UKCGE Annual Conference 2026
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’.
Professor Gavin Brown (Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Education, at the University of Liverpool) welcomed attendees and gave the opening remarks. He then handed over to UKCGE Chair, Dr Rebekah Smith McGloin, who spoke on the topic of ‘Postgraduate Cultures in Challenging Times – Why connection and collaboration matter now’.
She said: “I want to pick up here on the ‘challenging times’ — because they really are and it is easy to feel a little alone, isolated and disconnected from each other. Conflict and competition push colleagues apart. Headcount is reducing and time and energy for connection and collaboration is less available and potentially less prioritised.” Yet she hoped that the conference would be an opportunity to come together, share, learn and build community.
Dr Smith McGloin then handed over to the first keynote speaker of the conference: Professor Louise Sharpe (Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Researcher Training, University of Sydney). Professor Sharpe presented on ‘Connecting to Society and Doctoral Education for Public Good’ and began by outlining the unjustly bad image of PhD programmes, even within our own institutions. Yet she argued that as a society we need research capability more than ever, not least because disinformation is on the rise.
After Professor Sharpe’s presentation, attendees chose between parallel sessions running throughout the day and covering such diverse topics as supervisor CPD, supporting the PGT experience and PGRs’ mental health. These ran until 5pm, after which there was an optional walking tour of Liverpool, followed by the conference dinner at the Beatles Story Museum at Albert Dock.
Day Two of the conference opened with more parallel sessions. Amongst these was Professor Marjory Da Costa Abreu’s presentation ‘Liberating AI Literacy in PGR skills development at Sheffield Hallam University’. She spoke about the Critical AI module which she runs at the University and how the academy has a responsibility to help students to develop critical thinking skills. She also shared illuminating findings from some in-person workshops around the ethics of AI.
Again, there was a host of oral presentations running in parallel with one another throughout the day, before attendees returned for the closing plenary. Here, members of the UKCGE committee took comments from the floor. Speaking of the conference, one said “It felt like a really warm, welcoming community”; another said “This is my first time at the conference, and I’ve found it very inspiring. As a PGR person myself, we tend to work in isolation, so it’s great to meet other people who are going through the same things.”