Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Doctoral Conference: Wednesday 19 June 2024

We are pleased to call for contributions in the form of talks and research posters. If you have any queries please email graduateresearchschool@bbk.ac.uk.  This update includes information about:

  • A Call for PGR student talks  
  • Call for PGR Posters  
  • Call for Steering Group Member

Call for PGR student talks

Deadline Tuesday 14 May

Why present a talk?

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Doctoral researchers are invited to propose a talk to present at the conference. This is an opportunity for you to make your doctoral research visible and gain experience presenting your work. 

What sort of talks are invited?

We intend student talks to be up to 15 minutes in duration including questions but we may need to adjust the timings slightly depending on the number of speakers. 

Suggested talk structure 

If you are unsure about what to present you are invited to consider the following structure for a talk. Please aim to make your talk accessible to a non-specialist. 

1. Introduction (2 minutes)

  • Greeting and Opening: Start by introducing yourself and you could thank those present for the opportunity to speak.
  • Introduce yourself: You could introduce yourself and say which doctoral programme you are enrolled on. It would be interesting to hear why you chose to study a PhD and why you chose Birkbeck. State the focus of your doctoral research and what you aim to prove or discover. 

2. Research Context and Relevance (3 minutes)

  • You could briefly summarise your chosen field of research including why it is of importance to you and to your field of study.
  • Field Overview: Briefly describe how your research fits into the current state of the field related to your research.
  • Gap Identification: Highlight what’s missing in the current research landscape and how your work addresses this gap. Highlight which part of your work you will be speaking about today.

3. Methodology (3 minutes)

  • Research Design: Outline your research design, including the type of research (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, etc.) in relation to your talk. You could highlight whether ethical approval was required.
  • Data Collection: Describe how you collected or will collect your data.
  • Analysis Techniques: Briefly mention the analysis techniques used/ to be used, ensuring to clarify any complex methods in a way that non-specialists will be able to understand.

4. Key Findings (3 minutes)

  • Major Results: Present the main findings of the research you are sharing. Use visuals like charts, graphs or images if they help clarify complex data.
  • Interpretation: Provide a brief interpretation of what these findings may mean for your project and/ or for the field.
  • Limitations: Quickly note any limitations of your study to anticipate potential questions.
  • If you haven’t yet reached the stage of research findings you could speak about  some of the questions you hope to answer.

5. Conclusion and Future Research (2 minutes)

  • Bring your talk to a conclusion by summarising key points covered and what further work you plan to do during your doctoral studies.
  • Summary: Recap the main points of your research and your findings.
  • Future Directions: Suggest how your research could be expanded or what future studies could explore further based on your work.

6. Q&A Session (2 minutes)

  • Thank the audience for their attention. One of the event organisers will invite questions from the audience. 
  • You may find it useful to have prepared responses for likely anticipated questions, especially regarding your methodology and your conclusions.

How to submit your proposed talk

You are invited to submit your proposed talk using this brief form. 

Will all talks be selected?

We aim to involve as many contributors as possible but in order to include a balanced range of talks we may need to be selective. We plan to offer parallel sessions in order to accommodate as many talks as possible so please do be encouraged to submit a talk proposal. 

The choice of talks will be decided on by a steering group for the conference which will include doctoral student members. This group will meet soon after the deadline for proposals so that we can confirm arrangements for speakers in the week commencing 22 May.

Call for PGR Posters

Deadline Friday 7th June

The opportunity to present your work through a research poster, practise your communication skills, network with other doctoral researchers and to celebrate your work is available to all BAME Doctoral Researchers at Birkbeck at the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Doctoral Conference.

Your research poster should explain your research to a mixed audience of non-subject specialists and should be formatted for printing as A0 in size and in portrait orientation.

Instructions for poster submissions

Please complete this brief form about your research poster.

All poster contributors will be asked to submit their poster as a .pdf file by 7 June so that the BGRS can arrange for them to be printed.

Call for Steering Group Member

Deadline 14 May

We are looking for a self-funded BAME student to join the Steering Group for this conference. 

The group will meet on the week of the May 14th (date TBC) to help decide on which PGR Student talks will be selected for the Conference. This is a great opportunity to be a part of the planning of the first BAME Doctoral Conference as well as helping with arrangements on the day of the event which may include introducing speakers or helping with question and answer sessions.

