The research student journey – PRES 2015 Dr Gosia Turner Senior Statistical Analyst University of Oxford

PRES 2015 123 HEIs 2 March and 14 May 2015 53,348 responses 41% response rate Broadly representative of research students UK population Increase on all scales Largest increase in: Supervision Resources Professional development 21/09/2018

PRES 2015 results 21/09/2018

PRES 2015 results Impact on Overall satisfaction Standardised Beta Correlation Supervision 0.281 0.613 Research culture 0.205 0.591 Research skills 0.174 0.588 Responsibilities 0.142 0.623 21/09/2018

Research student journey Motivations Opportunities Professional development Confidence to submit Career plans 21/09/2018

Motivations 21/09/2018

Motivations and age 21/09/2018

Opportunities 21/09/2018

Opportunities – when? 21/09/2018

Opportunities by subject 21/09/2018

Access to opportunities Funding (funded) Language skills (English not first language) More likely to attend and present at the conference More likely to submit paper to a journal More likely to receive training to develop research and transferable skills Less likely to attend and present at the conference Less likely to submit paper to a journal Less likely to communicate their research to a non-academic audience More likely to get training for research and transferable skills 21/09/2018

Professional development Teaching Opportunities PRES scales Research skills Research culture Responsibilities Presenting at the conference Placement/Internship Submitting paper to a journal Teaching experience has positive effect 21/09/2018

Confidence to submit on time 81% confident to submit on time Fairly stable over time until year 5 Important factors: Research skills Supervision Progress and assessment 21/09/2018

Supervision by confidence will finish on time 21/09/2018

Career plans 21/09/2018

Career plans by subject 21/09/2018

Motivations vs career plans Academic career in higher education (either research and teaching, or teaching only) Research career in higher education Research career outside higher education Teaching (at a level below higher education) Any other professional career Self-employment (including setting up own business) Returning to or remaining with employer who is sponsoring your degree Other My interest in the subject 42.8% 14.0% 14.6% 1.3% 9.2% 4.5% 3.9% 9.7% Improving my career prospects for an academic/research career 66.3% 14.1% 9.8% 0.6% 2.9% 0.9% 2.4% Improving my career prospects outside of an academic/research career 6.9% 2.2% 38.8% 1.1% 31.4% 6.8% 7.2% 5.5% I was encouraged by a former academic tutor/supervisor 36.9% 10.7% 17.6% 2.6% 16.3% 3.3% 8.6% The funding was available 33.1% 10.1% 17.5% 5.4% 7.1% 7.9% It felt like a natural step for me 38.4% 13.2% 19.1% 12.0% 4.2% 3.4% 8.4% I felt inspired to work with a particular academic 14.9% 11.7% 1.9% 4.8% 5.0% 9.1% 21.6% 6.0% 9.6% 0.8% 14.3% 5.2% 35.2% 21/09/2018

Summary Generally a positive picture Challenges High satisfaction rates Access to opportunities when needed Motivations to study linked to career plans Good submission rates Challenges Exclusions (part-time, mature, English not a first language, self-funded) Keep STEM and Health Sciences in academia 21/09/2018

Webinar Q&A Results of PRES accord with the experience of the author as a Postgraduate Research Student Exclusion is around being excluded from opportunities. Also applies to female students, who are less likely to submit a paper, possibly linked to confidence / support Future analysis to look at impact of size / type of institution This analysis based on all PGRs, analysis not done for separate populations Analysis of Part-time PGR experience will be available soon 21/09/2018