Award holder: Ibhade Akpede 

The Business School PGR Workshop had a dual objective of helping PGRs within the business school (1) build connections with other PGRs across the various departments, and (2) explore opportunities for long term research collaboration. Underpinning these activities was the fostering of improved wellbeing as research demonstrates that connections and collaborations support’s better wellbeing. 

Award winner: Ann Babtie 

The Connecting Single Cell and Spatial Sequencing Researchers initiative hosted a networking event in April that brought together over 30 staff and students from across the university.  We all share an interest in these rapidly developing sequencing techniques, which allow scientists to study biological processes at high resolution. Our aim was to connect people who use similar experimental and data analysis methods but apply them to diverse biological and biomedical research questions. 

Award winner: Francesca Boyd

The Tails of Biodiversity Research project brought together postgraduate and ECR researchers working on/with biodiversity from across the university. We developed a series of stories that were illustrated by a professional illustrator. These stories and images have now been published as a book, which has been distributed widely both within and beyond the university.  

Award winner: Laura Byrne 

The purpose of this project was to explore how creative thinking can enhance research communication. Although creativity and communication are often taught as a set of techniques and outputs, our approach emphasised the central role of perspective: The perspectives of both audiences and researchers must be understood if research communication is to be successful, and creative thinking can support researchers in the reflexivity and empathy needed to achieve this. Our project helped participants learn and experiment with this process in a safe, cross-disciplinary, and collaborative environment. Specifically, we taught them key concepts and skills, explored how these can be applied, and began to plan future creative / communication projects associated with their research. Our content is highly transferable to both individual and team contexts, supporting a range of activities (e.g., ideation, problem-solving, team-building, working with the media) not just within the research environment but also in other roles and sectors. 

Award winner: Madhuparna Das 

The academic world recently converged for a fascinating one-day conference titled "Future of AI and Its Impact on Mathematics." It was a day brimming with insights, a testament to the accelerating pace at which artificial intelligence is not just permeating, but profoundly reshaping, the very foundations of mathematical inquiry and application. From generating stunning visuals to assisting in theoretical breakthroughs and tackling complex causal puzzles, the talks painted a vivid picture of a future where AI and mathematics are inextricably linked. 

Award winner: Stephanie Hirtenstein 

Eco-humanities symposium was a two day event with multidisciplinary research panels. The Symposium hosted two creative practice sessions, two postgraduate panels, followed by a panel of visiting academics and authors. 

The symposium was organised by a team of undergraduate and postgraduate researchers across HASS. The call for volunteers went out across the whole department not just Eco-humanities. Eco-humanities is a new discipline within HASS and organising the symposium created an opportunity for collaboration between undergraduates, postgraduates and staff. This project brought together researchers from across disciplines, recognising the cross interdisciplinary nature of eco-humanities, where humanities intersect with the sciences. 

Award winner: Bryony Hobden 

Our RLI initiative was aimed at women, non-binary researchers, and allies within the Women in Climate (WiC) network across the University of Exeter and the Met Office. The initiative was a workshop hosted at both the Met Office and Exeter on the same day and was led by an ex-climate professor turned professional career and personal development coach. Often at our WiC meetings, imposter syndrome is brought up as a challenge our attendees face. This workshop was specifically designed to target one of the consequences of impostor syndrome: taking a backseat vocally, whether that is asking questions in seminars or calling out bad behaviour that doesn’t act to support all members and voices in a group. The workshop explored the idea of our own ‘inner critics’ through creative play and got attendees to work together to explore strategies to start to overcome this.

Award winner: Tom Horton 

As part of the ExeDataHub initiative, a survey was conducted with 32 respondents and two catered workshops were delivered at Penryn Campus to build foundational and intermediate skills in Advanced Research Computing (ARC) and an informal wrap-up session at Verdant Brewery. The first session introduced key ARC concepts and included tailored case studies based on participants’ research needs, along with a worked example for independent learning. The second workshop focused on collaborative problem solving, best practices, and applying virtual and high-performance computing methods to real-world research. The workshops were attended by 27 researchers (24 signed up and three deliverers) and aimed to support local capacity-building in research computing in a practical and accessible way. 

