In addition to our Researcher Development Programme we organise and support a number of other events and initiatives, designed to bring together as many researchers as possible from across the University. These include:

• Our October and February welcome events for new postgraduate researchers
• Monthly one-day academic writing retreats and an annual Thesis Boot Camp to support focused writing
• Festival events each June, celebrating and showcasing PGR research to the wider University
• Spotlight on Researchers series, where we interview PGRs on their research journey and share their story.

We provide support for you to organise your own professional development and public engagement events via our Researcher-Led Initiative Fund, and we are keen to sponsor initiatives that benefit a broad range of researchers.

We also support Excursions - an online, interdisciplinary journal run by PGRs at Sussex. Excursions is designed to offer postgraduate researchers from all disciplines the opportunity to join a journal editorial team, and develop skills in editing, peer-review, and team working.

The Research Hive, located on the second floor of the library, is a dedicated space for postgraduate researchers and research staff. It contains desks and PCs for private study, and two bookable meeting rooms. Three Research Hive Scholars support the area while engaging with and fostering the research community at Sussex.

Follow the Research Hive on Twitter @SussexResHive and read their blog to find out about the latest events and availability.

Engaging with other researchers through online forums will increase the reach of your research, and provide some helpful peer support.

Ensure your Elements profile is up to date, and register for an ORCID to help track your work.

There are many ways to connect with other researchers:

• #phdchat on X - This hashtag on X (formerly Twitter) is a useful stream to discover what other PGRs are up to. There are similar communities on Bluesky and other social media platforms.
• Academia.edu is a platform for sharing and following research. You can upload and share your papers, presentations and experiences, and connect with other researchers.
• ResearchGate provides a similar platform for researchers in the sciences.

There are also many blogs dedicated to the topic of postgraduate research. A few to get you started include:

• Sussex Research Hive - the blog produced by our Hive Scholars
• The Thesis Whisperer (also includes a list of 'more like us' blogs)
• The Research Whisperer
• Patter - Pat Thomson, Professor of Education at University of Nottingham, on research education, academic writing, public engagement, funding, and other PhD eccentricities.

All PGRs have the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences at Sussex via the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES). The survey was last run in 2023.

PGRs are also represented on various University committees by the PGR Reps, who use these positions to communicate the views and interests of their peers. Find out more about the Student Rep Scheme and PGR Governance.

In Season 2 of a new podcast from the University of Leeds, Research Culture Uncovered, conversations are revolving around what is Research Culture and why does it matter?

The first podcast episode of season 2 follows a conversation with a number of presenters from the Researcher Education and Development Scholarship International Conference of 2022. The podcast host, Tony Bromley, explains the background to the conference and talks you through the 11 podcasts upcoming in the season including the main aspects of research culture that each conversation will cover.