CER PhDs – calling supervisors and PhD students past and present
Do you supervise PhD students undertaking community engaged research(CER)? Or are you a current or former PhD student who has undertaken community engaged research? If so, we would love to hear from you.
The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) is running a small project exploring how engaged PhDs are designed, supervised, and assessed. To do this we are running three focus groups (two for PhD supervisors, and one for past or present PhD students), and also a survey. The aim is to gather insights to inform a set of sector-wide recommendations for improving the assessment of community engaged doctoral work.
You can access the survey here: short survey.
Description of the focus groups:
Focus groups for PhD supervisors
You have experience supporting students undertaking engaged research.
Online Focus Group Options
- Wednesday 1st Oct. 2025, 2:00pm – 3:00pm
- Thursday 2nd Oct. 2025 , 3:00pm – 4:00pm
We’ll be discussing questions such as:
- How do you design the engaged PhD ‘right’ in the first place?
- How do you ensure coherence across supervisors from different backgrounds, as well as engaged communities?
- What extra training might students need?
- How do you adapt or change university regulations to ensure effective examination of an engaged thesis?
Focus group for research students past and present
You have undertaken engaged doctoral research.
Online Focus Group Details
- Wednesday 24th September, 3:00pm – 4:00pm
The session will explore questions such as:
- What does an “engaged PhD” mean to you?
- What additional skills or training have you needed for your engaged research?
- How well do universities support the assessment of engaged PhDs?
- What changes would you recommend to improve recognition of the engaged aspect of your PhD?
If you would like to attend, please contact zoe.williamson@uwe.ac.uk
Please consider participating yourself, but also sharing this with anyone who you think would be interested in sharing their perspectives. By reflecting on current practice, we hope to support the development of this important work.
Sophie Duncan, Co-director NCCPE, Co-editor Research for All