Postgraduate Research Representation

The voice of Postgraduate Research (PGR) students is just as important to the Students' Union and the University as all other modes of study. Therefore, the Students' Union and the University are working closely together to ensure that this voice is collected, as well as heard.

There are many ways in which a PGR student can get involved with the development of their experience, including being a representative.

The main aim of a PGR Representative is to represent the PGR student community at the relevant board/committee, so ensuring that any positive or negative feedback is heard and responded to.

 

Responsibilities

A PGR Representative is expected to perform the following duties:

• Contact members of the PGR community for any issues, questions, announcements or feedback that can be highlighted at the relevant board/committee;
• Report any outcome to the student or community where necessary;
• Liaise with other Representatives about the content of the relevant board/committee;

 

Commitment

For those with a Research Degree Board/Research Degree Committee position, you should:

• Attend meetings and be able to commit to a minimum of three throughout the academic year;
• Attend Research Student Committee meetings.

 

For those with a Students' Union Executive Committee position, you should:

• Attend monthly Student Council meetings;
• Attend monthly Executive Committee meetings.

 

 

Committees for PGR Representatives

Research Degree Boards and Committee

There are four subject-based Research Degrees Boards (RDBs) and the University-wide Research Degrees Committee (RDC), each of which meets regularly throughout the year to discuss matters relating to the student experience, researcher development and postgraduate research policies. The RDBs and RDC are populated by experienced supervisors and researchers, along with PGR Representatives.

The University and Faculty Research and Enterprise Committees do not deal with PGR matters directly, but still have student representatives.

Please click this link to download the terms of reference and membership of every Research Degrees Board, the Research Degrees Committee and the Research Ethics Committee, as well as a diagram of the committee structure.

The following table outlines the current representatives for each committee, together with any vacancies.

 

University Committee	Student Rep
Research and Enterprise Committee	Sue Palmer-Hill Mode: Part-time Degree: DProfPrac Faculty: Health and Society   Imane Tiahi Mode: Full-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Education and Humanities
Research Degrees Committee	Anthony Stepniak Mode: Part-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Education and Humanities   Shalini Bisani Mode: Full-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Faculty: Business and Law
Arts & Humanities Research Degree Board	Meghann Hillier-Broadley Mode: Part-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Education and Humanities   Francis Blore Mode: Part-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Arts, Science and Technology
Business & Education Research Degree Board	Taher Sahibi Mode: Full-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Business and Law   Vacancy (Faculty: Education and Humanities)
Science Research Degree Board	Charlotte Brooke Mode: Part-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Health and Society   Vacancy (Faculty: Arts, Science and Technology)
Social Science Research Degree Board	Melissa Symonds Mode: Part-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Health and Society   Vacancy
Research Ethics Committee	Dan Jones Mode: Part-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Education and Humanities   Djamel Benchaib Mode: Full-time Degree: PhD Faculty: Education and Humanities

 

Students' Union Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is run solely by Northampton students and meets monthly to discuss all issues relating to the student experience, academic quality and Union engagement.

 

Students' Union Committee	Student Rep
Executive Committee – Postgraduate Students' Officer (Research)	Vacancy

 

How to apply for a role

Each role is an elected position. Just click on the vacancy you are interested in for more information.

Note: The elections for the University Committees and Research Degree Boards are facilitated by the Students' Union, but are not currently part of the formal Students' Union structure.