News and blog

On March 19^th 2025, we welcomed Dr Sophie Rutschmann from Imperial College, London, who presented several case-studies around the teaching of critical thinking to students.

Our AGM was held online on March 14th 2025. During the meeting, a report was given on the activities of the year and attendees were informed of the outcome of the recent elections for five places on the UKCGE Board of Trustees.

On March 5^th 2025, the PEP Network held an online workshop for members, led by Co-Chairs Susanna Broom and Kerri Gardiner. There was a discussion about the UKRI Terms and Conditions of Doctoral Training Grants and a new spotlight session on Post-viva support for PGRs.

We met at The Milner Hotel in York on February 27th and 28th 2025, where Professor Jane Wellens and Dr Nigel Eady presented a packed programme of talks and networking opportunities.

We would love to have your input in a survey, managed jointly by UKCGE and University Alliance, which seeks to get a clearer picture of Professional Doctorates. The aim is to gather information as a basis for a UKCGE report — the survey is voluntary, should take approximately 20 minutes to complete, and closes on March 31st 2025.

On February 5^th, we held the last in our series of events on mental health and wellbeing, this time focussing on staff who support doctoral candidates. The event was led by Professor Craig Martin and Dr Nicola Palmer (Co-Chairs of the Research Supervisors’ Network) and held under the Chatham House Rule.

On January 23^rd 2025, Tom Stoneham (Professor of Philosophy at the University of York and Ethics Lead for the UKRI AI CDT in Safe AI Systems) presented a webinar on the subject of ethics of generative AI in research. Almost 200 people attended the talk, which outlined the training methods behind the models, their limitations and their impact on both cognitive function and the environment. 

On January 22nd 2025, the Postgraduate Education Practitioners’ (PEP) Network held its first online clinic for people working in professional services roles. Co-Chairs Susanna Broom and Kerri Gardiner have provided the following update on the meeting and topics under discussion.

On January 17^th 2025, the DDD Network held an online event in which it welcomed Jonathan Neves, Head of Business Intelligence & Surveys at Advance HE, who gave a presentation about the PRES (the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey).

There are 5 places on the UKCGE Executive Committee available. The deadline to submit an application is Monday February 10th 2025 (closes midday).