News and blog

The UKCGE Annual Conference 2026 was held on July 2nd and 3rd at the University of Liverpool and comprised a packed programme of presentations and workshops, all themed around ​‘Postgraduate Cultures: Community, Collaboration and Connection’.

On June 16th 2026 we welcomed Dr Anabel Varela Carver from Imperial College London for an online session looking at future trends and developments in postgraduate education and how educators can adapt their teaching methods to meet the changing needs of students. 

On May 20th 2026, the PEP Network ran its regular session taking an overview of the PGR landscape, discussing challenges and looking at upcoming priorities. The session was run under the Chatham House Rule to allow people to speak freely in confidence.

On May 7th 2026, speakers from the universities of Newcastle and Durham presented an online webinar in which they introduced the ​‘Thinking Environment’ approach as a method to enhance creative and effective thinking, particularly in supervisory contexts. The event was held in association with the UKCGE Research Supervisors’ Network.

In this blog about his contribution to the annual Pride (Professionals in Doctoral Education) Network Conference in Helsinki, UKCGE’s Director, Dr Owen Gower, argues that doctoral graduates improve society in myriad ways.

This online workshop, jointly hosted by all three UKCGE Professional Networks on April 30th 2026, offered a holistic overview of supporting doctoral candidates who are undertaking distance learning doctorates.

On April 24th 2026, Rachel Van Krimpen — Faculty Director of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and People (Science) at the University of Nottingham — hosted an online session looking at the Positive Action in Research Funding Framework.

On April 15th 2026, the Co-Chairs of our Postgraduate Education Practitioners’ (PEP) Network, Susanna Broom and Kerri Gardiner, held a Network Clinic looking at the specific issues and unique challenges which face those working within postgraduate research. Their report on the event is below.

On March 20th 2026, we held our Annual General Meeting. Open to all, this is an opportunity to look back at the past year across the postgraduate sector, as well as preview what’s to come.

Members of the PEP Network met on March 11th 2026 for its annual online workshop which ranged across three topics: Developing researcher development, assuring the quality of PGR programmes, and navigating options, choices and paths to recognition and progression for professional services staff.