Future of PGR
PGR Strategic Development Plan
In April 2022, Senate approved the PGR Strategic Delivery Plan (PGR SDP) which set out our future ambitions for PGR students undertaking research-only degrees (Doctoral and MPhil) and provided a rationale for a number of priority actions that would be undertaken in consultation with our students and join up with other initiatives already underway within and without the University, including Research Culture, PRO:NE Project, RSVP (Research Supervisor Project lead by York University of which we are a Practitioner Partner).
The PGR SDP contains 12 Priority Actions and work has been undertaken on these over the last two years. Information on specific projects is given below.
The priority actions for 2024/25 (and beyond) will be:-
- Review of PGR admissions and the application process to identify the barriers to application, particularly for international applicants, and the potential points of failure, including visibility of potential supervisors research areas. Establish a working group to take this forward. (24/25 priority)
- Consideration of submission and completion rates and how these could be improved, and/or how our consideration of these could become more nuanced. (24/25 priority)
- Who does what within the PGR space at Newcastle, providing visibility and perhaps giving a sense of belonging to the Doctoral College and begin establishing a Community of Practice. (24/25 priority)
- International Office around international partnership opportunities. (24/25 priority)
- Development of NU Offer – Development of online PhD to attract/increase applications globally. (24/25 priority to identify funding resource, 25/26 onwards priority to develop)