Blog Archives
Images of Research 2023: voting now open!
The Graduate School’s 2023 Images of Research (IoR) is now open for public voting. This year we have a collection of 20 fabulous research images from across the university. IoR showcases research in a unique way – researchers produce an original image, which can be a photograph or artwork, and write a short, engaging summary describing how the image links to their research. This results in an exciting exhibition, showcasing UONs research diversity.
To vote for your two favourites, just view the Images of Research Brochure, below, choose your favourite two and enter them in the Poll below. Please vote for your favourite two in no particular order, taking into account BOTH the image and the abstract. As a guide, a winning image would be one that:
* Is visually appealing AND
* Has an accompanying abstract which is well written, clearly connects with the image and ensures viewers, who know nothing about the research topic, will understand and find interest in the research presented.
Read the rest of this entryCome along to the Annual Postgraduate Researcher Poster Competition!
The Graduate School would like to invite you to their Annual Postgraduate Researcher Poster Competition on Thursday 25th May 2023, 11am to 2pm, in the Owl’s Nest on the ground floor of the Learning Hub, Waterside campus. The poster competition is a development opportunity for doctoral research students, who present their research on a research poster, giving short 1-1 verbal presentations alongside. Come along to meet some of our PGRs and learn about their research!

If you are a researcher or a research student yourself why not come along to support your colleagues. The event is a competition and we are offering a first prize of £100, and two second prizes of £75 for the top three posters. We will have judges circulating, picked from academic and non-academic staff. Judges will score the posters on design, accessibility of content, verbal presentation and researcher engagement. The prizes will be announced at 1.45pm.
We hope to see you there!
Want to learn how to design effective academic posters? Join us for a poster making and critique session!
Academic poster presentations are excellent visual and verbal communication tools for researchers to describe their research to others. In this highly practical workshop we will consider what a poster should convey, we will look at visual design and written content and, using tips from poster competition judges, the session will also feature best practice in the verbal presentation of your poster at a competition. The session includes a design critique of real academic posters and you will go away better prepared to produce your own. It will contain essential training for PGRs entering into UON’s Poster Competition on May 25th.
After the workshop you will:
- Understand the aim & purpose of poster presentations
- Describe what makes a great poster from a judges perspective
- Understand best practice in design to ensure your poster is attractive
- Be able to write and organise your poster text
- Identify the verbal presentation skills needed
We are looking forward to have you join us for this poster making workshop on Tuesday, 4 Apr 2023, from 12:00 to 14:30.
For more information and to sign up visit the workshop’s Gateway page.
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.
Read the rest of this entryImages of Research deadline extended to 31st March 2023 – for the last time!

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 for a final time to 31st March 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 at Waterside’s 5-year anniversary festival.
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
Graduate School Workshop No-Shows – active from January 2023
The Graduate School is implementing a no-show policy for signing up to but not attending workshops that will take effect from January 2023.
We understand that plans change, and that you might no longer be able to make it to a workshop or an event you thought you would like to attend. The aim of the policy is not to discourage you from registering for events you might be interested in. Instead, if your plans change, we ask that you simply let us know that by cancelling your registration.
Read the rest of this entryImages of Research is accepting submissions!
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!
Wondering how to start your very own Research Blog? Join our new online workshop
A practical introduction to creating and publishing a Blog for your Research (online workshop)
24 Nov 2022, 12:00 to 14:00
Have you ever thought about starting a Research Blog but wasn’t sure where to begin or how to go about it?
Keeping a Research Blog is an excellent way to document your experience, keep track of your progress and share your research journey with others.
The Graduate School is hosting “A practical introduction to creating and publishing a Blog for your Research”, an online workshop that will introduce you to creating and setting up a blog on Campus Press (the University’s version of WordPress), how to customise it to your needs and how to publish it.
Find out more and sign up for the workshop on Gateway.
Are you a PGR in the beginning stages of your research journey?
Whether you have just joined the University of Northampton or have been with us for some time and need a refresher on the beginning stages of your research journey, the Graduate School would like to invite you to our Development Day: Getting Started which will take place online on November 22 from 10:00 to 16:30.
This series of webinars is for students who have recently joined a research degree programme at the University of Northampton. We will cover what to expect in your first year, how to prepare for key stages and events in your research project and how to prepare for the ethical approval process. There will be plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion.
To find out more information and to sign up please follow this link to the event’s Gateway page.


