POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH AT KENT 2018/19 Professor Fragkiskos Filippaios Dean of the Graduate School V1.0 To change the footer on every slide: 1. On the menu go to Insert > Header and Footer… 2. Select the Footer checkbox and enter the footer text in the accompanying text box 3. Click “Apply to All”

Our Mission To lead and champion the strategic development of provision for graduate education and research at the University of Kent. Key objectives To provide internationally distinctive, exciting and innovative programmes of study that combine academic excellence with an exceptional student experience and appropriate learning resources. To develop a strong and supportive infrastructure for graduate students in order to ensure that their academic and social interests are developed and appropriately provided for.

Meet the team Suzie Morris Head of Graduate School Administration S.M.Morris@kent.ac.uk Dr Jo Collins Postgraduate Development Advisor J.P.Collins@kent.ac.uk Abigail Stavroulakis- McMahon PA to the Dean and Graduate School Assistant graddean@kent.ac.uk Rosalind Beeching Graduate School Coordinator C.R.Beeching@kent.ac.uk Felicity Clifford Postgraduate Experience Officer F.Clifford-254@kent.ac.uk Deborah Molloy Graduate School Assistant D.Molloy@kent.ac.uk Carla Doolan Postgraduate Development Coordinator skills@kent.ac.uk Grace Grussenmeyer Graduate School Assistant graduateschool@kent.ac.uk Julia Gavriel Graduate School Administrator J.H.Gavriel@kent.ac.uk

Students on Research Programmes – MPhil/PhD Enrol....get IT account… pay fees! See your supervisor ..ways of working…..teams Check if there are any taught courses you need to attend Check your access to office space/IT support Find out when the School holds research seminars and make sure you attend Find out who is the Director of Graduate Studies for your School Have a look at the Researcher Development website and enrol for a Researcher Development workshop

Postgraduate Research Handbook Updated for 2018-19 Everything you need to know about being a postgraduate researcher at Kent Handbook Highlights: Student Services Graduate School support Regulatory information

Postgraduate Community Graduate School Researcher Development Programme Postgraduate Festival Dedicated PG Space GradPost Kent Graduate Student Association (KGSA) Social Media and Website Postgraduate College Postgraduate Community Experience Awards Research Cafe Student-led Review of feedback and activities Staff engagement Multi-layer and interdisciplinary

Researcher Development Programme at Medway

The Researcher Development Programme is open to all postgraduate research students In addition to the workshops running in Medway you can also attend workshops taking place in Canterbury, which you can travel to using the free campus shuttle bus. Workshops taking place in Canterbury will include: Writing skills workshops (one-to-one tutorials and writing retreats) Writing for journals and getting published Rapid reading Research Methods (including: SPSS, LaTeX, MATLAB and Qualitative methods) Nvivo Negotiation skills Library skills Leadership Time / Stress Management Research Ethics

Postgraduate Community Graduate School Researcher Development Programme Postgraduate Festival Dedicated PG Space GradPost Kent Graduate Student Association (KGSA) Social Media and Website Postgraduate College Postgraduate Community Experience Awards Research Cafe Student-led Review of feedback and activities Staff engagement Multi-layer and interdisciplinary

Social Media and Website Twitter Website www.kent.ac.uk/graduateschool Facebook @UniKentGradSchool

Postgraduate Community Graduate School Researcher Development Programme Postgraduate Festival Dedicated PG Space GradPost Kent Graduate Student Association (KGSA) Social Media and Website Postgraduate College Postgraduate Community Experience Awards Research Cafe Student-led Review of feedback and activities Staff engagement Multi-layer and interdisciplinary

Postgraduate Community Graduate School Researcher Development Programme Postgraduate Festival Dedicated PG Space GradPost Kent Graduate Student Association (KGSA) Social Media and Website Postgraduate College Postgraduate Community Experience Awards Research Cafe Student-led Review of feedback and activities Staff engagement Multi-layer and interdisciplinary

The annual Postgraduate Festival encompasses a variety of events, workshops and fun activities. The Festival provides a valuable opportunity for postgraduates to showcase their research, network and explore new connections amongst the PG and University community. 2018 Festival Highlights: Research Poster Presentations Tea and Talks #MyResearchKent Competition Chi Kung Building Community with Creative Minds Drums Alive Mastering CVs for a Career in Academia www.kent.ac.uk/graduateschool/news/pgfestival.html

Postgraduate Community Graduate School Researcher Development Programme Postgraduate Festival Dedicated PG Space GradPost Kent Graduate Student Association (KGSA) Social Media and Website Postgraduate College Postgraduate Community Experience Awards Research Cafe Student-led Review of feedback and activities Staff engagement Multi-layer and interdisciplinary

