PGR Networking Fund

Apply now for up to £300 from the Doctoral College Networking Fund. The Fund is available to bring PGRs together (both online and in person); to educate, stimulate or support (even to meet to have a laugh or do something creative together); to challenge. Whatever it is that you need to bring people together and let other people know that you are doing it.

All applications will be reviewed and successful bids will usually be notified within four working weeks. If we have any further questions or we need further details about the application we will contact you.

Applications which include a contribution secured from another source (e.g. departments) will be considered more favourably.

Submit your application form

Queries to: doctoralcollege@warwick.ac.uk (Please put down 'PGR networking fund' as the 'subject' of your email.)

What do we expect?

We expect your networks and events can:

bring PGRs together, create dialogues, and promote friendship
educate, stimulate or support each other
make our PGR community a more inclusive and supportive one!

We hope to see in your application:

sustainability of the network - will your event(s) help create and sustain the network?
inclusivity and diversity of your events - whom will your event(s) benefit?

We ask you to complete a short report after your event.

Examples of things we can fund include:

Speaker(s) travel costs,
Prizes/incentives,

Facilitators or expert in an area to lead events,
Refreshments,
Entrance fee to a venue/event,
Resources for reading groups,
List not exhaustive

Examples of things we do not fund include:

promotional materials
event packs
conference attendance

Guidance to applicants:

Levels of support we can provide for catering:

Tea & coffee only

Roots grocery reimbursement - suitable for but limited to smaller scale events like series of seminars/reading groups.

It might not be funding you need to arrange your event. We can help in other ways :

Room bookings- if you are struggling to find a suitable room for your event. We are aware of spaces on campus that are bookable that might be useful for your network or event. We can help put you in touch with colleagues in the university who may also be able to support.

Promotion- If you want help to promote your Network to the wider PGR audience, we can help do this via PGR newsletters, X (Twitter), Doctoral College website, emails to departments. Get in touch with us to see how we can support.

Refreshments- The Doctoral College has hot water flasks and tea/coffee that PGRs can use for network meetings. If you would like to use any of this, please contact us to arrange.

Funded events in 2023-24

Applied Linguistics Teacher Education Development Network

Members of the Applied Linguistics Teacher Education Development Network met on Monday 12th June 2023 for a lunchtime meeting thanks to funding from the Doctoral College Network Fund. This was the first face-to-face meeting of the network as the usual format was online meetings due to the pandemic. The meeting was attended by 7 existing members and 3 prospective members. The meeting was enjoyed by all those that attended and considered to be a valuable opportunity to discuss their current research projects in an informal and supportive setting. A member had also passed their viva a month earlier and discussed their experience of the process. 2 members have also become parents and shared their stories of undertaking research and parenthood. The event feedback was positive in that the 3 prospective members have all signed up to become members of the network. The network will resume online monthly meetings in the new academic year and continue to support researchers focusing on teacher education.

Wits and Treats: WIT End-of-year event

An in-person networking event which attracted 26 PhD students from Applied Linguistics, Psychology, Computer Science, and School of Modern Languages and Cultures.

With several interactive activities, including Find Someone Who..., Back to the Board, WIT Network Introduction, Lunch Chat, Decorating Gingerbread, Prize Draw, which provided the participants an interactive space to network and learn from each other.

The overarching goal for this event was to bring PhD researchers who do research related to spoken data and interactional analysis together to share insights and build up connection, hence to foster a sense of community for the interactional researchers based at Warwick. The objectives include getting participants experience the importance of interaction, build up friendship, complete the activities, and enjoy a relaxing time after a busy term. We believe that we have reached all the goals and objectives, since all participants showed their laughing faces and heated chats during our events with their PhD fellows.

This event could only be realised with Doctoral College’s Networking Fund. It was Doctoral College’s support at all dimensions that made this event a success.

Return to the PhD Life root page.