From Postgraduate Research to Practice: Navigating UKCGE 2025 as a Student, Practitioner and Contributor

At the start of July I had the privilege of attending and contributing to UKCGE’s Annual Conference 2025. Held at the University of Glasgow’s Advanced Research Centre, this year’s theme, Transitions and Transformations in Postgraduate Education, provided a fantastic opportunity for discussions around developing support for postgraduate students. As someone navigating dual identities as a part-time doctoral student and higher education (HE) practitioner, and having the opportunity to contribute to the conference programme, I experienced the three-day event from a range of perspectives.

Day 0: The Hidden Lives of PGRs

This pre-conference event, described as being by-PGRs-for-PGRs, highlighted the often hidden personal, academic and professional experiences of PGR students and introduced the ‘Hidden Curriculum’, what has been described as the implicit and unspoken learning occurring within the doctorate.

Nine PGR students shared their unique experiences of undertaking a doctorate, and through printed posters displayed throughout the conference, offered advice for fellow PGRs. Experiences of navigating the doctorate alongside disability, neurodiversity and caring responsibilities were shared, followed by stories of doctoral journeys marked by unexpected challenges. A common theme throughout all the shared experiences of these speakers, and reflected in the posters they created, was that of community and support. Listening to their ‘hidden lives’ stories, I was struck by the range of experiences and challenges that individuals navigate alongside their doctoral studies. Reflecting on these accounts has helped to deepen my understanding of the often unseen and unacknowledged parts of being a doctoral student, and the many ways this shapes the research experience.

Day 1: Co-delivering a Conference Workshop

Attending the pre-conference event reminded me of just how blurred the boundary is between my identity as a Professional Doctorate student and role as a full-time researcher developer. This dual perspective, however, shapes my understanding of the PGR experience, offering insights that on their own, neither role could fully offer.

On Day 1 of the conference this dual perspective was invaluable during the workshop I co-delivered with Dr Darren Van Laar: Lessons Learned in Providing Research Culture Support for Part-Time and At-a-Distance PGR Students. Our workshop explored with delegates how the Doctoral College within the University of Portsmouth has developed inclusive research culture and community initiatives to support our growing community of part-time and at-a-distance PGR students. Having heard from PGRs the previous day on the importance of finding their community, I felt confident in sharing the work undertaken by the Doctoral College to support our PGR students to build meaningful connections.

Our workshop began by asking delegates to reflect on the challenges that their part-time and at-a-distance students face, and the institutional barriers to supporting them effectively. The discussions highlighted issues of student belonging, access, visibility and voice, revealing common themes across institutions. We then shared our own research culture and community initiatives, including monthly Research Culture Drop-ins and our Professional and Distance Learning Online Community, which offer online spaces for PGR students to connect. Delegates reviewed our approach, shared their own practices, and offered valuable perspectives for us to consider.

Concluding with the lessons that we have learned in providing an inclusive research culture for our part-time and at-a-distance PGR students, we found that many of these had been reflected in the experiences that delegates had shared with us throughout the workshop. We acknowledged that part-time and at-a-distance PGR students are diverse, often facing exclusionary practices and unequal treatment, and emphasised that whilst not everything we do to support them will work, as individuals and as an institution we need to keep trying.

Day 2: Building the Future

Day 2 of the conference started with Rebekah Smith McGloin’s Sir Bob Burgess Memorial Lecture - Building Equitable Futures: Doctoral Education as a Catalyst for Social Change. Rebekah’s keynote reinforced many of the themes I had encountered over the previous two days, particularly the idea that doctoral education should be viewed not just as a space for training research students, but as a collaborative and participatory experience. Whilst isolation and loneliness often dominate the doctoral experience narrative, PGR students and staff are increasingly working to challenge and reframe this discourse. The importance of community and inclusion resonated throughout the conference, through the voices of PGRs during The Hidden Lives event, emphasised by delegates during the workshop I co-delivered and echoed by speakers across many of the conference presentations.

Attending and contributing to the UKCGE Annual Conference 2025 was both professionally and personally enriching. Throughout the conference, presentations and conversations showcased the work being done by staff, often in collaboration with PGR students, to support the doctoral journey. From researcher wellbeing and inclusive practice to digital infrastructure and the use of generative AI, the conference highlighted how staff are responding to the changing landscape of doctoral education and supporting the evolving needs of postgraduate researchers. The conference gave me the time and space to listen, reflect and better understand the diversity of experiences of PGR students and the staff who support them. My belief in the importance of community, care, and inclusivity in doctoral education was reinforced throughout the conference, and this belief will continue to shape both my research and practice.

Resources

Visit the UKCGE 2025 Conference webpage to learn more about the conference.

View the presentation slides from the workshop Lessons Learned in Providing Research Culture Support for Part-Time and At-a-Distance PGR Students.