Background
After industrial action in 2018/19 and 2019/20, a portion of the strike fund was allocated to Durham SU for use on projects to support the student population. We are aware postgraduate participation in academic life is an increasingly expensive activity, due to both the pandemic and rising inflation. The funding that is available has not increased and is either highly competitive or limited in size or scope. Self-funded students are particularly challenged and often unable to embrace opportunities to advance their careers while they are students, which is why we prioritised their needs. It was felt that using the funding to support postgraduate students would be both impactful and effective, and it was! Read below to see how students benefited. PG Academic Officer Declan Merrington (2021/22) was key in securing the £20,000 specifically for postgraduates.
You can read a a sample of student testimonials below, or you can view the full collection here.
“This funding has helped postgraduate students with a lot of the hidden costs of studies – whether that be conferences, travel, resources, or other essentials. It was much needed – and this was before there was talk of a cost-of-living crisis! It’s fantastic to see it being put to such great use, and I hope it also leads to more conversations about the hidden costs of being a postgraduate.”
Student Testimonies
Rui Fang and Amir Ghasemi
"The UKMMN Summer School 2022: Flexible and Electromagnetic Metamaterials was a summer school for PhD students, postdocs and early career researchers organised by the UK Meta Material Network. The summer school was held in the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, from 15th to 19th Aug. Then attendees were made up with a mixed group from both academic and industry, both UK based and international.
The summer school held series of talks, along with poster presentation and group project. The talks were extremely helpful. Its theme ranged from mathematical modelling, physics, engineering, and mass production. The group project aimed to develop and outreach programme that can promote metamaterials, or optics physics in general. Our group designed an interactive platform for educating children in the fundamentals of optics and metamaterials. The two-afternoon group project concentrated our best effort, Rui and Amir were very proud to be the lead presenter. The poster presenting was very intense and competitive. They again, were very honoured to have received the first and second-place award (see attached picture).
Other than the various academic schedule, leisure events including St. Andrews day tour, water sports, bonfire at the beach and pub quiz were very popular and brought more fun and laughter to the journey.
Thank you again for the support of the development of students. We fully appreciate the opportunity and will pass on the positive influence the SU fund has given us."
Madeleine Rose
"In June 2022 I spent a week in Oxford researching at the Bodleian Library, generously supported by the Durham SU Postgraduate Participation Fund. As a taught MA student, it’s difficult to secure funding from external sources so I was delighted to discover that the SU was organising a fund to support its postgraduate students. My dissertation research focuses on the little magazine publishing culture of the early twentieth century, exploring how the material form of the influential magazine Poetry contributed to attempts to foster a new American poetry. Given my focus on the physical form of the magazine and its circulation between readers, I was eager to examine physical copies of Poetry and the Bodleian library is one of the few UK libraries with extensive holdings of early editions (dating from 1912 onwards).
Having secured funding from the PG Participation Fund, I organised to spend a week in Oxford, consulting editions of the magazine published between 1914 and 1925. The trip proved more successful than I could have hoped. I was fully immersed in the world of the little magazine, following a debate in the editorial comment section of successive 1918 issues and discovering an apparently hastily inserted advertisement for war poems in the October 1914 issue. This visit not only enormously enhanced my dissertation research but has also taught me valuable archival research skills which will be highly useful as I progress to PhD research."
Katie Morris
"In June, I was delighted to hear that I had been awarded £400 from the PG Participation Fund which enabled me to attend and present at a conference organised by the Economic and Social Rights Academic Network UK and Ireland (ESRAN-UKI) in Dublin later that month. The money received covered my accommodation in Trinity College for the three nights I spent in the city and I am extremely grateful that I was able to stay there, not least due to its central location but primarily because of the rich history of the university and welcoming environment for visiting academics and tourists alike.
The conference itself, which was hosted by University College Dublin, was a great opportunity for me to present some of my research in front of my peers as well as leading academics in the area of socioeconomic rights. Whilst the papers presented varied, multiple links could be forged between each one which created a dynamic and enriching environment whereby everyone, including first year PhD candidates like myself, felt comfortable both offering and receiving constructive comments. I without doubt gained significant confidence from speaking on a panel at the conference which greatly prepared me for my progression review which I passed just a few weeks later. I once again would like to thank the Durham SU for awarding me these funds which facilitated my first ever trip to Ireland, full of stimulating conversations with such a knowledgeable and supportive network."
Faruk Saglamoz
"I have enjoyed my trip to Athens for several reasons, and I am glad that it was supported by the PG Participation Fund. For one, I was able to travel to a country that I had not been before, visited many touristic attractions, attend to the one-week long conference where I had the fortune of meeting several intellectual names of my field and discussed their work face to face. It was such an unprecedented experience on my part to get to know other PhD students studying similar topics and making friends at the same time. This has been the beginning of future collaborations for research and beautiful friendships. Thanks to this funding I have also had a chance to come by various vegan restaurants and supporting local businesses. "
Clara Reis
"Thanks to the financial support I received through the PG participation fund, I was able to become a member of the British Psychological Society.
Being a psychology student, the British Psychological Society is a huge name and important body for psychologists in education and when starting or progressing in a career within psychology.
As the British Psychological Society is one of the most credible sources, many courses are accredited by them and this is often stated by employers as one major eligibility criterion for a job or for further qualifications. Having studied abroad, membership with the British Psychological Society helps me prove to employers that I am equally qualified as UK students from accredited courses. It also has been extremely beneficial giving me reassurance and confidence that I can actually use my foreign degree and orientate myself better on the job market. Along with this grant of confidence and employability, the British Psychological Society comes with a lot of perks, such as access to resources, networks and communities of psychologists in similar career stages or areas.
Therefore I am very grateful to have received the funding, making the decision whether to apply for the membership and paying the international processing fee much much easier than without the financial support."
