I'm Josh, a final year PhD student. In my research on the history of higher education, I am particularly interested in how student experiences of interdisciplinary communities were intended to develop students' characters and skills, and arm them to tackle the interdisciplinary challenges of the real world. I teach the third/second year core module 'Historiography II'. I am also head swimming coach at the University of Warwick Swimming and Water Polo club. I got involved in the PGR teaching community project as I felt that those who gained the most from their time at university were those who empowered to belong to a community and participate in the development of their peers. I felt there was currently inadequate support for PGRs, who now play essential roles in university and government strategies. My hope is that by helping PGRs support one another through formal and informal activities in this community, we might contribute to tackling some of the problems of insecurity and well-being that currently loom over PGRs, and help deliver an improved student and PGR experience. My role in the project focuses on developing a platform for the sharing of pedagogic practice through our journal.

Josh Patel

History

Joy Oti

Law

I’m Joy, a final year PhD student in Law looking into the regulatory models that enhance consumer adoption of e-commerce. I have been a seminar tutor for 3 years, teaching business law-related modules at Warwick Business School and Warwick Manufacturing Group. The APP PGR course broadened my knowledge of technology-integrated teaching pedagogies, hence my interest in this project. Aside my teaching roles, I am also keen on raising awareness about the mental health issues that affect learning, and how these problems can be addressed through appropriate channels. Therefore, my role in this project involves creating an enabling (digital) environment for PGR teachers to share pedagogic practices, whilst offering guidance and support to colleagues alike.

I’m Kate, a final year PhD student in Life Sciences, looking at the role lambs play in spread of disease within sheep flocks. My main teaching interest is quantitative skills and helping make coding seem accessible to students from all backgrounds. Throughout my time at Warwick, I have been involved in demonstrating in several modules, from first year quantitative skills in Life Sciences to MSc level methods and analysis used in behavioural sciences, as well as providing individual support as a QuBIC mentor. The APP PGR course gave me the opportunity to achieve Associate Fellow HEA status, and to explore different teaching methods, and I am hoping to use my role in this project to explore how PGR teachers feel about current teaching roles, particularly as lab demonstrators, and their awareness of training opportunities at the University.

Kate Lewis

Life Sciences

Liz Bishop

Engineering

I’m Liz, a final year PhD student in Engineering, researching Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing). I mainly teach Engineering Design to the undergraduates in Engineering. I also help run the Engineering Build Space in the School of Engineering – a community Maker Space, where I provide informal teaching, support and maintenance. I love this side of the teaching, as students often get much more out of an informal chat, working on personal projects that they find interesting.

I'm Matt, a second year PhD student in the School of Life Sciences. I have been interested in education policy and teaching for a while and currently co-convene a scientific skills module which teaches undergraduate students core scientific skills from writing lab reports to presenting data, whilst also implementing other aspects such as career development and specific masterclasses. I became involved in this project because I believe that the specific teaching pedagogies developed and used by Life Scientists are unique and very useful, and should be shared with other PGR teachers outside of the Life Science community. Vice-versa, I believe that science PGR teachers have a lot we can learn from our colleagues in other departments such as the social sciences and humanities, as well as the other natural sciences. In parallel to this, I am very engaged with mental health awareness and am looking to make sure PGR teachers and other non-PGR teachers have access to support and can discuss any problems with those in similar situations. My involvement in the project hopes to aid in establishing a space for sharing continuing professional development opportunities for PGR teachers and developing an exchange of valuable pedagogic practices between PGRs who teach.

Matt Harwood

Life Science

Matteo Mazzamurro

Computer Science

I’m Matteo, a third year PhD student in Urban Science. My main research interests are the population dynamics of systems of cities and the spatiotemporal modelling of social media data. My interest in teaching arose during my Master’s, when I was given the chance to help first-year students with Mathematics modules. During my PhD I went on to be a teaching assistant in Logic, Formal Methods, and other Mathematics modules, and to achieve an Associate Fellowship HEA through APP PGR. I became involved in this project because I think that PGRs who teach, despite playing an important role connecting students and lecturers, have surprisingly few opportunities to connect to one other. My role in the project is designing a buddy scheme that will allow PGRs who teach similar modules to meet and discuss, exchange feedback and tips on their teaching practices, and thus engage in continuous improvement of their pedagogy.

I’m Pierre and I’m a final year PhD candidate in History. I’ve been a seminar tutor for 3 years: I previously taught the first year core module ‘Making of the Modern World’ and this year I’m teaching ‘Britain in the 20^th Century’. I have been responsible for first year study skills sessions and led/co-led various student-led research projects (‘Memories of Binley Colliery’, ‘Then & Now: Arts at Warwick’, and ‘Student Research Portfolio’). I’m currently the Arts Faculty Student Experience Intern. I completed APP PGR and am working towards the PGA TLHE follow-up. I got involved with the PGR teachers project because, having found teaching so rewarding, I’m passionate about ensuring future tutors have similarly positive experiences. I really enjoyed courses such as APP PGR (in terms of learning and the people I met) and want to increase awareness of these opportunities. I hope the project lays the foundations for a greater sense of community amongst PGR teachers across the whole university, whatever their department or role, in terms of sharing practice, offering guidance and support, informal socialising, and more. My role focuses on pulling the project’s different strands together on our various platforms such as Sitebuilder and Moodle.

Pierre Botcherby

History

Sahar Shah

Law

I’m Sahar, a third year PhD candidate at the University of Warwick's Law School studying Indigenous environmental and climate justice legal cases in Canada. I am interested in academic events and practices that challenge existing compartments of education – in this spirit, I have co-organised several academic events that have experimented with format, including a 2-day virtual climate justice-focused conference (Disruption, Decarbonisation, Reparations) in September, 2020. In collaboration with Indigenous Environmental Network and two other Warwick colleagues, I am working to create an open source curricula that turns a critical lens on the “compartments” that comprise a traditional legal university education in the UK, in the context of anti-colonial and anti-racist approaches to environmental and climate justice. As part of the PGR Digital Teacher Hub, I am collating existing research on ED&I issues that affect PGR teachers, and am hoping to combine this with new findings gleaned through our PGR Teachers survey. 

I’m Sara, a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Academic Development Centre. As a department, we are responsible for supporting and developing teachers at Warwick and offer a range of professional learning opportunities for colleagues with varying levels of experience. I have particular responsibility for the development of postgraduates who teach and manage several programmes which offer both development in pedagogy and practice, and lead to recognised qualifications and teaching statuses. I am passionate about the PGR teacher community, and advocate for them within the wider University, across departments, within the committee structure and with HR. I know that PGR teachers offer a unique perspective and pedagogy which makes a huge difference to Warwick students which is why I applied for WIHEA funding to give a space and a voice to this community. Alongside my work with PGRs, I am involved in several pedagogic research projects, external examining and provide consultancy and support through the LDCU. As a WIHEA Foundation Fellow, I aim to support the parity of esteem for teachers at Warwick and enable a dialogue between peers to improve and develop practice. Fundamentally, I think teaching is great! 

Sara Hattersley

Academic Development Centre