The group will consist of:

  • Dr William Ackah (Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences)
  • Tim Hoe (Graduate Research School Manager)
  • Sabrina Bowen (CHASE EDI Ambassador)
  • Diversity 100 Doctoral Researcher
  • CHASE Doctoral Researcher
  • Self-Funded Doctoral Researcher

How to express interest:

Please send the following to graduateresearchschool@bbk.ac.uk:

  • A copy of your CV
  • A brief statement outlining why you would like to join the steering group (no more than 150 words)

Media & Democracy Reading Group: Invitation and First Meeting

We are pleased to announce the new Media & Democracy Reading Group. This interdisciplinary and cross college reading group is being convened by Birkbeck’s Media and Democracy Working Group, and is open to all interested academic staff, as well as post graduate research students (e.g. MPhil, MRes, PhD).

The reading group will discuss selected readings, with the aim of working through shared and diverging conceptions and concerns about the complex and sometimes contradictory relationships of ‘media’ and ‘democracy’. Readings will be selected meeting-to-meeting by reading group participants and may range from the conceptual or philosophical to the empirical or data-driven.

The first meeting will take place on 10 May 2024, 3-5pm, room TBC. It is intended that most meetings (including this first one) will be in hybrid format, allowing for in person as well as online participation.

The first reading is a chapter from Clive Barnett’s 2003 book Culture and Democracy (please see Barnett_2003_Ch_1.pdf for link). In this chapter, Barnett puts forward representation, mediation and media as central to understanding democracy and publicness. As a political geographer, Barnett pays particular attention to the trouble that ‘scale’ (numerical, spatial and functional) presents for ideas and ideals of democracy, and how representative mechanisms appear to manifest as both poison and cure. The reading provides an interdisciplinary starting point for the reading group, since it works through a dual conception of ‘representation’, as both practices of depiction (i.e. standing for), as well as practices of delegation (i.e. speaking or acting on behalf of others).

To sign up for the reading group (either/both the first meeting or future meetings) please email the reading group lead, Scott Rodgers, at s.rodgers@bbk.ac.uk.

A day in the life of a PhD student

Chris Daniel, researching for a biology PhD

Why Birkbeck?

I chose Birkbeck, University of London because it was one of the few places I could study a Master’s degree part-time; I joined in 2020 to study Microbiology (MSc) and in 2022 I was honoured to receive the Diversity100 scholarship.

I am working in Professor Sanjib Bhakta’s Mycobacteria Research Laboratory within the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (ISMB), and my project is part of the effort to tackle antimicrobial resistance in TB and TB-like respiratory diseases. Our research group originally discovered a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug class (similar to ibuprofen) that kills the drug-resistant form of the TB-causing bacteria, and my doctoral research project aims to understand how that over-the-counter painkiller drug is killing the bacteria on a molecular level.

What is a typical PhD day?

So, I’ll take you through one of my days in the lab!

I start the day usually by going to the gym, I find it helpful to clear my head before the day and it gives me the chance to plan my work. After a quick cup of coffee in the office, I’ll plan my experiment by assessing what I learned from the last experiment and writing out an aim for the next one. For example, I might have learned that I need to optimise my cell number for an experiment, so I’ll draw out my experiment using a multi-well plate map I designed, then prepare the chemicals I need.

Everything needs to be sterile (otherwise you risk running an experiment with bacteria that isn’t the one you want to use!) so to avoid contamination, we autoclave the chemicals and media that we use. The autoclave is basically a high-pressure cooker that kills everything before you use it. Once everything is clean, I set up my experiment in a sterile air-flow hood to keep everything in a safe atmosphere and a high level of protection for aseptic preparations. I clean everything down with ethanol when I’m finished so it’s ready for the next person to use.  

I usually combine my microbiology lab work and molecular biology experiments since culturing mycobacteria can take some time. Whilst I’m waiting for my results, I write everything up in my online lab notebook including my aims, observations, changes I’ve made, how old my bacteria was, and any other relevant information. Birkbeck graduate research school (BGRS) creates an amazing doctoral training environment where I get the opportunity to meet my thesis committee and my graduate tutor regularly. 

When I’m not in the lab, I’m researching specific areas of my topic to build up further knowledge. This means keeping up to date with current research and critically analysing published papers and methods. I am usually crunching a lot of data too! I also prepare presentations for conferences, assist with teaching the undergraduate and postgraduate labs as well co-supervise project students in our lab.

And that’s my typical day!

This scholarship has changed my life, it has given me the opportunity to be a scientist. Of all the wonderful, complex elements that make us who we are, this PhD makes me feel fulfilled, capable and excited.

BGRS Poster Competition 2024

Thursday 16 May 2024

Birkbeck Graduate Research School (BGRS) invites you to enter a Postgraduate Research Student Poster Competition, which will be held on campus alongside the 3 Minute Thesis Competition on Thursday 16 May from 6pm.

This Poster Competition is open to all doctoral researchers at Birkbeck and provides an excellent opportunity for you to present your research, practice your communication skills, to network with other doctoral researchers and to celebrate your work.

