Working in partnership with PhD students to enhance postgraduate research culture
With guidance on the REF 2029 assessment of People, Culture and Environment just published, how might UK universities’ approach to partnership with postgraduate research students demonstrate their engagement with the factors said to enable positive research culture?
Created in partnership with
Created in partnership with
Postgraduate research (PGR) students are an integral part of our university communities and require an intentional consideration to any conception of “research culture”, as argued previously on Campus. For many UK universities, the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029 should be seen as an opportunity to describe the inclusion of PGRs in the People, Culture and Environment assessment (at least, qualitatively). Sense of belonging, closing the feedback loop and supporting academic skills development were correlated strongly with PGR satisfaction, as reported in the latest Postgraduate Research Experience Survey. However, the survey also found that a relatively poor sense of belonging and feeling of feedback being valued were areas for improvement.
In the Doctoral College at the University of Southampton, we have sought to work in partnership with our PGR students on institutional equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) projects, which have proven benefits for enabling a positive research culture for our student partners and wider PGR community.
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In this article, we present five key lessons for others seeking to enhance PGR research culture through partnership, and reflect on our award-winning PGR Student Partners scheme.
1. Budget for equity
While many within UK higher education are grappling with financial instability, the cost-of-living pressures are impacting over 70 per cent of PGR students and their studies. When seeking to improve PGR research culture (and directly working with students to do this), remuneration of time, energy and expertise is integral. As minoritised students and staff already report additional, uncompensated labour, “free labour” is antithetical to authentic partnership.
2. Actively involve PhD students in the life of their department
PGR students with ambitions to develop a career in academia may nevertheless find the reality and dynamics of university life as a staff member completely alien. Being transparent with PGRs and including them in departmental communications and discussions will give them valuable exposure and experience, better preparing them for their future career. This will also foster a greater sense of belonging and allow PGRs to develop their confidence in sharing their perspectives and make meaningful contributions to their department, faculty or the wider university.
3. Calibrate and manage the terms of your partnership
Working in partnership with PGRs on matters related to research culture and inclusion requires mutually agreed rules of engagement between university staff and PGRs. These range from practical matters, such as working patterns, to more fundamental questions such as the values underpinning the work being undertaken. Partnership values should be borne out of collective engagement and discussion to develop a mutual understanding, rather than set from a “top-down” perspective. To develop a meaningful partnership, these values and modes of working should also be reviewed regularly. Overall, sufficient time and resources should be dedicated to how the partnership works, not just what it delivers.
4. Provide equitable opportunities for engagement with PGRs from diverse backgrounds
Like all students, PGRs come from different life circumstances, with many taking on care responsibilities or part-time work; they may be mature students or belong to different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Many of these factors put PGRs at risk of minoritisation. So, opportunities to engage, for PGRs to discuss their challenges, share experiences and build support networks, will contribute to making research culture more inclusive. Furthermore, where our partnership with PGR students has related to EDI, well-being and social justice, student partners purposefully work in small groups to ensure there is no weight of responsibility to “fix” complex institutional issues.
5. Promote opportunities to PGR students beyond their doctoral research
Through working in partnership with PGR students, we purposefully centre their ability to develop professionally and gain confidence in skills such as research methods and modes of disseminating research project outputs through report writing or presentations. Given the often-unethical authorship practices within higher education, our PGR student partners are always recognised as contributors and/or co-authors of disseminated work, keeping in line with the true meaning of partnership. This allows PGRs to acquire skills that will not only be helpful during their PhD journey but also beyond.
Maisha Islam is research culture lead for equality, diversity and inclusion, Fabien Littel is a PhD student in the Business School, and Nandini Das is a PhD student in the department of sociology, social policy and criminology; all are at the University of Southampton.
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Read more about how our PGR Student Partners scheme is working to enhance postgraduate research culture through a partnership and co-creation approach.
