Researcher Development Essentials

Core skills:

• These sessions will give you an overview of what to expect from your supervisory team, and how to make the most of your supervisors’ time, knowledge and skills:
  • Working with your supervisors (PGR Perspective- panel discussion)
  • Getting the most out of supervision (supervisor perspective)
• Publishing Open Access – This virtual session will explain what it means to publish in open access, the types of publishers, and open access licensing options. Funds available to publish open access and publishers’ agreements through which authors can publish without paying any publishing fees will be presented.

Milestones:

• Conducting a literature review - purpose, critiquing, structuring and writing - A thorough literature review allows you to position your work within the wider academic field and articulate the need and value of your research. This session will help you understand how to engage critically with your reading, identify a structure for your literature review and explore how to go about planning and writing.
• Maintaining momentum and focus after your upgrade (PGR Panel Discussion) - This panel discussion will help you clarify the process of the final stages of your research degree and help you take the next steps. As we move from being an active researcher to a producer of a thesis, it helps to understand the examination criteria, and the process of passing; we will discuss expectations, perspectives and pressures, and how to use them to help us make decisions and choose direction.

Supporting your wellbeing:

• Emotionally challenging research: impacts, coping and proactive interventions to support researchers - Equip yourself with knowledge and tools essential for maintaining emotional wellbeing in research on emotionally challenging topics (e.g. death, illness, war, crime, extreme poverty). The workshop introduces a practical toolkit, providing resources and guidance to support researchers, supervisors and organisations in managing the emotional aspects of their work and progressing towards a strategic approach to researcher wellbeing and emotionally challenging topics.

What is the PGR Study Space?

The PGR Study Space is an online space where PGRs can work alongside one another. It is designed to support focus and motivation, while also providing an opportunity to connect with PGRs from different faculties and disciplines. The Study Space helps build a sense of community, social support, and friendship.

How can I join?

You can request to join the Teams channel here - General | PGR Study Space | Microsoft Teams. Alternatively you can email PGRStudySpace@exeter.ac.uk and ask to join.

How does it work?

Study Space sessions are run as Microsoft Teams meetings, known as the PGR Workroom. Members have access to a dedicated Teams channel where they can join the Workroom and use the chat.

• Facilitated sessions: Scheduled sessions are led by volunteer facilitators. During these sessions, the facilitator runs a Pomodoro-style timer with structured focus periods and breaks.
• Independent sessions: Outside of facilitated session times, the Workroom remains open and can be joined by members at any time for independent working.

What do our members say?

We asked our members: What do you think PGR members gain from joining the Study Space? They said:

“Companionship and support”

“A motivating and friendly community of other PGRs in a setting to help with some focus and accountability”

“sense of community, not feeling alone, motivation”

Who are our Facilitators?

Our Facilitators are all other PGRs from across the university, who are passionate about the PGR Study Space and volunteer their time to run facilitated sessions.

We asked our Facilitators: What do you think are the benefits of being a PGR Study Space Facilitator? They said:

“It is rewarding to be able to lead a focus session and allow for the study space to be as beneficial to other PGRs and yourself as well”

“helps with my accountability”

“good fun”

The PGR Study Space Coordinator:

The PGR Study Space is coordinated by Ellie Hepworth, a PGR in Health and Life Sciences. Throughout her research journey, Ellie has been an active participant and facilitator within the PGR Study Space. She is passionate about the value of this space in supporting productivity while fostering a strong sense of community among PGRs.

If you have any questions about the PGR Study Space, either before or after becoming a member, you can contact Ellie at PGRStudySpace@exeter.ac.uk . She will be happy to answer your questions by email or arrange a time to chat.

FAQs:

• Which sessions are being facilitated? Members have access to a Teams channel. Within this channel, there is a Facilitator Timetable tab that shows when facilitated sessions are taking place.
• Do I have to stay for the whole session? You’re welcome to join at any point during a session and leave whenever you need to. Many people dip in and out. We do ask that you use the chat to say “hello” when you join and “thank you” when you leave, as a way of acknowledging the facilitator and other members.
• Do I need to sign up in advance for a session? No sign-up is required. Simply join any session whenever you would like to attend.
• Do I have to attend a certain number of sessions? Attendance is completely flexible, and you can join as many or as few sessions as suits you.
• Do I need to have my camera and microphone on during the session? There is no requirement to have your camera or microphone on. Most participants keep their cameras off. In facilitated sessions, the facilitator is usually the only person with their microphone on, and others communicate via the chat. If you are in a facilitated session and cannot hear the sound, it’s helpful to let the facilitator know in the chat so they can switch to communicating there if needed.
• Do I need to be writing while in the Workroom? You can use the Workroom for any type of work you need to complete - it doesn’t have to be writing. People often share their goals or what they’re working on in the chat, and there is usually a wide variety of tasks happening at the same time.
• Can I be a facilitator? Yes! Being a facilitator is a great opportunity to build facilitation skill, and gives you the opportunity to run group sessions at a time that suits you. If you are interested in being a PGR Study Space Facilitator, please reach out to Ellie on PGRStudySpace@exeter.ac.uk, she will be happy to tell you more about the Facilitator role.

You can access material from many courses on our PGR Training & Development Resources SharePoint page, such as:

• Conducting a Literature Review - purpose, critiquing, structuring and writing
• Working with your supervisors
• Project managing your research degree
• Maintaining Momentum, Productivity and Wellbeing
• Preparing for your viva

Please check out our Researcher Development site- a suite of online resources, made by PGRs for PGRs, to support their training and development. 

We have resources on fieldwork and travel specifically designed for PGRs, which you can find at PGR Resources. This includes a PGR Fieldwork Handbook, and process and planning for arranging your travel.

Exeter Postgraduate Researcher Podcast, the new podcast from the Researcher Development and Research Culture Team, covers the skills and knowledge needed for postgraduate researchers' professional development. 

You can listen to our episodes here:

Beyond Your Research Degree was a podcast from Researcher Development about topics relating to PhD researchers, including careers for researchers, beyond academia, from the University of Exeter. You can listen to this podcast on Podbean, Spotify and Amazon Music.

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R, D and the In-Betweens was a podcast about researchers, development…and everything in-between! In this podcast Kelly Preece (Researcher Development Manager) spoke to researchers and Higher Education professionals about being a researcher, working in a research environment and all that may entail. This included episodes on research communication, writing up, being a BAME researcher, research ethics and much more! You can listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

If you are listening from an computer please click the links below, which also include full transcriptions of each episode.