The University of Westminster Graduate School has opened two new spaces on the University’s historic Regent Campus for doctoral researchers to study, collaborate, socialise and access state-of-the-art training facilities.
The two new rooms are the first physical spaces dedicated to PhD students, encouraging cross-discipline collaboration.
The first of the two rooms is a doctoral training room equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including the latest screening and aural technological innovations. Doctoral researchers at the University of Westminster will be able to book onto a variety of training sessions taking place in this room via a new app recently launched by the Graduate School to further improve the doctoral training experience.
The doctoral training room will provide a space for the University’s Doctoral Research Development Programme (DRDP) workshops. The innovative DRDP at Westminster promotes research integrity, public engagement and career development based on the national Vitae Research Development Framework, which describes the knowledge, behaviour and attributes of successful researchers. The programme consists of tailor-made workshops, specialist skills sessions and personal development planning activities designed to develop researchers’ skills, experience and confidence. Other PhD activities such as conferences and training sessions will also take place in the room.
The Graduate School has also opened a study space behind the doctoral training room, which gives PhD researchers an area to socialise and study together. The room has a small kitchen area, a range of furniture and wall-mounted sliding whiteboards for researchers to study and relax in a comfortable environment. Through providing a place to work and meet other researchers from across the Graduate School, the study space fosters discussion and collaboration between the doctoral community and puts into action the University’s priorities of wellbeing and inclusion, as outlined in the Being Westminster 2022-2029 strategy.
About the new spaces, Dr Margherita Sprio, Head of the Graduate School, said: “Our new doctoral researcher training room on the Regent Campus has given our Graduate School a physical identity and will foster our world-class research culture. With the dedicated PhD study and social space adjoining it, our vibrant community of researchers now have easy access to meet their needs. With its state-of-the-art facilities, we have future-proofed the PhD experience to deliver the latest innovative and world-leading training workshops. We deliver over 60 PhD training workshops and our new facilities will enable us to provide a quality provision for our doctoral researchers that helps to foster a research culture that meets the needs of the contemporary thinker.”
Westminster’s Graduate School contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about the Graduate School at the University of Westminster.
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