Embedding inclusive PI leadership in doctoral training

Description

Research culture is shaped not only by established academics but also by emerging researchers who are forming their professional identities and leadership approaches. However, there is a significant gap in how we prepare doctoral researchers for their future roles as research leaders and culture-shapers.

While postgraduate researchers (PGRs) develop deep expertise in their research domains, they typically have limited opportunities to develop the leadership capabilities and inclusive practices they will need as Principal Investigators (PI).

This represents a missed opportunity: the doctoral stage is a formative period when researchers are actively constructing their understanding of what good research leadership looks like and how research communities should function.

Research overview

We delivered two PGR training workshops - "Building Inclusive PI Leadership and Grant Success" and "Grant Review and Panel - along with three PGR research culture coffee mornings.

The workshops were designed for PGRs to demystify how funding is won and reviewed, from spotting small, career-stage-appropriate schemes to understanding how a panel actually reads a proposal, giving PGRs a practical foothold in skills that usually go unlearned until much later in an academic career.

The research culture-building events created a space for PGRs to strengthen the PGR community in the Faculty.

Resources

Resources from these events (including slides from the workshops) are available to University of Leeds PGRs and staff on the Funding Landscape page.

Contact

Dr Xingjie Wei

This project is funded by Research England’s Research “Enhancing Research Culture” scheme.