Annual conference celebrates vibrant doctoral community

Our annual doctoral conference, held on 6 June, brought together Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) from across the Faculty.

The event was a chance to celebrate our vibrant doctoral community, share cutting-edge thinking, and create opportunities for collaboration. 

Bringing together PGRs, Early Career Researchers, supervisors and senior colleagues across departments, the conference showcased the depth of research taking place in the School. 

Doctoral students are an integral part of our academic community, and we are committed to developing the next generation of researchers. The doctoral conference is just one element of our research culture - alongside dedicated supervisors, a training programme, funding pots, a publication scholarship, a strong network of research centres, and a support structure through the Graduate School and Research Office – that creates a high-quality and nurturing environment for our postgraduate researchers. 

On the day, Dr Ghasem Zaefarian, Deputy Head of the Graduate School, opened the event, followed by a welcome from Professor Mark Stuart, then Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation. 

The day included three parallel sessions. In each of these sessions, three doctoral students presented their work, followed by time for questions and comments from discussants and peers. These presentations showcased a wide range of research topics – from financial behaviours and sustainable consumption, to gendered labour market dynamics and the influence of digital platforms - highlighting the depth and breadth of research across the School.  

There was a publishing session where attendees listened to a panel discussion, featuring Miguel Dindial, Alexandra Seehaus and Zhuo Wang, who discussed their experiences of publishing during and shortly after their PGR experience, followed by a practical “how to” talk from Professor Costas Katsikeas who shared practical insights in to how to publish in quality journals. 

There were also ten research posters on display from our doctoral community, and a PGR wellbeing session led by Madeleine Robinson and Michelle Shortland from the Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Team at the University of Leeds. 

The day concluded with a drinks reception and awards presentation by the Executive Dean, Professor Julia Bennell.  

Congratulations to all our winners: 

• PGR best poster award: Yagiz Talay, Management and Organisations 
• PGR best paper award: 
  • Accounting and Finance: Fangqi Guo ​and Andrea Charalambous 
  • Analytics, Technology and Operations: Mustafa Kamel Mohammad 
  • Economics: Yi Pang 
  • International business: Yuanyuan Quan 
  • Management and Operations: Ellie Lucas 
  • Marketing: Ming Cheng​ and Maren Doemer 
  • People, Work and Employment: Kayaga Matovu​ 
• Dean’s award for excellence in postgraduate researcher supervision: 
  • Winner: Annina Kaltenbrunner​ 
  • Highly commended: Ghasem Zaefarian​ and Kevin Keasey​.