Prizes

  • The winner of the first prize will receive £150 and a certificate
  • Two runners up will be awarded certificates and £75 each

Poster requirements

  • You should create a research poster that explains complex research to a mixed audience of non-subject specialists.
  • Your poster should be formatted for printing as A0 in size and in portrait orientation.

What is involved?

  • Your poster will be displayed on a poster board, with an in-person judging session during a reception after the 3 Minute Thesis Competition.
  • You will be invited to attend your poster during the judging session and so that attendees can speak with you about your research.

How to enter

Training available

For all those taking part in the competition we have organised a workshop to help you produce your poster.

Thursday 18 April, 11am-12.30pm

Regardless of whether you are planning to enter the 3 Minute Thesis Competition or enter this BGRS Poster Competition please do mark 6pm Thursday 16 May in your diaries for these exciting events.

Three Minute Thesis Training sessions 2024

Birkbeck 3MT: Thursday 16 May 2024

Join a selection of Birkbeck PhD students as they compete to communicate their compelling thesis topics in just three minutes. This event is a fantastic opportunity to share and celebrate the interests and successes of PhD researchers from across the College and we invite all current Birkbeck PhD students to take part. The winner of the Birkbeck competition will be chosen by an expert panel of judges who will award:

  • £500 to the overall winner
  • £250 to the runner up
  • The audience will also have their say by picking a People’s Choice winner who’ll win a special prize.

Training Sessions

As part of our support for the competition, a free programme of training sessions has been arranged. All potential 3MT competitors should attend these sessions. However, any or all of them are open to any doctoral researcher at Birkbeck who would like to gain skills in these areas:

2023 Competition

Please see this blog from last year in which competitors share how they chose to use their research to enter the competition. You can also watch a selection of Birkbeck 3MT videos here.

What is it like to take part in 3MT?

Some previous contenders have kindly shared what they gained from taking part.

Marie Houghton said that it ‘helped me to clarify exactly what I think the main message of my PhD is’ and that she ‘would definitely recommend taking part in the 3MT to any other PhD students.’

Hannah Reeves also said that the competition allowed her to ‘think about what matters most about my research – what do I care about, what do the community I’m working with care about, and what will this audience care about.’ She also described herself as nervous about the experience of being on stage but ‘the training helped to develop a mutually supportive atmosphere.’

Doyin Olorunfemi described how ‘the exercise of delivering a concise speech gives you clarity of mind as a researcher and clarifies your contribution.’ She would ‘highly recommend the competition.’

2024 Birkbeck 3-minute Thesis competition: Join the audience on Thursday 16 May

  • The BGRS is pleased to announce the 2024 Birkbeck 3 Minute Thesis Competition, which will take place on Thursday 16 May from 6pm. Please mark this date in your diaries!
  • £500 to the overall winner
  • £250 to the runner-up

Find out more about entering the competition

If you would like to participate in this year’s competition please see this post for more information.

This is the headline BGRS event of the year

This is an event for all doctoral researchers and also for anyone interested in studying for a PhD. The event will be followed by a drinks reception.

During the reception prizes will be awarded to the 3 Minute Thesis Competition winners.

Register to join the audience

You can be part of the audience for this year’s Three Minute Thesis Competition.

Registration is now open for this event

As part of the audience you will have a vote to decide who is the People’s Choice. You can also join the Birkbeck postgraduate community in celebrating the diversity of research interests undertaken here, and raise a glass to that with a drinks reception after the winners have been announced.

Birkbeck Research Degree Awards: 2023-24

Birkbeck awards over 100 research degrees each year. Between October and December 2023, 27 Birkbeck Doctoral Researchers were awarded a PhD, MPhil or Professional Doctorate for their work in the following areas:

Faculty of Humanities and Social Science

6 PhDs in Creative Arts, Culture and Communication

5 PhDs in Historical Studies

2 PhDs in Social Sciences

Faculty of Sciences

5 PhDs in Computing and Mathematical Sciences

1 PhD and 1 MPhil in Natural Sciences

1 PhD in Psychological Sciences

Faculty of Business and Law

5 PhDs in Business

1 PhD in Law

Is a PhD right for me? A free online course

Sabrina Bowen, CHASE EDI Ambassador

Deciding whether to pursue a PhD is a big deal that involves carefully considering your academic and personal goals, while also weighing the challenges and benefits that come with doctoral study. The ‘Is a PhD right for me?‘ course by the Bloomsbury Learning Exchange, available on the FutureLearn platform, is a three-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) designed to provide prospective PhD students with the insights needed to make informed decisions about applying to a PhD program.

