As part of the Festival of Doctoral Research, we give researchers the chance to apply for up to £1000 to run an activity or event during the Festival.
For the 2019 Festival, we had a record number of applications which were all fantastic!
After careful consideration, the following PGR-led events were funded.
What events did we fund?
From the applications, we selected 15* events to run during the Festival of Doctoral Research.
*Interdisciplinary Data Privacy Workshop had to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances
Exceptional Faults: Painting Workshop
An urban sketching activity to capture one of your PhD life stories through drawing. Mistaken strokes encouraged as they can make exceptional artwork.
FELS Employability Series – From Desk to Dolla
Doctoral researchers in the School of Geography & Environmental Sciences and School of Biological Sciences collaborated to offer an employability series aimed at increasing skills to help doctoral researchers plan for and secure their dream jobs post-PhD.
Interdisciplinary Data Privacy Workshop
Interdisciplinary Workshop on Artificial Intelligence
Machine learning has taken on increasing prevalence in the world of quantitative science over recent years. This event brought together researchers from a wide range of academic disciplines with our machine learners to build interdisciplinary understanding and collaborations. The first session was an interactive lab, building skills in Python through a series of case studies, ranging from traditional machine learning with scikit-learn to deep learning with Keras and TensorFlow. The second session was a tutorial with machine learning PGRs on hand to discuss problems and potential methods and techniques to solve them.
Journal in a day
Over the course of a single day, doctoral researchers peer reviewed, edited, and published an entire issue of a new academic journal, Carpe Diem. Hunkered down on Avenue Campus and online, the Carpe Diem group worked their magic to produce this innovative academic experiment.
Language and Culture Beyond the Academic World
This series had a range of activities to attend, including talks from distinctive scholars in the field of Modern Languages and Linguistics, and interactive exhibitions. From drawing your own language portrait, to challenging your views of language and culture.
Make your own motto
This hands-on training, participants were walked through the technique of printmaking, with an introduction to photographic material, etching plates, and how they are finally transferred onto silk screens to produce screen prints. Participants were able to try the process using ready-made letters, created from the technique, to create their favourite mottos or slogans.
Nineteenth-Century work-in-progress Research Symposium on ‘Resistance’
The online, interdisciplinary research journal Romance, Revolution and Reform, in association with the Southampton Centre for Nineteenth-Century Research, hosted a dynamic research symposium on the theme of ‘Resistance’ during the long-eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Researchers from disciplines across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences discussed their cutting-edge projects or work in progress. Both speakers and audience members had the opportunity to engage with the very latest research within the University.
Optical Illusions Workshop
This workshop gave doctoral researchers an insight into illusion science and its principle. PGRs were given the chance to use examples of hand-made illusions to assist them in designing and building their own optical illusion.
PGR Social Ballroom and Latin Dance Lesson
The Southampton University Ballroom and Latin Dance Society taught PGRs the steps of a few Ballroom and Latin dances such as the Cha Cha in this fun filled evening.
Spotlight: Optics and Photonics Research Showcase
A showcase of images generated during the PhDs of Zepler Institute students for an image competition. Winning images can be found here.
Sugar Fibre Drawing Tower
During the Doctoral Research Showcase, a live demonstration was given of how optical fibre is made and works but using sugar!
Tea and Cake for Impactful Research
Impact can take many forms including development or improvement of an intervention, influencing policy reform, or launching a social enterprise that provides meaningful tools or services. This workshop exposed the mechanics – the “how” – of impactful research approaches.
The Great Music PhD Exposure!
Ever wondered what on earth a PhD in Music involves? Surely they've found all the notes already? The Great Music PhD Exposure showcased Music PhD projects at the University, including informal presentations, live music & compositions, posters and cake.
Using Theory in Research
Using Theory in Research introduced doctoral researchers across the Humanities and Social Sciences to new theoretical frameworks for approaching their work. Each masterclass was based around a theoretical theme – Environment and Ecology, Decoloniality and Space, and Sexuality and Corporeality – and led by an external researcher in the early stages of their post-PhD career. Each speaker introduced a theoretical framework, corresponding to the theme, that they have found useful in their own work, and helped attendees to think of ways to use the framework in their own work.