Research News Last updated 22 October
Birmingham City University’s (BCU) Postgraduate Research (PGR) Symposium has brought students from a wide range of disciplines together to share ideas, network and collaborate.
Held on Monday (20 October) at BCU’s Parkside building, the event featured presentations from Health and Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Business, Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities schools.
Sarah Pedder was one of them, her work looked at how mature learners transitioned into higher education.
“I was so scared to present for the first time, which is strange as I’ve come from a teaching background!” Sarah said.
“But I’ve felt so welcomed and supported here.
“After today, I feel like I’m truly part of the PGR community at BCU!”
The symposium was also an opportunity to network and connect with other PGRS.
“It’s really important to develop networking skills as researching can be a very lonely journey and it can be difficult to get opportunities to present your work and network with people in a similar position to you,” Sarah added.
“Seeing other presentations has taken me out of my own thought process and challenged me to think in new ways.”
The Symposium was co-organised by BCU’s PGR representatives and Doctoral Research College.
PhD student and PGR representative, Emma Brown, said “I’ve been inspired by the intersectionality between people and areas of research today, especially when it comes to methodology.
“This has been a great opportunity to share methodology practices and advice with researchers we don’t regularly interact with.
“The best part of the day for me, was seeing conversations on marginalised communities and researchers from diverse backgrounds using their voice to shout about their work.”
Professor Maxine Lintern, Dean of Research and Enterprise, praised the students’ confidence and curiosity: “It’s not easy as a PhD student to stand up, present your research and be questioned by your peers.
“I also applaud the work of the PGR representatives in organising this event and playing a crucial role in supporting BCU’s PGR community.”
Find out more about research degrees at BCU.
Photo (L-R) Emma Brown, Virina Gabriel, Rucheng Yang, Buket Fildisi, Todd Capes, Awais Javed, Shameela Yoosuf Ali, Maria Loureiro Oliveira.