UKCGE Annual Conference 2024

As increasing numbers of PhD graduates pursue careers outside academia, it is imperative that doctoral programmes within universities equip postgraduate researchers (PGRs) with the right skills to find employment commensurate with their expertise within and beyond academia. 

This paper will focus on the DocTalent4EU project, a Horizon Europe-funded inter-institutional collaboration between seven universities (5 EU, 2 non-EU) and the European University Foundation (EUF). The consortium is tasked with enhancing PhD employability through an innovative recognition system of the most in-demand transferable skills that PGRs acquire throughout their doctoral training and research.

The impact of the Doc Talent4EU project will be multi-varied. For example, project partners are developing a prototype based on machine learning to update and predict the most in-demand skills on the labour market for PGRs. The impact of this prototype could be transformative for universities in helping them align skills offerings with the most up-to-date transferable skills demanded by employers. 

Other impacts of DocTalent4EU will be visible by the extent to which it enhances transversal skills intelligence among PGRs by developing a digital credential system to acknowledge the acquisition of such skills, and by creating local Talent Management Centres (TMCs) to assist candidates plan their professional and career development during their doctoral studies. 

DocTalent4EU outputs will include recommendations on best practice in terms of: 

• developing a machine-learning prototype to identify the most in-demand transferable skills for PGRs; 
• establishing TMCs in order to enhance PGR employability; 
• creating a system of digital credentials for PGRs that is recognisable by employers; and 
• determining how DocTalent4EU outputs can be made freely transferable and also sustainable to universities beyond the consortium. 

This paper will assess the expected impact of DocTalent4EU in terms of enhancing PhD employability and will provide guidelines for other institutions to develop similar programmes adaptable to their own local context. 

This work aims to undertake a comparative study with a particular focus on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic (break in studies and extensions) on the wellness the PGR student at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), UK and the Institute of Mathematics and Computing at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. 

These institutions were chosen due to their contrasting geographic locations, institutional structures, and responses to the pandemic. By comparing their experiences, the study aims to discover valuable information about how students completed their Ph.D. degrees, whether they requested extension of deadlines and/​or suspension of enrolment during a pandemic. 

The main areas of investigation include the transition to developing their projects remotely, the impact on research projects, the support systems implemented by Universities for postgraduate students, and the emotional and psychological challenges faced. 

Our aim is to identify best practices and lessons learned that can generate future strategies to support in-person learners in times of crisis and collapse. The results of this research have the potential to benefit higher education institutions around the world.

Like everyone who supports doctoral candidates, researcher developers are working in a climate of high no-shows and post-pandemic fatigue (Uekusa 2023, Williams 2022). As a sector we are seeking to step up to strategic drivers towards more support for PGRs and their supervisors, (e.g. UKRI New Deal Response 2023), while making informed use of limited time and resources. There is also increased sector enthusiasm for cross-institutional collaboration. Pooling resources offers both strengthened provision and logistical challenges, so those involved must realistically consider how investment in collaboration supports the needs of their home institutions. 

Thirteen years on from the end of the Roberts ring-fenced funding (Flinders & Anderson, 2019), how development activity is resourced and facilitated looks different depending on the size, scope, and institutional priorities of a University. In this interactive workshop, two Researcher Developers from different research environments — one a post 92 institution, the other, a Russell Group institution — lead an exploration of the decision-making and resource allocation practices underpinning opportunities for PGRs and their Supervisors. 

The workshop uses structured activities and small group conversations to consider how development is designed, delivered, and evaluated — navigating both user-need and institutional drivers — within resource constraints. It offers an opportunity to share process and practice, learn what works from each other, and seek group conclusions on when scalability supports impact. 

In particular, the workshop will consider collective leadership in Researcher Development, taking insight from a current collaboration between the workshop leads. Co-facilitating a cross-institutional peer-writing group for the UKCGE Recognised Supervisor award highlights the similar and divergent ways that inter-institutional programming interacts with institutional strategies. Both facilitators have strategic responsibilities for programming within their institutions and this workshop may be of interest to those who share similar responsibilities and are interested in collaborating with others in the sector.

