News and blog

In the first instalment of our interview series, Charlotte Skye speaks with Ema Sullivan-Bissett (Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham) about the value of her doctoral experience. Reflecting on her own journey, she discusses how completing a PhD has shaped her career and what that experience has meant to her.

On October 16th 2026, we were joined by a panel comprising Helen Robertson (Natural History Museum), Fiona Wilkie (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew), Joh Howes (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology), Richard Burguete (National Physical Laboratory), Fryni Panayidou (The Francis Crick Institute) and Patricia Brekke (Institute of Zoology) to discuss PGR communities within non-HEI organisations.

For our first Article of the Month, as part of the UKCGE’s Value of the Doctorate Campaign, Charlotte Skye has chosen Anderson and Gold’s (2019) The Value of the Research Doctorate: A Conceptual Examination.

On September 18th 2026, we welcomed Suzanne Carrie and Suzy Allinson from the Office for Students (OfS) to address the DDD Network about work currently underway on a new statement of expectations on disability and to provide an opportunity to feed in. 

A new publication from the University of Toronto Press is a workbook-style ​“how to” guide to demystify the doctorate says Charlotte Skye.

The Board of Trustees gives notice of an important change of charitable status for UKCGE, which will accompany a new strategic plan, to be published in October 2026.

The UK Council for Graduate Education is saddened to hear of the death of our former Chair, Professor Rosemary Deem, OBE (1949–2026).

The Board of Trustees at the Council pays tribute to Professor Jason Arday, whose death is a profound loss to us, to many of our members, and to colleagues and students across the sector. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and students, all of whom remain firmly in our thoughts.

In summer 2026, UKCGE welcomed volunteer Charlotte Skye – a doctoral candidate at the University of Birmingham – who will be working on a new campaign focussed on the value of doctoral study. Her placement is funded by Midlands4Cities.

This summer, UKCGE celebrates three years of supervision training for people working outside of Higher Education institutions (non-HEIs). In this article, trainers Professors Janet De Wilde and Julie Sheldon reflect on their unique approach and talk about why they love working with supervisors from more than 40 external organisations across the UK.