I’m Cherisse, a second year PhD student in the Law School. My research examines the framing of trafficking in persons in the Anglophone Caribbean and the Global North impacts on that. My teaching portfolio includes criminal law seminars in the law school for first year undergraduate students and Active Bystander Intervention Courses as a part of the Community Values Education Program (CVEP) team. I have also assisted with facilitating some seminars for Master of Laws (LLM) students on their dissertation writing module. Completing the APP PGR course broadened my understanding of what teaching and pedagogy means for both teachers and learners. As a result I became much more interested in how I could improve the teaching experience for myself and my peers so that we can be better for our students. Since coming to Warwick, I have also immersed myself in as ED&I matters and SSLC as well as widening participation outreach with Sutton Trust Summer School and Warwick Scholars. All these roles have given me opportunities to hear the struggles and concerns of GTA teachers and students. I am keen to help resolve some of these challenges by providing more and better resources for GTAs.

Cherisse Francis Law

Imogen Knox History

I’m Imogen, a second year PhD researcher in the History department. My work centres on early modern suicidality, and I have broader research interests in mental health, wellbeing, and the supernatural. During my second year I taught a 30 CATS module on medieval history to second year students, and also a compulsory skills course for first years to help with their transition to university. I look forward to teaching early modern history during my third year. In the past year I participated in the APP PGR programme, and achieved Associate Fellow status with HEA. I intend to complete the Postgraduate Award in Teaching and Learning in HE during my third year. My teaching is primarily informed by enthusiasm for the subject matter, something which I am keen to share with my students. I am also very interested in the experience and treatment of GTAs within the HE institution, something which I will be exploring further in this role.

I’m Matthew Abbey, a second year PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warwick. I am studying the role of cultural production within queer migration in Europe. I have also been a teaching assistant for a number of courses on human rights and media studies. I recently completed the APP PGR course and subsequently achieved Associate Fellow HEA status. Subsequently, I plan on enrolling in the Postgraduate Award in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. I have a strong interest in interdisciplinary learning, especially within groups. In particular, I am influenced by the pedagogies involved with ‘Mapping Controversies’, a type of academic course stemming from the writings of Bruno Latour that focuses upon the processes of gaining knowledge. I am also interested in exploring the way the creativity of neurodivergence might be embraced within academia, especially challenging what is typically regarded as data and finding ways of creative praxis that offer new ways of engaging with knowledge production.

Matthew Abbey Sociology

Shakira Abd Rahman Education Studies

I'm Shakira, a third year PhD candidate in the Department of Education Studies. I have previously taught English to English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in high school and several higher education institutions in Malaysia before embarking on my PhD journey at the University of Warwick in 2019. I am currently researching ways in which English language teaching pedagogies can be innovated to engage inhibited, low proficiency ESL learners in Malaysia. In this research I endeavoured to create a potentially 'safe (digital) space' for the learners in order to help them tackle their language anxiety. I am also particularly interested in reflective practice and I believe that teachers need to have a space to reflect upon both positive and negative experiences in the teaching and learning as this could help improve the way they work and better engage their learners. I became involved in this project because I think that PGRs who teach need to be supported through the provision of a proper, easily accessible platform so that they could have the opportunities to reflect on their practice and connect with one another which are vital for their unique role.

I’m Sophie, a third-year PhD student and Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Engineering. My research focuses on surface treatments of silicon for photovoltaics. My background is in chemistry/materials science, but I teach on modules in Systems Engineering, mainly focusing on MATLAB/Simulink programming and engineering mathematics. I completed the APP PGR course last year, achieving Associate Fellow of the HEA status. I’m currently undertaking the PGA in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

Sophie Pain Engineering

Will Carroll English

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 20th 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

Sara Hattersley Academic Development Centre

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!