Programme

Professor Dame Jessica Corner (Executive Chair for Research England, UKRI)

Professor Chris Milward (Director for Fair Access and Participation, Office for Students)

Sharnel Wiggins (University of Leeds, PhD)

Iman Federico Awi (University of Leeds, PhD)

Parallel paper presentations will take place between 09:55 and 11:00.

Tweed Room

PGR Pride: A University-wide initiative to enhance the sense of belonging for LGBTQ+ PGRs
Liam Taylor (University of Leeds)

LGBTQ+ PGRs often face challenges related to their sense of belonging at different scales within Higher Education (research groups, schools, and the wider University). The tiny UK evidence base suggests that LGBTQ+ PGRs often feel more discomfort at work than their peers, and that the majority are not 'out' to their supervisors, with international PGRs often worrying about the professional consequences of being 'out' while studying their PhD. Yet, despite this, LGBTQ+ spaces within Higher Education tend to be disproportionately aimed at taught students and/or staff networks, with PGRs invited to - but feeling out of place at - both.

In 2024, we created PGR Pride - a group dedicated to supporting the research culture and sense of belonging of all LGBTQ+ PGRs at the University of Leeds. Since its creation, PGR Pride has welcomed over 160 LGBTQ+ PGRs, run 15 community events (including fieldtrips across Yorkshire), held a celebration of Trans Day of Visibility, and created a virtual space to enable continuous connection to this community. International students in particular expressed a stronger sense of belonging to PGR Pride than home students, particularly those from countries with more restrictive legal frameworks who may not have experienced being 'out' in a workplace environment - or, indeed, at all.

In this talk, we will discuss the PGR Pride model, which combines social events and professional development opportunities, and how it can be replicated across other institutions. In addition, we will discuss the outcomes of an extensive research programme we conducted alongside PGR Pride to gain insight into the experiences of LGBTQ+ PGRs and to highlight recommendations to improve the research culture and sense of belonging of LGBTQ+ PGRs across the sector.

Identifying existing challenges faced by doctoral students and approaches for addressing them
Shelley Moore (Liverpool John Moores University)

The aim of this study is to identify the challenges faced by doctoral students during their educational journeys that is a predictor of negative mental health outcomes. To achieve this objective, the researcher undertook a large scale scoping review and internet study, using a generic qualitative approach. The findings from the scoping review revealed several challenges, including supervisory relationship types, perfectionism discrepancy, sexual identity, family and social support, the effects of COVID-19 and lack of clarity on how to seek treatment or support, as strong predictors of depression, anxiety and suicidality. The internet study used a single social media platform where data was captured live and retrospective over a period of six months. This study supported the findings from the scoping review, and provided the researcher with a unique understanding of the student experience of the doctoral journey, by providing raw, rich data. The researcher intends to draw on the data captured from both the scoping review and internet study, demonstrating the real-life experiences of doctoral students, and the challenges they face. Additionally, the researcher will provide an insight into how social media platforms are used as a source of support for doctoral communities, and provide some thoughts on how to address the challenges where students experiencing mental illness, can avoid academic failure and dropout.

Denim Room

Putting Strategy into Practice
Alexander Peplow (University of Oxford)

The University of Oxford approved its Graduate Student Access Strategy in May 2025. Developing the content of this Strategy was, however, only the start of a process which requires buy-in and engagement from all levels of the University. Since then, we have been working to transform this from a document into a reality, and so implementing it across a complex institution with around 50 academic units, balancing a uniform approach at an institutional level with a need to react and adapt to particular local challenges.

This presentation will outline the practical steps taken to implement the University’s strategy and engage its staff and students in it, and will reflect on actions taken so far, with the aim that this experience will benefit other institutions seeking to implement graduate access strategies and initiatives across a range of scales.

It will also present some of the initiatives which have been included in departmental access plans so far as examples of the products of this close collaboration with departments. These initiatives are spread across six stages of the student journey: Outreach; (Pre-)application support; Admissions assessment; Funding; Post-offer support; and On-course support. These activities vary widely in scale and scope and may be applicable across a wide range of institutions, and include contextual data in admissions, targeted recruitment activity, and workshops focusing on developing equitable admissions practices.

Supporting minoritized students to transition to post-graduate learning through study in a pre-sessional module
Zena Green (University of Birmingham)

Awarding gaps between minoritized students and those from other groups have been identified in higher education and are an area of concern. A significant awarding gap has been noted between home and international students studying a transport engineering master’s qualification at a research-intensive university in the UK. A pre-sessional module has been in place for a number of years to support the transition of international students, students returning to study after a substantial time away or those new to transport engineering. Previously, the module has been focused on providing support with study skills and introductory information to the UK transport industry. However, it was felt that better use could be made of the time available to assist students to make more rapid progress.