This workshop will provide the opportunity to find out more about a new PGR Competency-Based Admissions Framework developed by Nottingham Trent, Liverpool John Moores and Sheffield Hallam Universities in collaboration with the UK Council for Graduate Education. The workshop will reflect on barriers to inclusive admissions practices and explore how the framework might work in your own university. 

The PGR Competency-Based Admissions Framework was developed as part of the Equity in Doctoral Education through Partnership and Innovation (EDEPI) project. EDEPI is an Office for students/​Research England-funded project that aims to widen access and participation in research for students from racially-minoritised groups. Find out more about EDEPI: 

the Equity in Doctoral Education through Partnership and Innovation

Find out more about the Framework here:

Competency-Based PGR Admissions Framework and Question Bank

Reference points are collectively agreed requirements or points of comparison (at international, national and degree-awarding body level) which are used by degree-awarding bodies to ensure consistency in academic standards. Characteristics Statements are sector agreed reference points, maintained by QAA, that articulate the distinctive features of qualifications at particular levels within the Qualifications Frameworks. They describe the qualifications in terms of their purpose, general characteristics and generic outcomes, but do not include subject level detail. 

QAA are currently exploring the future direction of two Characteristic Statements that will have a direct impact on the strategic direction of postgraduate provision: Doctoral degrees and Master’s degrees. 

The postgraduate sector, along with QAA, now has an opportunity to reconsider what the purpose and value of these two Characteristic Statements are in the future. 

Our current review of the Master’s Statement has thrown up some interesting challenges. Notably, the exponential growth in Master’s provision has meant that an updated version will be of great benefit to the sector, as more institutions come to rely on PGT international students to bolster income during a precarious financial period for the sector. QAA are considering adapting the Statements so they focus on Postgraduate taught provision and Postgraduate research and some key questions to consider for the future of these Characteristic Statements include: 

• How can they support Research Degree awarding bodies in assuring the standards of their postgraduate awards? 
• How do they align with current practice in supervision and assessment of research degrees? 
• What are the current gaps in both Statements that would support the sector to enhance the student experience?
• How can the Statements support the research culture and strategy of institutions through clarifying the distinct pathways of postgraduate taught and postgraduate research? 

On 22 November, as part of the Autumn Statement 2023, the Government released its response to the Independent Review of University Spinouts. One of the recommendations accepted by the government was that, ​“UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) should ensure that all doctoral students they fund have a voluntary option of attending high-quality entrepreneurship training and increase the opportunities for them to undertake internships in local spin-outs, venture capital firms or Technology Transfer Offices.” Should this just apply to UKRI funded researchers or is this provision that we need to consider for all doctoral researchers? 

To open the workshop there will be a brief presentation framing the workshop within the broader cultural challenges and drivers being experienced by the UK higher education sector. This environmental analysis will include highlighting key governmental drivers (e.g. R&D People & Culture Strategy as well as highlighting some key current initiatives/​opportunities by funders and organisations). 

The workshop will then use an appreciative inquiry model to capture good practice already in place across the sector, it will support attendees envisioning ​‘what might be’ and to provide space to discuss how opportunities might be addressed collaboratively. The aim would be to identify some specific collaborative projects and/​or develop a special interest group for this topic.

This doctoral research explores the experience of transition for adult learners returning from the workplace to postgraduate (PG) study, addressing the scarcity of scholarship and neglect of PG learners (1994 Group, 2012). The research commenced during the Covid-19 pandemic, documenting the significance of technology and alternative modes of provision in higher education (HE), but also the academy’s response to emergency situations.

Based at a research-intensive Russell Group university, nine PG student narratives (predominantly from PGT students, but some first-year PhD candidates) were collected over the 2021–2022 academic year. The research explored two questions,

1. What transitional experiences characterise the change from a workplace to higher education?
2. How do institutional practices impact on individual-level transitions?