Award winner: Stella Kozmér 

This initiative offered a hands-on workshop designed to help researchers transform complex ideas into clear, engaging visual stories. Led by Woven Ink, specialists in visual communication for research, this interactive session introduced the principles of visual thinking and offered practical guidance on creating visual abstracts, posters, and leaflets— without prior experience in design. Participants were asked to bring their own research to the session and received expert and peer feedback in a supportive, creative environment. This workshop was open to all postgraduate and early-career researchers, regardless of discipline, and aimed to promote accessible and impactful communication across the research community.

Award winner: Jaeyoung Lee 

A one-day Geography Grant Writing Workshop, titled “Ready to Win the Grant?”, was designed to support researchers in navigating the funding landscape, refining their proposal development skills, and enhancing the clarity and impact of their research ideas. 

This interactive workshop provided insights into the current funding landscape and strategies for identifying suitable opportunities. It offered guidance on how to structure and communicate research proposals effectively, featured reflections from experienced academics on both successful and unsuccessful applications. The workshop also included a practical session where participants developed and pitched their own research ideas, receiving feedback from peers. 

Award winner: Carrie Rhys-Davies 

We welcomed acclaimed poet Rachael Allen to the University for a series of events designed to inspire, challenge, and connect PGRs and ECRs across HASS and beyond. Rachael’s formally adventurous work was the starting point for interdisciplinary activities that aimed to develop craft-based skills amongst English & CW PGRs and foster new skills in creative thinking for research and communication amongst PGRs from other disciplines, contributing to the development of a confident and vibrant PGR community. 

Award winner: Lauren Struszczak 

The ‘How to Become a PI’ initiative was a series of four hybrid events hosted by Dr Lauren Struszczak and Ms Vicki McKenna in the Public Health and Sports Sciences (PHSS) department. Designed to support early career researchers (ECRs) aiming for research independence, the sessions featured expert speakers from PHSS and covered key topics such as securing funding, preparing and recycling grant applications, and navigating roles as Co-Investigator or Principal Investigator. Each seminar also included a networking lunch, offering ECRs the chance to connect with peers and senior academics in an informal setting. The series provided practical guidance and fostered a supportive community for ECRs exploring the path to becoming a PI. 

Award winner: Veronica White 

In March 2025, PhD students from Geography and the CRPR hosted the Beyond Farm to Fork conference, bringing together PhD students from across the university who are researching food-related topics. The event, a Researcher-led Initiative funded the University of Exeter Researcher Development and Research Culture team, was well attended by students from a wide range of disciplines. Throughout the day, students shared their research topics in lightning talks, cooked and ate lunch together, learnt about collaboration from a panel of university academics, and created collages based on their research topics. The event was a success and future events will be planned to continue building this community of PhD researchers. 

Award winner: Minlin Zou 

Our RLI workshop series encompasses four-part sessions:  

Workshop 1: Introduction to academic impact 

Academic impact begins with bold attempts - this workshop helps PGRs and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) take the first crucial step. In this session, we define what academic impact is, and why your research needs to be seen. We also look at the importance of publishing, and how high-quality publications enhance their academic reputation and career development.  

Workshop 2: Demystifying academic publication, peer review, and the job-hunting 

We offer a step-by-step exploration of academic publication, the peer review process - from submission to acceptance - and job hunting. The sessions include practical strategies to support participants in navigating academic publishing, understanding peer review, and preparing for the job market. Additionally, two keynote speakers share their career journeys from PhD onwards, offering candid insights and constructive, experience-based tips along the way. 

Workshop 3: Thinking about broader social, environmental, and economic impact 

In this session, we consider the broader impact that researchers’ research can have beyond academia. We are joined by academic members from the Impact Team at the University of Exeter, who share their insights from their own academic research and practice. 

Workshop 4: Mapping our impact 

This concluding session takes the form of a collaborative workshop, where we begin to plan the next steps to enhance the impact of our research. We also consider our research in light of the UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and begin to consider how our research might align with these.