An action research methodology was used to identify areas where the module could be redesigned, to support students in understanding the requirements of the UK higher education system more effectively and contribute to narrowing the awarding gap. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine difficulties international students had experienced in transitioning to UK higher education study. Key areas identified were particularly focused on administrative activities such as accessing the Virtual Learning Environment and navigating campus, with a secondary focus on understanding how to approach assignments and academic skills. Throughout the interviews it was noted that for students learning in a second language, cognitive overload seemed a likely result of the number of tasks they were asked to undertake during study sessions.

Module materials were examined to assess to what extent they supported students in the areas of difficulty they had identified and how they could be redesigned for students to master lower-level skills and therefore reduce cognitive overload. Sessions on administrative skills were introduced, with repetition to ensure these skills were easily recalled. Study skills sessions were developed to ensure students had practical experience in areas such as finding sources, referencing and critical thinking.

The changes made to the pre-sessional module resulted in small improvements in assignment grades for those attending. However, student satisfaction was significantly improved, plus attending students reported an increase in confidence and the development of a peer support network, resulting in them feeling more prepared for postgraduate study. Pre-sessions modules are currently rare in UK higher education, however adopting this system of support could have benefits for other minoritized groups.

Wool Room

Decolonising Healthcare Programmes: Experiences in Co-Creating a New Approach to Psychotherapy and Counselling Training
Cam Highland & Katie Clancy (University of Leeds)

This presentation describes a student-led participatory action research project to develop a set of principles, shaped by current students, for decolonising the curricula of healthcare programmes in higher education. We will outline the developed principles, critically evaluate the approach taken, and discuss the application of these principles to the design of a new curriculum for the MA Psychotherapy and Counselling course through staff-student collaboration.

At the outset of the project, student volunteers from the BSc Midwifery, BA Social Work and Psychotherapy & Counselling programmes met in subject-specific discussion groups, facilitated by Psychology students, to discuss ideas for decolonising their programme of study. The psychology students performed reflexive thematic analysis of the discussion transcripts and, in consultation with the students from each course, compiled a description of themes and specific recommendations for each programme. Teaching teams from each programme responded to this with action plans that described where and how they would make relevant adjustments to their curricula.

In the second phase of the project, a group of student volunteers from phase I analysed the subject-specific themes to establish a set of universal principles that could be used to guide the decolonisation of all healthcare programmes. They concluded that decolonising the healthcare curriculum requires an iterative process of education, collaboration, and a shared commitment to create change. They also highlighted the importance of having a clear working definition of ‘decolonising’, including its overlaps and differences with the broader Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) agenda, in order to retain focus on its defining feature of addressing racial power structures and hierarchies.

In the third and current phase of the project, student volunteers from the MA Psychotherapy and Counselling programme are working with teaching staff to apply the universal decolonising principles to the design of their course curriculum. We will reflect on the progress made, the student response to the initial action plan created in phase I, and the challenges encountered so far.

UCL Careers Extra Research Projects - co-created learning for current and prospective researchers
Penny Longman (University College London)

The UCL Careers Extra Research Projects scheme aims to increase diversity in academia and contribute to positive research culture by providing experiential career learning to undergraduates and to PhD students/early-career researchers (ECRs). Now in its third year, the scheme’s coordinated approach demonstrates a dual emphasis on both prospective and current postgraduate students.

Careers Extra is UCL’s APP-funded programme of enhanced careers support for UK undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds. The Research Projects scheme comprises 70-hour paid research experiences for UCL Careers Extra undergraduates, supporting access into postgraduate study by building research skills, offering insight into research careers and creating the opportunity to build networks. This learning environment is co-created by UCL HEDS (Higher Education Development and Support Institute) staff and PhDs/ECRs, who conceive the projects and submit proposals to a competitive process to secure funding and inclusion in the scheme. HEDS staff provide training on interviewing and supervisory skills to empower the researchers, who apply the learning gained as they take responsibility for interviewing shortlisted candidates and then supervising them to complete the bespoke learning experience set out in their proposal. Priority is given to project proposals from PhDs/ECRs who are themselves from backgrounds under-represented in academia, thereby offering valuable development opportunities to support their career progression.

Both undergraduates and their supervisors engage in skills reflection activities before and after the projects to facilitate self-assessment of skills drawn from the Researcher Development Framework and UCL’s Pillars of Employability, identifying strengths and areas for future development. Anonymised data from these reflections are used to evaluate the scheme, consistently showing increased confidence across a range of skills. For the Careers Extra students the benefits have extended beyond the anticipated increased understanding of, and motivation for, further study. Students have also articulated how the one-to-one mentoring from a researcher built their confidence and skills to succeed in their current undergraduate studies, which in turn provides a firm foundation for successful applications to postgraduate study.

This session will draw on students’ and supervisors’ skills self-assessments and qualitative reflections to showcase the scheme’s benefits and demonstrate participants’ learning gain. It will also provide an overview of the structure and components of the Careers Extra Research Projects scheme, to enable attendees to consider potential to develop similar opportunities in their own institutions.

Paper presentations