GradPost A quarterly newsletter created by Postgraduates for the Postgraduate community. The GradPost Editorial Team Information on Gradpost opportunities that will look great on your CV and enhance your postgraduate experience at Kent can be found on our website: www.kent.ac.uk/graduateschool/news/gradpost/html For more information on how to get involved contact: gradpost@kent.ac.uk

Postgraduate Community Graduate School Researcher Development Programme Postgraduate Festival Dedicated PG Space GradPost Kent Graduate Student Association (KGSA) Social Media and Website Postgraduate College Postgraduate Community Experience Awards Research Cafe Student-led Review of feedback and activities Staff engagement Multi-layer and interdisciplinary

Postgraduate Space Study Space for postgraduate researchers - Room DC105, Drill Hall Library The Drill Hall Library provides this newly refurbished room for Medway postgraduate researchers to study, network, collaborate and meet peers. The room is on the first floor and can be accessed from the Group Zone. For more information, visit the Drill Hall Library webpage. Senior Common Room - Room R2-04, Rochester Building This shared communal space (for both staff and students) is available for use by postgraduates for socialising, group work or private study. Drill Hall Library - silent, quiet and group study spaces, café and refreshment area for relaxed study, and techno booths for informal group working with high-tech equipment Postgraduate space in your school – this may be a common room or shared desk space

Postgraduate Community Graduate School Researcher Development Programme Postgraduate Festival Dedicated PG Space GradPost Kent Graduate Student Association (KGSA) Social Media and Website Postgraduate College Postgraduate Community Experience Awards Research Cafe Student-led Review of feedback and activities EXPERIENCE Staff engagement Multi-layer and interdisciplinary

Postgraduate Experience at Kent 85% satisfaction in Postgraduate Research Experience Survey 2018 Get involved – Make your voice heard! Postgraduate Student Representatives – School, Faculty, University Staff Student Liaison Committees (SSLCs) Postgraduate Student Surveys e.g. PRES Kent Graduate Student Association (KGSA) The Graduate School

Postgraduate Community BENEFITS Career & Personal Development Research & Transferable Skills Interdisciplinary research collaboration Access to a range of expertise Variety of opportunities Friendships & Social Media Public Engagement & impact Support & Networking Well-being

Other Resources

More support and help Student Learning Advisory Service Library www.kent.ac.uk/learning/programmes/postgraduate.html Library www.kent.ac.uk/library/students/postgraduate.html Careers and Employability Service www.kent.ac.uk/careers/

Working During Your Studies There are various opportunities to undertake paid and unpaid work during your studies. Benefits include: Earning extra income Networking and making new contacts Gaining experience and learning new skills Tier 4 Visa Students All Tier 4 postgraduate students may work up to 20 hours per week until the end of their course. PGR students may have the opportunity to undertake work placements which are integral to your PhD research. These opportunities should be discussed with your supervisor and School.

Employability Points Scheme Get Involved! Get Rewarded! Gain both ‘real life’ skills and work experience through the EP Scheme to stand out to prospective employers. Activities can include: volunteering, attending workshops, joining societies, working part-time, etc. Rewards range from internships, project placements, work experience, training sessions, assessment centres and vouchers! You can log activities and receive ‘points’ on MyFolio (https://myfolio.kent.ac.uk/myfolio/) 2015-16: Over 6,784 students 132 business and organisations 617 rewards 1. Take part in extra-curricular activities 2. Claim Employability Points Get rewarded! E: employabilitypoints@kent.ac.uk W: www.kent.ac.k/employabilitypoints 3. Get rewarded!

www.kent.ac.uk/unibuddy/ Can you spare up to one hour per week to respond to questions in a timely manner? Are you eager to share your experiences of being a student at Kent? Do you blog? Do you see yourself as a good role model? The new Buddy Scheme Plus has been launched and we are looking for postgraduate role models to represent the University and help convert prospective students. If you are interested in becoming a Buddy Scheme Plus Ambassador go online and complete the application form: https://app-eu.geckoform.com/public/#/modern/FOEU024be47s6Qbk Benefits 30 Employability Points for signing up 10 points for attending the training session Additional 10 points for the most committed ‘buddy’ per month Additional 5 points for best blog post per month Will count towards KSCV

About Eastern ARC Kent, Essex and UEA (2013) Focus : Research and Research Training 3 initial thematic areas : Digital Humanities; Quantitative Social Sciences; Synthetic Biology Just by way of background…

