We’re all in this together: A peer-directed workshop

This workshop is most suitable for PGRs in their 2nd year or above.

Based on the highly successful and award-winning How to Thrive and Survive in Your PhD project, which I helped to set up in 2018 and coordinated throughout 2020 at the University of York, this workshop is shaped primarily around small-group peer discussions.

I work from the premise that very often, the best, most practical advice for navigating the diverse challenges of doctoral research comes from others within the PGR community who are on the same journey as each other. So, instead of being ‘taught’ in the way of conventional training sessions, the advice and guidance shared in these sessions are almost entirely generated from and shared among participants themselves.

As the trainer, I facilitate structured, small-group discussions and offer guided questions for participants to discuss among themselves on common issues/concerns faced by PGRs at various stages of their research programme, including:

  • finding the right working habits/schedule
  • time and project management
  • academic confidence
  • what to do when things go wrong (challenges and surprises in research)
  • extracurricular activity (conferences, teaching etc.)
  • personal and professional development
  • work-life balance, health and social life

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will have:

  • learned to recognise that although others experience many of the same concerns as themselves, the PhD journey can be and look very different for each individual; there is no one way to conduct doctoral research
  • learned diverse strategies and methods that other PGRs employ to address the challenges of the PhD
  • shared with each other methods and tips that have worked for them, and brainstormed solutions to issues they may be struggling with in their PhD

Workshop details

  • 2-hour workshop
  • Maximum attendance: 50
  • This workshop can be conducted in person or online
  • All participants will be provided with a workbook to be used during the workshop and can be downloaded and kept for future reference
  • All participants will additionally be provided with access to a Padlet of Wellbeing Resources

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