Tell us what it is like to be a postgraduate researcher at QM (and get paid to do it).
What is this all about?
In line with the Students’ Union’s new strategy and in response to feedback from PGRs, the Students’ Union is organising its second run of our Postgraduate Consultation Group (PGCG) meetings, this academic year.
The Students’ Union represents all Queen Mary students, including students enrolled as PhD researchers and other postgraduate research students (postdocs are unfortunately not eligible). However, we recognise that our existing services and activities do not always meet the needs of PGRs, and we are therefore utilising this opportunity to get you more involved and tell us about your life at Queen Mary as a research student.
What exactly is the Postgraduate Consultation Group?
The PGCG is a small group of PGRs that meet regularly to discuss the PGR experiences at Queen Mary. The group is chaired by the VP Liberation, International and Postgraduates. The PGCG meetings will be structured around a set of questions from our VP LIP, but there will also be space for you to raise points outside of the pre-prepared questions. During these meetings, you will also meet our Postgraduate Research Representation Assistant, who acts as a secretary for these meetings. In short, it’s a bit like a focus group taking place regularly, where PGRs can talk about their experience and suggest ideas for improvements that the Students’ Union team can then take forward internally and in the wider university structure.
Did you say I’d get paid to attend?
Yes! We know life as a research student can be pretty busy, and your feedback is really valuable to us. Therefore, members will get £35 per meeting to thank them for their time and feedback.
What’s the time commitment?
The PGCG meets 8 times per year, and each meeting takes 1.5 – 2 hours. To become a member, you do not have to be available to attend all meetings. Before each meeting, we will check which members are available and select between 5-15 members to attend each meeting. Depending on the number of people that sign up to take part, we will try to allocate a fair number of meetings to each member, so we hear from a range of PGRs.
Please note that you will only be paid for the meetings you attend.
What would my duties be if I sign up?
In short – turn up and be prepared to talk about your experience as a research student at Queen Mary.
To help us facilitate the PGCG in an effective way, we’ll ask you to submit your availability before each meeting. We’ll sort this online, so it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.
You may also find it helpful to take a bit of time before the meeting to reflect on your experience, so you are prepared to discuss your experience at the meeting.
What kind of skills and knowledge do I need to take part?
All current PGRs at Queen Mary are eligible to be part of the PGCG, (postdocs are unfortunately not eligible). We are not looking for any particular skill set or knowledge, but you need to be willing to speak up and share your experience at the meetings.
What kind of topics will be covered, and will my feedback be confidential?
The PGCG is a feedback collection forum, and we will cover a wide range of topics in relation to the experience of research students at Queen Mary. This can include but is not limited to induction, supervision, community, belonging, support, career planning, funding, housing, work-life balance, social activities, campus spaces and resources.
The PGCG is not suitable for individual casework – for example, the PGCG will not be suitable space to raise a concern about a named individual or raise a complaint about a specific service.
We ask all PGCG members to maintain confidentiality by not sharing feedback raised at the PGCG with anyone outside of the group. If a member wishes to discuss the work of the PGCG, they are welcome to do so in general terms, but it would not be acceptable to share details of specific points raised by other members.
The Students’ Union team uses the feedback from PGCG to make changes to Students’ Union services/activities and lobby for changes to services/activities provided by Queen Mary or external organisations. The meetings will be minuted by a Students’ Union staff member to ensure feedback is captured, but the feedback will be anonymised before it is use for improvement processes or lobbying.
How do I sign up?
Places for this academic year (2024/25) are NOW OPEN!
Register online to be a part of the PGCGs. Please note that the deadline for applications is 31 October at 11.59pm.
Register now
What happens when I sign up?
When the sign-ups close, we contact everyone that has signed up to arrange the first meeting. We contact you via email shortly after the form has closed with a quick online poll to confirm your availability.
When we know who is available for the first meeting, we will select between 5-15 members to participate in the first meeting. We will email you directly to let you know whether you’ve been selected for the first meeting, or not.
If you are not selected for the first meeting, we will do our best to allocate you to one of the subsequent meetings instead (depending on your availability and the number of people that have signed up).
Do you have a question?
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch – email su-representation@qmul.ac.uk.