Opportunities for Postgrads Access to advanced training at UEA and Essex (as well as Kent) Support for attending conferences / training or engaging in collaborative work No deadline; 1 application / student / year; relevance to Eastern ARC The Events Fund: £2k/faculty Workshops and Conferences: Film in Research; Statistical Ecology; Cabinet Decision Making and Public Policy; Critical Cartoons and Comics Find out more: http://easternarc.ac.uk Agreement to enable free training for Kent students at both UEA and Essex. Funding is then available from Kent to support attendance / travel to UEA/Essex AS WELL AS other institutional events – provided there is a relevance to Eastern ARC (eg it relates to one of the 3 themes or could lead to future collaborations with UEA or Essex colleagues) Annual fund, no deadline – ideally get applications in via the grad school 1 month before the event takes place. Events fund – to support student-led conferences/workshops on any theme. Apply to run your own OR get engaged in others…the list of events funded by Eastern Arc in 2016/17 is extensive and diverse and events are always advertised in the postgrad bulletin. If you want to learn about the research going on under the banner of E ARC you could also come along to the annual conference – this year taking place at UEA on 17 November.

Progression through your research degree Key Contacts for Research Students: Your Main Supervisor Your Supervisory Team Your School Director of Graduate Studies (with responsibility for research programmes) Your Postgraduate Student Representative Postgraduate Administrator Faculty Associate Dean (Graduate Studies)

Key Information for Research Students University and School Postgraduate Student Handbooks University Regulations for Research Programmes of Study www.kent.ac.uk/uelt/quality/regulations/research/phdres.html Code of Practice for the Quality Assurance for Research Programmes of Study in particular: Annex H (Supervision) www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/qa/codes/research/annexh.html Annex K (Progression and Examination) www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/qa/codes/research/annexknew.htm

Initial Meeting with your Main Supervisor Ensure that you have a meeting set up with your Main Supervisor within the first two weeks of registration to discuss: How your supervisory team-student relationship will work (e.g. preferred means of contact, feedback mechanisms and turnaround times) Your meeting schedule Your work plan Any initial concerns Skills training requirements What you will be required to prepare for your induction review (six weeks after registration) How progression monitoring will be handled within your academic school (i.e. any school specific requirements) Facilities/resources

Supervisory Interaction You should have a meeting with your main supervisor at a minimum of once every 4 weeks for full-time students (and every 8 weeks for PT students) The “meeting” should generally be face to face, occasionally an email exchange or telephone conversation may have to replace this. Following the “meeting”, you should complete a supervisory record form on the Student Data System (SDS) and once this has been completed it will be sent to your supervisor for agreement. The supervisory record template covers: Progress made since the last “meeting” Areas discussed at the “meeting” Work agreed Only one supervisory record is required for July/August. The SDS will remind you when a supervisory record is due for completion. See p.4 of Postgraduate Research Student Handbook for details on completing supervision reports

Supervision Supervisors and students are expected to treat one another with courtesy Discuss any problems at the earliest opportunity so any issues to be resolved quickly and effectively Should there be a more serious breakdown in the main supervisor/student relationship, the matter should be brought to the attention of the School Director of Graduate Studies who will review the situation Concerns about supervision should be raised at the earliest opportunity

Progression Monitoring Review Stages Timing Induction review Within 6 weeks of registration (for both PT and FT research students) Probation review At 10 months for FT research students and 12 months for PT research students End of year reviews At the end of each year Mid-year reviews (if necessary) Mid-year reviews may be scheduled in cases where concerns are raised at an end of year review Submission review 3 months prior to the minimum period of registration (e.g. 3 years for FT PhD and 5 years for PT PhD students) Annex K (Progression and Examination) of the Code of Practice provides detailed information about the review stages and links to the review forms: www.kent.ac.uk/uelt/quality/rescode2005/annexknew.html 34

Progression Monitoring on SDS Your review documentation will be recorded on the Student Data System (SDS). See p.10 of Postgraduate Research Student Handbook. The SDS will provide dates by which the different reviews are due. It will be the responsibility of the Review Panel to complete the documentation on-line but once it is completed you will be able to view this on-line. Annex K (Progression and Examination) of the Code of Practice for Research Programmes of Study provides details of what needs to be prepared in advance of a review.

All Students – things you must do.. Visit Rochester Castle.. historic dockyard…Bluewater … Pop down to Canterbury and see the sights as well as the ‘other’ Campus Buy a railcard and go to London – some of the world’s best museums and galleries are on your doorstep and they are free! Book well in advance and travel to Brussels and Paris on the Eurostar

ANY QUESTIONS?

This presentation was produced in September 2018 This presentation was produced in September 2018. The University of Kent makes every effort to ensure that the information contained in its publicity materials is fair and accurate and provide educational services as described. However, the courses, services and other matters may be subject to change. For the most up-to-date information see www.kent.ac.uk/pg Full details of our terms and conditions can be found at www.kent.ac.uk/termsandconditions