York Research Supervisor Workshops

12 October 2026, 12 noon to 1pm (online)

Bringing supervisors together for impactful conversations that further the development of supervisory skills and practice is at the heart of peer mentoring circles for research supervisors at York. Through sharing experiences, tackling real issues, and challenging each other’s thinking, participants can forge new relationships, increase understanding of the wider university context and build knowledge and confidence in their supervisory practice. In this session Dr Julia Rayner, RSVP Mentoring Coordinator, will cover how the programme will work (including key dates), how it can help you and how you can apply.

• Audience: All interested research supervisors from all disciplines and levels of experience (including principal, co- or assistant supervisors)
• Facilitator: Dr Julia Rayner, RSVP Mentoring Coordinator, Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), University of York

Find out more and apply for Peer Mentoring Circles for Research Supervisors at York.

Book your place: Information session for Supervisor Peer Mentoring Circles

In-person series: 28 October, 10.30am to 12 noon, and 3 November, 1.30pm to 3pm (Church Lane Building)

Online series: 20 November, 11.30am to 1pm, and 7 December, 11.30am to 1pm (Zoom)

Consisting of two sessions and brief interim reflective work, this new series has been developed in collaboration with RSVP to support research supervisors in responding to the needs of PGRs from marginalised backgrounds (e.g. ethnic minority, disability, sexual orientation). It adopts an intersectional lens (considering mainly PGRs who possess multiple marginalised identities) to enable supervisors to be better equipped with the range of PGRs that they will engage with.

The sessions integrate findings from research studies performed by the University of York’s EDI Research Centre including focus groups with PGRs who have intersectional identities, and will guide supervisors through the lived experience of marginalised PGRs before supporting them to develop an understanding of how supervision practice can be tailored to these lived experiences.

This is a pilot for the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), and it is new for 2026/27. The online series is open to research supervisors across the five consortium institutions: University of York, Coventry University, King’s College London, Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Nottingham.

• Audience: Supervisors who currently supervise, or intend to supervise, PGRs from marginalised backgrounds (these can include both minoritised international and home students although some of the content – e.g. early educational experiences – is more applicable to minoritised home students).
• Facilitators: Dr Karisha Kimone George, Director, EDI Research Centre, University of York

Book your in-person place: Culturally aware research supervision

Book your online place: Culturally aware research supervision

2 November 2026, 11am to 12 noon (online)
1 March 2027, 10am to 11am (online)

This session is for those supervisors who would like their supervision practice to be formally recognised. The UKCGE Supervision Recognition Programme is designed to provide a route by which PhD supervisors at all levels can achieve recognition of their professional practice (either through the associate route for those with less experience, or full recognition for more experienced supervisors). Supervisors will be introduced to the UKCGE Good Supervisory Practice Framework and encouraged to reflect and identify how their practice meets the criteria. Those supervisors who wish to develop evidence for submission will be supported through the process.

• Audience: Supervisors with two or more successful supervisions through to completion
• Facilitators: Dr Karen Clegg, Co-PI of the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP) and Reader in Doctoral Education and Practice, School for Arts and Creative Technologies (ACT)

This introductory session is part of a pilot programme for recognition for the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP). 

Book your place: Gaining recognition for your supervisory practice

5 November 2026, 2pm to 3.30pm (CL/A/023, Church Lane Building)

This workshop arises from a multi-method study exploring racially minoritised PGRs’ understandings of and engagement with research culture at a UK university. Interviews with racially minoritised PGRs highlighted the supervisory relationship as the most significant factor shaping a successful doctoral experience and sense of belonging. In this workshop, we present guidance from a novel toolkit to enhance PGR supervisory practice, grounded in the interview data and co-developed with a wider group of racially minoritised PGRs. The toolkit is contextualised within a renewed model of doctoral supervision, informed by the critical pedagogy principles of collaboration, co-creation, and care. We draw on five principles: consistency, inclusivity, partnership, transparency, and lifecourse support, and provide specific tools for supervisors to bring about change within their supervisory practices.

This is a pilot session for the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP) and it is new for 2026/27.

