The Bob Burgess Memorial Lecture

This lecture series was created in memory of UKCGE’s founding Chair, Professor Sir Robert Burgess (1947 — 2022). Known to all as Bob, he was a champion of postgraduate education in the UK.

A sociologist, Bob received his BA from the University of Durham in 1971 and his PhD from the University of Warwick in 1981. Following his PhD, Bob remained at Warwick as a sociology lecturer, being appointed Professor in 1987 and Senior Pro Vice-Chancellor in 1995. In 1999, Bob was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester until his retirement in 2014.

It was while he was at the University of Warwick, in 1994, that Bob founded the UK Council for Graduate Education. Observing that the postgraduate education sector lacked a representative organisation, the Council created a place where members could share knowledge, emerging practice and experience for the benefit of everyone in the sector. We are proud to continue this work.

The Bob Burgess Memorial Lecture was inaugurated in 2022 by Professor Rosemary Deem (Royal Holloway, University of London) and is held annually, sometimes as part of UKCGE’s Annual Conference. The lecture generally provides a top-level view of the sector and serves to underline the Council’s philosophy of collective leadership and mutual support.