DTA Summer School 2025
Sunday 13-07-2025 - 12:39
Discover the highlights of the DTA Summer School hosted at the University of Derby from 2nd to 4th July.
Rabia A, DTA Programme Training Manager
The Summer School is our flagship in-person training event, held annually in July. Each year, it takes place at one of the DTA member universities, bringing together DTA researchers from across the country alongside training staff for three days of learning, collaboration, and networking. This year, we were delighted to be hosted by the University of Derby. The event was made possible through the unwavering support of the DTA Future Societies Co-Directors, DTA Training Programme members, and our colleagues at the University of Derby, all of whom played a key role in its success. The overarching theme of this year’s Summer School programme was Influence and Leadership, with every session, workshop, and activity thoughtfully designed to explore and reinforce this focus.
Each year, we host an online competition as part of the Summer School, open to all DTA researchers, regardless of whether they attend the event in person. This year’s Images of Research competition centred around the theme ‘Research in Action’. Participants were invited to upload a photo to Padlet that visually represented their research and its impact—or potential impact—at the individual, local, national, or international level. Each image was accompanied by a title and a brief caption, both designed to clearly convey the connection between the image and the research it represents.
Summer School Day-One 2nd July
The programme opened with an inspiring keynote by Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby, who shared her career journey and reflections on stepping into leadership within academia.
Following the keynote, DTA researchers engaged in a creative icebreaker activity using Rudyard Kipling’s Six Honest Serving-Men (What, Why, When, How, Where, Who), as a reflective lens. Participants were invited to share a recent PGR development activity they had undertaken during their PhD. The aim was to foster peer connection, highlight the breadth of engagement across the cohort, and encourage researchers to articulate the impact of their experiences. The session revealed a rich tapestry of activities, including writing book reviews, engaging with the public about their research, collaborating with international stakeholders, and attending academic conferences. This icebreaker effectively set the tone for the rest of the programme, planting the seed for researchers to use the Kipling framework as a tool for understanding the influence of their engagement activities during PhD and planning for impact beyond academia. The framework continued to surface throughout the subsequent workshops, reinforcing its value as a guide for reflection, planning, and action.
The next workshop, Intersectionality and Next Steps: Improving ‘Routes Out’ Support for Doctoral Researchers, was delivered by Dr Alice Storey and Dr Jacqueline Taylor from Birmingham City University. The session captivated participants by encouraging them to reflect on post-PhD pathways through an intersectional lens. Drawing on Dr Storey’s research into the experiences of working-class academics, the workshop highlighted how intersecting identities shape access to opportunities and career progression. Dr Taylor also introduced BCU’s That’s Me project, which aims to eliminate barriers to postgraduate research study in the West Midlands.
The following two sessions were facilitated by DTA researchers: both current and alumni. Dominique De-Light, a current DTA Future Societies researcher from Anglia Ruskin University and a wellbeing coach with over twenty years of experience, led the workshop Re-discover Your Purpose: Feeling Lost? Not Sure What to Do After Your PhD? This session guided participants through a values-based reflection, helping them reconnect with what matters most and align their research and career aspirations with their personal motivations. The final session of the day featured three DTA alumni who shared their post-PhD job search experiences and career journeys. Their insights offered practical advice and reassurance to current researchers preparing for life beyond the PhD.
The programme also featured one-to-one support sessions for PGRs, led by Dr Arun Ulahannan, who, along with his academic role at Coventry University, also co-hosts the How to PhD podcast and has supported thousands of doctoral researchers worldwide throughout their PhD journeys. Held in parallel with selected workshops, these sessions provided an invaluable opportunity for personalised coaching and guidance.
The day concluded with a relaxed social gathering at Base Camp, Derby Student Union, where participants enjoyed drinks and refreshments—an opportunity to unwind, connect, and reflect on the day’s learning.
Summer School Day-Two 3rd July
Day two began with an inspiring keynote delivered by DTA Future Societies Co-Directors, Dr Arun Ulahannan (Coventry University) and Professor Sarah Cooper (Birmingham City University). Both shared their motivations for pursuing a PhD, the stories behind their chosen research topics, and their career trajectories following completion, offering valuable insights into life beyond the doctorate.
The highlight of the day was the DTA Researcher Showcase Presentations—a much-anticipated opportunity for DTA researchers to present their work to peers and academics across the DTA network. These conference-style presentations are designed to help researchers practise communicating their research to a non-specialist audience. Researchers enthusiastically attend these presentations each year. A breather exercise led by Caroline Kocel, DTA Future Societies Researcher at ARU and yoga instructor, was planned right before the presentations to help participants reduce their presentation anxiety.
This year’s Researcher Showcase adopted a Three Minute Thesis inspired format, with some adaptations. The theme focused on research impact beyond academia, prompting researchers to consider the stakeholders and beneficiaries of their work as well as the relevance of their projects to the UN’s SDGs which is the focus of the Future Societies programme. The session offered a valuable space to begin thinking about how their research can create real-world change. Following the presentations, Professor Sarah Cooper facilitated a peer-reflection and feedback session. Participants discussed key takeaways, identified areas for development, and shared best practices. Reflections were captured on a Padlet, which can be accessed here.
The final session of day two was delivered by the Research Impact Team at the University of Derby, led by Dr Lenore Thompson. The team highlighted the importance of planning for and evaluating research impact during PhD.
An optional team-building activity followed at the University of Derby Sports Centre Climbing Wall, which several researchers enthusiastically took part in. The day concluded with an evening social at a local Turkish restaurant, providing a relaxed setting for DTA researchers, programme staff, and DTA Training Group members to connect informally and continue building relationships across the network.
Summer School Day-Three 4th July
The third and final day of the Summer School took place at the Museum of Making, Italian Mill—an inspiring setting that blended creativity with reflection.
The first workshop combined a walk through the museum with a writing exercise that invited researchers to explore their projects through the lens of post-humanism. Participants were encouraged to identify an object within the museum that resonated with their research in some way, and use it as a prompt to write about their topic from a fresh, imaginative perspective. The session offered a creative space to engage with post-humanist theory and rethink the relationship between research, objects, and meaning. Researchers then shared their reflections in small groups, fostering dialogue and insight.
The second workshop was led by the founders of EmpoweR Stats Clinic: Lira Lewis, a DTA Future Societies researcher from Anglia Ruskin University, and her colleague Jen Muir. EmpoweR is a free, peer-to-peer service supporting postgraduates with statistical and data visualisation challenges in R. Both co-founders exemplify PGR leadership, and their session inspired attendees to recognise leadership opportunities within their own doctoral journeys and consider how they might make a meaningful impact.
The final workshop of the Summer School, Quiet Leadership? Four Values of Creativity, was facilitated by Dr Andrew Rawnsley from Teesside University. This session explored the connection between creativity and leadership, and how creative thinking can shape one’s ability to influence others. Through a participatory exercise, researchers reflected on their own ‘quiet leadership’ potential using the framework What, How, Who—considering who has inspired them and how, what aspects they would like to imitate and emulate, and the kind of influence they hope to have in their own leadership journey during the PhD.
The Summer School concluded on the afternoon of Friday, 4th July, with researchers bidding farewell and exchanging promises to stay in touch with peers from across the DTA network—closing the event on a note of connection, inspiration, and PGR community.
Photos taken during the three day event are available to view here.
