• A research symposium was held to help promote engagement and research culture (Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering).
• A series of brown bag lunches for PGRs and less-division-specific PGR space (School of Management).
• Introduced a new seminar series to help equip PGRs with skills they will need (Department of Economics).
• Reinstated the “Monday booster”, a popular, informal get-together, and held a student conference (Department of Computer Science).
• Monthly journal club meetings, weekly seminars, a student-led social committee and symposium series (Department of Chemical Engineering).
• Improved publicity around research group meetings and planning research days (Department of Psychology).
• Regular programme of in-person and online research seminars and a Doctoral Symposium on “Towards a Zero Carbon Future” (Department of Mechanical Engineering).
• Informal lunch-time pizza events, meetings with postdocs (Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering).
• A 2-day Bolland Symposium comprising PGR talks and posters, and a Christmas meal (Department of Chemistry).
• A mixture of department-specific and cross-Faculty events in June 2022 ending with a picnic in Victoria Park (Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences).
• A Doctoral Research Event in June 2022 where PGR students were able to showcase their research to colleagues across the faculty (Faculty of Science).

• Set up the new “charging station” common room for staff and PGR students, to assist the interaction of staff and PGRs, with free tea and coffee (Faculty of Engineering and Design).
• A new building with allocated space for PGRs (School of Management).
• Implemented a departmental meeting place/coffee room to enhance communications (Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering).
• Weekly departmental coffee event reinstated (Department of Mathematical Sciences).

• Expanded career and publication workshops (Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies).
• Organised a Career and Professional Development workshop run by the Careers Service, plus upcoming focus on career development in student conference (Department of Computer Science).
• Working with the Careers Service on introducing a Career Development Plan for PGRs to encourage engagement between student and supervisor on this issue (Department of Mechanical Engineering).
• PGRs organising a Careers Day and staff-led tutorial training sessions for PGRs (Department of Chemistry).

• Establishing specific guidelines to aid preparation for confirmation (Department of Computer Science).
• Developed new documentation that is disseminated to supervisors and students to facilitate greater understanding of academic progression and role responsibilities (Department of Life Sciences)
• Roles and responsibilities discussed with new PGRs and new supervisors as part of their induction (Department of Health)

• Revamped Moodle and Teams pages to ensure that students can find information about support easily (Department of Politics, languages & International Studies).
• Completely redesigned the Moodle VLE for students in their first year of study (DHealth programme).
• More live and pre-recorded video content (DHealth programme)

In addition, the Doctoral has:

• Improved DoctoralSkills Moodle Resources to make it easier to navigate and find resources

Academic Reps

These are elected individuals in your departments and programmes who represent your views at Faculty and School Staff-Student Liaison Committees (SSLCs) throughout the year. Find out who your Academic Reps are in your departments and programmes.

The SU

You can give your opinions through the SU through the Postgraduate Officer, the Doctoral Executive or attending a doctoral forum. The SU and the University meets regularly to discuss student feedback. Find out how you can give feedback through the SU.

Department meetings and forums

Most Departments have meetings with their doctoral students throughout the year. Attending these meetings are useful ways in which you can provide feedback to your Department. Contact your Director of Studies to find out the schedule for these meetings.