The theoretical framework comprised Schlossberg’s theory of transition and her model of 4 S’s (2008, 2011), along with Blume’s theory of identity renegotiation (2010, 2015). Collectively, these offered a holistic view of transition, capturing the psychological and social facets of the experience. Participants submitted data three times over the year, firstly as email diary entries and digital storytelling tasks, then with a follow-up interview where photo-elicitation and member-checking took place. The data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2019) reflexive thematic analysis.

The research has ethical approval from the author’s university and abides by the guidelines set out by BERA.

The findings include acknowledging the transferability of existing skillsets and working patterns to manage the change in practice – to overcome existing assumptions, expectations, and the challenge of independent practice. The experience of taking on the student identity was also made more complicated by the students’ lack of preparedness for the role, the relevance of support available to PGs, and the consideration taken by the institution to include learners that were not participating full-time. Recommendations pertain to widening participation initiatives, the use of alternative modes of study, and the boundaries around induction.

The Brilliant Club is the UK’s largest national university access charity, and our mission is to mobilise the PhD community to support students from less advantaged backgrounds to access the most competitive universities and succeed when they get there. We do this by recruiting, training, and placing PhD and postdoctoral researchers into schools to deliver university-style tutorials through The Scholars Programme.

Our commitment extends to the professional growth of the PhD community, for which we have developed a comprehensive theoretical framework. This framework encapsulates four pivotal outcomes: teaching and pedagogy, communication and public engagement, professional and career development, and equitable access. It is informed by and extends the ​‘Vitae Researcher Development Framework’, emphasizing the applicability of PhD-honed skills in broader career contexts.

The engagement of our researchers in The Scholars Programme not only fosters the civic engagement efforts of their institutions but also marks a significant, positive impact on the lives of the young participants. Through HEAT data we found that students who did The Scholars Programme in Year 10, with average Key Stage 2 prior attainment, were twice as likely to achieve a 9–5 in maths and English at GCSE than other students in their local authorities. Additionally, through external evaluations, UCAS has found that The Scholars Programme students are statistically more likely to apply to, and as a result, attend highly selective universities compared to similar non-participating students.

This presentation will unveil quantitative data that highlights the experience of PhD tutors against the framework’s four key outcomes. Additionally, it will present the results of our programme’s evaluation, showcasing the dual impact of our work on enhancing research culture within universities and impact of civic engagement. Through this discourse, we aim to illustrate the influence of The Brilliant Club on shaping a more inclusive and engaged academic future.

This year’s UKCGE conference invites us to explore the potential of postgraduate education to transform lives and create economic advantages for individuals. In this round table session we open up a discussion about what this means in the context of transnational professional doctoral education in global south contexts. We consider the social-cultural-spacial-temporal situatedness of UK professional doctorates and implications for international part-time working (practitioner) students and explore the work necessary to making ethical, response-able offers to new student communities in the wake of strategic drivers (and in our experience enthusiasm from students) to scale up this work internationally. We pay particular attention to students’ relationships with the language, literacy and academic writing practices that dominate doctoral spaces and consider our own implicatedness in shaping and reproducing structural relations that pattern and frame student agency and identity in particular kinds of (inequitable?) ways. We share provocations from the DigiDoc project a four-year collaboration between supervisors, doctoral students, course directors and senior leaders from 7 universities in China, Indonesia, UK and Vietnam. DigiDoc unfolded in two strands, the first focused on curriculum, the second on supervisory practice and we worked together, online and face to face to develop and pilot ​‘taster’ programmes for students and supervisors that would help us develop a blue-print for practicing international professional doctorate programmes grounded in local epistemologies, histories and contexts. As we near the end of our time together we have been sitting with our amassed materials, recordings, pictures, notes and recollections – a ​“deep hanging out” (Somerville and Powell 2018, after Haraway) — to draw out lessons learned. We invite delegates to think through with us our emerging framework and implications for future practice.