PGRs and Research Culture: A joint drop in from the PGR and R&I Culture SIGs (1 June 2026) by ARMA UK

ARMAuk — 2026-05-08 11:07:40 UTC

What helps PGRs feel part of a research community in your institution?
Where do gaps in inclusion still exist (e.g. part-time, international, underrepresented groups)?
How can research culture initiatives better include PGR voices?
What has worked well to build peer connection or community?

ARMAuk — 2026-05-08 11:08:14 UTC

Are supervisors supported/trained to foster healthy research cultures?
How do you approach research integrity in regard to PGR and the role of the supervisor?
Who is responsible for supporting PGR development – supervisors, institutions, or PGRs themselves?
Has a research culture approach enabled innovative or effective development support at your institution?

ARMAuk — 2026-05-08 11:08:56 UTC

How are PGRs recognised in institutional research strategies and priorities?
What role do PGRs play in outputs, environment, and culture (e.g. REF context)?
Are there tensions between productivity and financial pressures and developmental needs?
How can institutions better value PGR contributions without instrumentalising them?

ARMAuk — 2026-05-08 11:09:18 UTC

If you could change one aspect of the PGR experience to improve research culture, what would it be?

Supervisor tools

2026-06-01 11:14:43 UTC

We have a couple of guides for supervisors one for mature students (where there are alot of Part time students) - they often miss induction - and one for international students (we also have a workshop session for supervisors around international students)Supervisor development and support | Bristol Doctoral College | University of Bristol

Supervisor participation and engagement

lks20 — 2026-06-01 11:26:56 UTC

For one doctoral programme - that is cross Institutional - supervisors are expected to attend a variety of events - lack of attendance would make them ineligible for supervising student in future years - bit of stick, so not ideal....

PGR Event Officer

2026-06-01 11:57:52 UTC

Just adding mention that we have in our Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities an annually PGR Events Officer role of 6 hours per week recruited from our existing cohort. Funded from within the Faculty and now in its fifth year the PGRs see the role as having a voice within their community. The officer works closely with the local professional services team. They run regular sessions on presenting work along with social sessions and an annual PGR conference. The role has worked effectively to build community but we still have the challenge of a large number of PGRs working remotely.