This research project is aimed at gaining insights into neurodivergent PGR’s experiences of doctoral study.
The research takes place in participatory workshops designed and facilitated by PGRs and supervisors, across disciplines and universities. A creative research method – zine making – enables researchers to share experiences in playful, collaborative ways. Zines are ‘Do-It-Yourself, no-skill, non-profit forms of self-publishing’ (Casio 2019:3), mini books or pamphlets that can be reflective and self-aware (and rebellious!) Zines bridge academic and non-academic knowledge, valuing embodiment and affectivity and complicated, nuanced, non-linear and situated experiences (Cooper, 2021).
Through making, sharing, discussing and collating zines, we aim to form the basis of an an expansive collection of lived experiences and insights into current and future policy and practice, and deliver a series of research dissemination activities, led by participants themselves to enhance and illuminate practices that benefit PGR communities.
Project Impacts:
Alongside a rise in the general population for those with neurodivergent conditions, particularly ADHD (NIHR, 2023), numbers of neurodivergent doctoral researchers are increasing. This research addresses a need to develop understanding and support of neurodivergent researchers’ learning and progression by supervisors and research support staff (Szorenyi and Payne, 2025). Neurodiversity, often intersecting with learning histories and life experiences throughout the doctoral journey, can have profound impacts on engagement and progress. This activity aims to explore these multiplicities and deepen collective understanding.
This will lay foundations for supervisor training and resource development towards thriving, sustainable communities of diverse scholars and scholarship.
Project Team:
Project lead - Dr Louise Lambert
Funding:
The project is funded bt the Doctoral Training Alliance (DTA).
The DTA provides a dedicated national network for doctoral researchers and their supervisors together with research and professional skills training opportunities to support career development both within and beyond academia. It provides a platform where the next generation of researchers can understand the worth of collaborative projects through the sharing of knowledge, ideas and resources.
Further information on the DTA is available here: Doctoral Training Alliance
