Doctoral College Training

The Doctoral College run several events throughout the year that give you an introduction to the research community at Queen Mary as well as chance to develop new skills and meet and collaborate with other researchers. 

Queen Mary PGR Student Induction

Queen Mary's PGR Student Induction is open to all beginning PGR students. Induction runs three times a year, once at the beginning of each semester. It is a chance for the Doctoral College to welcome you formally. You will be able to meet the Director of the Doctoral College as well as the faculties Deputy Deans for Postgraduate Research and find out more about the life of a PGR student at Queen Mary and the training and support you can expect to receive.

Induction

Induction typically runs in October and January. 

To register for the next induction, please go to CPD Training System and search for ‘PGR Induction’. 

Registered attendees will then be sent the session link on the day before the session. 

The session slides from induction are available on the PGR Induction page. 

Skills Weeks

Skills Weeks provide specific researcher development training tailored to a specific stage of PGR research. Not only will these help you to make the most out of your time as PGR student, but you will have the chance to meet, chat and work with fellow PGR students from different disciplines across Queen Mary. Skills Weeks split training across the course of a week so that you can attend as much of the training as possible. The move to Skills Weeks instead of days is in response to feedback that it can be difficult to block out an entire day for training. 

Early Stage Skills Week - First Year Foundations

This week of training sessions is designed specifically for first year PGRs. This will help you gain an understanding of the doctoral process, the skills you need to succeed in your doctorate – and beyond! – and how to navigate this process in a way that works for you. 

2025/26 dates: 3 - 6 November 2025 - book onto Early Stage Skills Weeks sessions via the CPD Training System.

Middle Stage Skills Week: Mid-stages Motivation

This week of events will help you, as a second year PGR, gain an understanding how to navigate the middle stage of the doctorate successfully.

2025/26 dates: TBC 

Late Stage Skills Week- Completing Successfully

The Late Stage Skills Week focuses on helping PGRs develop plans and strategies to complete their doctorates successfully.

2025/26 date: TBC

Writing Up Stage Skills Week- Setting Up for Success

The Writing Up Stage Skills Week focuses on helping PGRs develop plans and strategies to complete their doctorates successfully.

2025/26 dates: 2-5 September 2025 - book onto Writing Up Stage Skills Week sessions via the CPD Training System.

 

Three Minute Thesis (3MT)

The Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition was founded by and originally run at the University of Queensland, Australia. It since has grown to involve local and national competitions all over the world.  In the UK the competition is run by Vitae and sponsored by The Taylor & Francis Group. The rules are simple: PGRs get up to 3 minutes to present their thesis research, using no jargon, no props, and only a single, static slide.

The Doctoral College is thrilled to announce that our 2025 QM Finalist, Mariam Hammoud (SBM) was one of the Vitae national semi-finalists! This puts Mariam in the top 12 contestants in the UK and Ireland.

You can watch Mariam's video - along with the other QM participants from 2025 -  on our QMPlus 3MT page. You can also see our blog post for complete details of the 2025 competition.

Dates and times for the 2026 training and competition will be available early in Semester 1.