• Audience: All interested research supervisors from all disciplines and levels of experience (including principal, co- or assistant supervisors)
• Facilitators: Sahana Arun Kumar, Research Associate and PhD student at the Department of 
  Education, University of York, and Dr Vanita Sundaram, Senior Lecturer and co-Head of the Department of Education, University of York

Book your place: Enhancing supervision for racially minoritised PGRs

10 November 2026, 2pm to 3.30pm (online)

Designed to help those new to doctoral supervision, this session will explore institutional structures, governance, and support relating to research supervision and provide a forum for supervisors to explore the requirements of supervisory practice at York. This will be supplemented with the broader context of doctoral supervision, including national frameworks, sector-wide developments, and the evolving doctoral landscape. 

• Audience: New supervisors from any discipline or those seeking a refresher
• Facilitator: Dr Karen Clegg, Co-PI of the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP) and Reader in Doctoral Education and Practice, School for Arts and Creative Technologies (ACT)

Book your place: Research Supervision 101

30 November 2026, 1pm to 2.30pm (online)

This session is designed to help research supervisors respond more effectively to the varied writing challenges PGRs may experience during the doctorate. The session focuses on the iterative nature of doctoral writing and highlights four dimensions that can contribute to writing difficulties: practical, emotional, motivational, and conceptual. Participants explore these challenges through scenarios and develop informed supervisory strategies.

This is a repeat session from the 2025/26 programme.

• Audience: All interested research supervisors from all disciplines and levels of experience (including principal, co- or assistant supervisors).
• Facilitator: Dr Roisin Astell, Digital Resource and Researcher Developer, Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), University of York

Book your place: Supporting PGRs with writing

10 December 2026, 1.30pm to 3pm (RCH Lakehouse, Campus East)

How we manage responsibilities, approach tasks, process information and collaborate with others is revealing of our strengths. This workshop explores research supervisors' strengths, when they might get in the way and how to leverage them to work effectively with others in the supervisory team.

This is a pilot session for the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP) and it is new for 2026/27.

• Audience: All interested research supervisors from all disciplines and levels of experience (including principal, co- or assistant supervisors)
• Facilitator: Dr Julia Rayner, Mentoring Coordinator, Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), University of York

Book your place: What our ways of working tell us about our strengths

14 January 2027, 1.30pm to 3.30pm (CL/A/023, Church Lane Building)

This interactive session focuses on dialogic partnerships. We will explore how active listening and effective questioning can help research supervisors hold clearer, more productive conversations that support doctoral candidates to critically explore new ways of thinking and develop independence.

This is a pilot session for the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP).

Important note: Session content is based on RSVP's Starting Strong 2026 pilot programme. If you took part in this programme, please do not register for this session as it covers content you will already be familiar with.

• Audience: All interested research supervisors from all disciplines and levels of experience (including principal, co- or assistant supervisors)
• Facilitators: Dr Roisin Astell, Digital Resource and Researcher Developer, and Dr Julia Rayner, Mentoring Coordinator, Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), University of York

Book your place: Effective supervisory conversations that encourage criticality in doctorate candidates

4 February 2027, 2pm to 3.30pm (online)
17 May 2027, 10am to 11.30am (online)

This workshop provides an overview of the pedagogy of research supervision which is the Good Supervisory Practice Framework area that supervisors consistently feel less confident about. In this session, we will provide a general oversight of models of supervision (Gatfield, Adair, Proctor, Lee); theories (experiential learning, reflective practice, communities of practice) and data (PRES, UKRSS, etc) related to supervisory practice and the doctoral experience.

This session is part of a pilot programme for recognition for the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP).

• Audience: Supervisors with two or more successful supervisions through to completion (including ECRs/‘informal’ supervisors) who wish to apply for formal recognition. Those responsible for doctoral programmes, such as programme leads, Heads of Department, and Graduate Faculty Leads, may also find this session beneficial as a standalone refresher.
• Facilitator: Dr Karen Clegg, Co-PI of the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP) and Reader in Doctoral Education and Practice, School for Arts and Creative Technologies (ACT)

Book your place: Pedagogy on research supervision