This blog post is part of a series of monthly posts detailing the activities of the DR President’s Team (President: Leah Henrickson; Vice-President: Hugh Tawell).

Note: This post refers to PhD/EngD Students as Doctoral Researchers (DR) and Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs). This is because the University uses the former language, and the Union uses the latter.

The undergraduates have left for the summer, and now the postgraduates have free reign of the campus. What are we gonna do?

Barbeques.

The first of these regularly-scheduled postgraduate barbecues is scheduled for Friday, 12^th July – keep your eyes peeled on the Doctoral College bulletin for the exact time and place.

Other than planning barbeques, June has been another busy month for your President’s Team. Here’s what we got up to:

Research Committee Meeting

On 11^th June, Hugh represented doctoral researchers at the Research Committee meeting. These meetings offer the Associate Deans (Research) (ADRs) and other staff from research support services from across the University opportunities to discuss research-related issues. A lot was addressed in the three hours. Everyone is still working towards establishing what ‘research culture’ really is, and how we can better establish research culture within Schools and across the University.

Doctoral College Summer Showcase

On 12^th April, the Doctoral College hosted its annual Summer Showcase. Ten Three Minute Theses were delivered, and around 60 posters were displayed. AND we’re especially thrilled that five doctoral researchers took advantage of the newly introduced Showcase Exhibition, which gave them the chance to present their research in creative ways that aren’t usually represented at such events. The Showcase Exhibition was introduced in response to doctoral researcher feedback.

Night Out at the Union

On 22^nd June, we co-hosted the second Postgraduate Night Out at the Students’ Union with Kamal, the LSU Postgraduate Executive Officer. Approximately 150 postgrads and their guests partied Hawaiian-style until late – even after having to switch rooms last-minute because some pigeons had taken over Fusion!

PGR Lead Rep Meeting

We met with PGR Reps from across the University on 26^th June. During this meeting, we discussed School-related issues and talked about upcoming events and Rep goals. Our special guest at this meeting was Eve from the Careers Network. Eve clarified what Careers services are available to doctoral researchers over the summer (all of them!) and noted her own plans for enhancing the Careers services for us.

Upcoming Events

There are lots of things being planned right now, so keep reading the Doctoral College bulletin to stay up-to-date. Here are some events we’re particularly excited for:

• Wednesday, 3^rd July, 5PM (Graduate House): ‘Is Failure Success in Progress?’ (https://www.facebook.com/events/1373963096091951)
• Friday, 5^th July, 6PM (Martin Hall): PhD Awards (https://tinyurl.com/phd-awards)
• Friday, 5^th July, The Phantom, 8PM: Post-PhD Awards Pub Night (organised by the PhD Social & Support Network)
• Friday, 12^th July, TBD (TBD): Postgraduate Barbeque
• Wednesday, 24^th July, 4PM (Martin Hall): ‘Exploring Careers in Higher Education (book via https://lboro.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=6381&service=Careers+Network)

To keep up-to-date with our activity, join the ‘Doctoral Researchers of Loughborough University’ Facebook group and follow us on Twitter. If you’re a London student, join the ‘Loughborough Students’ Union London 2018-2019’ Facebook group.

Leah and Hugh.