This course is a great resource for anyone thinking about doctoral study, especially because exploring a PhD can be an overwhelming and isolating experience, considering that many peers, family members, and friends may not have undergone this type of academic journey. ‘Is a PhD right for me?’ offers a supportive community where you can actively engage in discussions with fellow course members through comments. This platform allows you to share ideas, ask questions, and connect with like-minded individuals who are navigating the same decisions as you.

Among the course’s numerous benefits, a standout feature is its in-depth coverage of essential topics. The ‘Finance and Funding’ section, for instance, breaks down the costs associated with pursuing a PhD and explores potential funding options available to cover these expenses. The course addresses questions that you might hesitate to ask potential supervisors or the university you are applying to such as what a potential supervisor is looking for in a supervisee and what daily life looks like as a PhD student. In addition, you have the opportunity to hear from current PhD students studying a range of different subjects who share their thoughts, advice and lessons learned from their own application experience. Giving you first-hand knowledge that can be difficult to get elsewhere.

What sets this course apart is its multifaceted approach. It incorporates a variety of learning materials, including videos featuring current and prospective PhD students from a range of diverse backgrounds, articles, and reflection tasks. This diverse format caters to different learning styles, ensuring that the course remains engaging and informative throughout. ‘Is a PhD right for me?’ not only equips you with practical knowledge but also provides a platform to connect with a supportive community as you navigate the significant decision of whether a PhD is the right path for you.

Bloomsbury Learning Exchange’s ‘Is a PhD right for me?’ course is an excellent resource if you are considering pursuing a PhD in the UK. It provides you with a clearer understanding of the doctoral landscape and equips you with the foundational knowledge and confidence needed to embark on the path towards a successful and fulfilling doctoral experience in the UK.

Course Timeline

Week 1

  • Introduction to the course
  • The Basics: who does a PhD, what is a PhD and why does anyone do one?
  • Practical Matters: A focus on special preparation and goals relevant to individual circumstances
  • Finance and Funding

Week 2

  • Research: your research idea, ethics and proposals
  • Supervisors: how to find and contact a potential supervisor
  • Applications: how to prepare and submit various types of applications

Week 3

  • Managing work-life balance
  • Supervisors and support: a look at the various support in place for PhD students
  • Wellbeing and mental health
  • Life after PhD

CHASE EDI Ambassador

Sabrina Bowen

As part of their Diversity Action plan the AHRC CHASE DTP has provided funding to appoint a part time CHASE EDI Ambassador who will provide support for activities at Birkbeck aiming to:

  • Improve the pipeline of students from minority ethnic underrepresented backgrounds from undergraduate and taught postgraduate to arts and humanities doctoral research at Birkbeck
  • Ensure that arts and humanities doctoral researchers from underrepresented minority ethnic backgrounds are better supported at Birkbeck

This role aims to help to organise and run online events and in person activities aimed at:

  • Promoting doctoral study
  • De-mystifying the doctoral application processes and explaining the experience of being an arts and humanities doctoral researcher.
  • Identifying ways in which current arts and humanities doctoral researchers from under-represented minority ethnic groups can be effectively supported through the PhD at Birkbeck.

The post was advertised to all doctoral researchers at Birbeck and we were fortunate to have some extremely strong applications for the role. Following interviews last month we are pleased to appoint Sabrina Bowen as the CHASE EDI Ambassador at Birkbeck.

Sabrina Bowen

Sabrina is a 2nd year PhD Student within the School of Social Sciences, her research explores the intergenerational roles of the UK-based Caribbean diaspora in the development of their homeland.

Sabrina will work within the Birkbeck Graduate Research School team in collaboration with colleagues who are working on aspects of under-representation at doctoral level including:

  • Dr William Ackah, Senior Lecturer within the School of Social Sciences.
  • Caroline McDonald, Director of Access & Engagement – Access & Engagement at Birkbeck.

Is a PhD Right for Me?

Birkbeck has been a partner in development of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) which provides a comprehensive approach to considering, applying for, or beginning doctoral study in the UK.

This three-week course from Bloomsbury Learning Exchange is designed to provide information and advice for anyone deciding whether doctoral study in the UK is the right path for them.

Swapping myths and misconceptions for useful tips and resources, this course will help you prepare for PhD applications and beyond.

You can view a video trailer here: https://youtu.be/s7znKrZW01Y

Information about the course development on the BLE website: https://www.ble.ac.uk/phd-mooc.html

Week 1

Aimed at helping you work out whether to pursue a PhD. You’ll be given a basic overview of essential aspects of the decision, including personal, practical, and financial considerations.

Week 2

Week 2 of the course will provide guidance on making a PhD application. You’ll learn how to seek out opportunities, put together a research proposal, find the right supervisor and apply to an institution or research project.

Week 3

In the final week of the course, you’ll get ready to take on day-to-day life as a doctoral candidate.