04 October 2017

Leeds Doctoral College launch

A dedicated hub for our postgraduate research community opens its doors on 5 October.

One of the key commitments of Leeds’ Strategic Plan 2014-20 is the building of a vibrant postgraduate research community.  With the launch of the Leeds Doctoral College on 5 October, that community will be given a new, stronger identity and provided with enhanced support and opportunities for training, development and networking.

The Doctoral College, based on Level 12 of the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building, aims to coordinate the support already available to the postgraduate research community in Faculty Graduate Schools, Organisational Development and Professional Learning, the University Library, the Language Centre, Leeds University Union, the Careers Service, the Student Education Service, the Research and Innovation Service and elsewhere. 

One of the ways it will do this is through daily drop-in sessions, which postgraduate researchers can access without an appointment for advice on topics from the process for printing, binding and handing in a thesis, to support on giving a research paper for the first time.

By celebrating the achievements of Leeds and of Leeds’ postgraduate researchers – in their research and beyond it – the Doctoral College will ensure that the world knows that Leeds is a great place to do a research degree, somewhere that cares about its postgraduate researchers, supports them well, stretches them academically, and equips them for whatever they do next.

Dean of the Doctoral College, Professor Claire Honess, summed up the aims of the Doctoral College by suggesting that it will help Leeds to define and market what will become a distinctive Leeds offering at the postgraduate research level.

"We do this exceptionally well for our taught students", she said. "Leeds for Life and the Leeds Curriculum together add up to a student experience that is both of the highest quality and distinctively 'Leeds'.  Through the Doctoral College we want to extend this by developing an understanding of the 'Leeds PhD' which emphasises, on the one hand, the exceptional range and quality of our research and, on the other, the excellent support and training that we are able to offer our PGRs."

The Doctoral College will be formally launched by the Vice-Chancellor at a celebratory lunch on 5 October.  Speakers will include:

  • Professor Lisa Roberts (Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation)
  • Devesh Mistry (runner-up, Leeds Postgraduate Researcher of the Year 2017)
  • Marta Giannichi (winner of the Leeds Three-Minute Thesis competition, 2017). 

More information on its activities can be found on the Doctoral College website leeds.ac.uk/doctoralcollege

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