest of this entry

Supervisor Development Programme – next delivery

The university runs a development programme for supervisors who are new to research degree supervision, co-ordinated by Professor Ian Livingstone.  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.

The next delivery of the workshops will run 9.30-4.00 on Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th July 2016. There will be a further session of seminars led by participants – dates to be negotiated.

If you are intending to join this programme and have not yet contacted Ian Livingstone, please do so now. (x 3362; email: ian.livingstone@northampton.ac.uk)

PhD Life – What weird questions are you asked about your PhD?

This blogger writes about the weird questions she is asked about her PhD. What weird questions do you get asked? Leave a comment below.

You can read the PhD Life blog at http://phdlife.warwick.ac.uk/

Image: By hobvias sudoneighm – Flickr: /doh, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25699711

Finishing Development Day for research students on 23rd February

Graduate School WorkshopsAre you a research student in the final stages of your doctorate, post-Transfer? If you are, you may be interested in the Graduate School Finishing Development Day, running on Tuesday 23rd February.

The 3 sessions will be:
9:30: Preparing for the viva: Prof Chris Roe.
Followed by Meet the ‘viva survivors’! PhD alumni talk about their experiences for a frank and informative question and answer session.
13:00 Editing and finishing your thesis: Prof. Ian Livingstone.
15:15 Proofreading your work: Prof Ian Livingstone and Simone Apel.

You can find out more and book a place on just one or all three workshops here.

A warm welcome to all of our new PGRs from everyone at the Research Support Hub! 

Group photo

Two thirds of the 38 new students, at the end of October’s four-day Induction

From 27th to 30th October 2015, The Graduate School welcomed 38 new postgraduate research students, all joining the University to start a research degree, some part-time, some full time, some off-site, many from overseas. 38 is the highest figure for a single induction here at Northampton.

Over the four days they were launched into their doctorate by an intensive series of workshops, including an introduction to the procedures and processes of doctoral study, support sessions where they met many members of University staff, IT sessions where they learnt some new research skills and a presentation session where they all gave a 5 minute talk on their research. Congratulations to all of the 38 PGRs and welcome to the University of Northampton. You can read more here.

 

Deadline extended for Images of Research 2015-16 – there is still time to enter!

Ior2015stripjpeg

Images from the 2014-15 competition

If you haven’t yet had time to take a photo or draw a picture reflecting your research there is still time. The deadline for the Graduate School’s Images of Research competition has been extended to a final deadline of 5pm on 24th November 2015. Just grab your camera or pencil/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. Add a snappy title and 150 word summary and that is all you need to do to participate.

IoR will, again, be a competition, where viewers can vote for their top three favourites. Entries for IoR 2015-16 must be emailed to Simone by November 24th 2015. Read on for the rules…

Read the rest of this entry

2015-16 Changes to postgraduate research degree documentation

Top lodgeA number of changes have taken place to the regulations, policies, guidance and forms for postgraduate research (PGR) programmes. The student and supervisor toolkits now reflect all of the changes. This post will explain the changes and provide links to new content.

Read the rest of this entry

Research related committees – When are they and who are they?

Welcome to the 2015-16 cycle of committees (research degrees board, research degrees committee, research ethics committee)!

The committee dates and deadlines are now available in the supervisor toolkit and student toolkit.

It is also important that you know who the members of the committees are and what their roles are. You can find a listing below. Postgraduate Research students are reminded that RDB members are available for pastoral support (please see the PGR Code of Practice in the Student Toolkit for more information)

Each of the committees includes student representatives and if any postgraduate research students are interested in being involved, they should contact me. Read the rest of this entry

Dust off your cameras, dig out your paintbrushes – Images of Research is back!

Ior2015stripjpeg

Images from the 2014-15 competition

It’s time for the call for research images, so why not take part in the Graduate School’s 2015-16 Images of Research competition? If you are a researcher at the University of Northampton, grab 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.

This years IoR will, again, be a competition, where viewers can vote for their top three favourites. Entries for IoR 2015-16 must be emailed to Simone by November 6th 2015. Read on for the rules…

Read the rest of this entry