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University of Sunderland Oct 2023: Student Workshop Resources

Generation Delta Student Workshop Report 

1st stage of the PGR cycle: Access to Academy (A2A) 

 

Workshop title: “Access to Academy Student Workshop” 

Hosting institution: University of Sunderland 

Date: Tuesday 17 October 2023 

Time: 9.00 am to 3.45 pm 

Venue: University of Sunderland, Hope Street Exchange, Enterprise Suite 307 

 

  1. Introduction 

This workshop was offered to women who identify as Black, Asian, and/or from minority ethnic communities, who are interested in registering for doctoral study.  

 

The objectives of this workshop were to provide advice and guidance on: 

  1. Application and admission into PGR study
  2. Funding opportunities available to undertake PGR research
  3. Developing skills in writing a research proposal  

 

The following was the workshop agenda: 

 

Time 

 

 Activity  
9:00 – 9:30 am 

 

 Registration  
9:30 – 9:35 am   Welcome from Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) – Professor Michael Young 
9:35 – 9:40 am  Welcome from Prof John Fulton – Academic Director for PGR at Sunderland 
9:40 – 9:55 am  Welcome and introduction to Generation Delta – Professor Iyiola Solanke 

 
9:55-10:00 am   Activity 1 – Menti Poll 
10:00 – 11:00   Getting into PhD study – why you should do it and what is required - Professor Dorothy Monekosso, Professor of Computer Science, Durham University  
11:00 am – 12 pm  Student Panel session – experiences of PhD application and admissions process – Akua Sackey; Ogechi Okorie, Ruphina Obare; Maya Azizan 
12 – 1:00 pm   LUNCH 

 
1:00 – 1:05  Activity 2 – Menti Poll 
1:05 – 2:05 pm  Funding opportunities – Dr Roseline Wanjiru, Associate Prof in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Strategy, Northumbria University 
2:05 pm – 3:30 pm   Interactive session – Facilitated by Dr Reem Talhouk, Northumbria University 
3:30 pm – 3:45 pm  Final thoughts and next steps  

 

 2. Registration and attendees 

A total of 67 PGR students registered for the workshop and 15 were selected to attend the session. 

 

3. Introduction to Generation Delta 

Follow this link for an overview of the research/action project Generation Delta by its PI, Professor Iyiola Solanke: Introduction to GenDelta project and team.mp4  

4. Menti Polls 

Attending students anonymously answered questions about their motivation to undertake doctoral study, their understanding of the application process and in their opinion, the barriers and challenges entailed in doing so. They also answered questions about their knowledge and understanding of funding and support for doctoral study: Menti poll 1.pdf and Menti poll 2.pdf 

  

5. Getting into PhD study – why you should do it and what is required - Professor Dorothy Monekosso, Professor of Computer Science, Durham University  

Lessons learnt and reflections on the doctoral journey: DM- GenDelta_Sunderland_2023.pdf 

  

6. Funding opportunities – Dr Roseline Wanjiru, Associate Prof in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Strategy, Northumbria University  

Dr Roseline Wanjiru presentation aims to explore our understanding of funding opportunities for PGR study, to review the UK research funding landscape, and  

to explore some strategies for effectively accessing PGR research opportunities,  

as students from diverse Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds: Accessing the Academy Generation Delta RW.pdf 

  

7. Interactive session – Facilitated by Dr Reem Talhouk, Northumbria University 

Dr Talhouk delivers a workshop to gain an understanding of PhD Research Proposals, explore examples of proposals and start outlining proposals. Follow this link to see her slides RT - PhD Research Proposals.pdf and this one to see the written material shared with the students (To be uploaded soon).