This June saw the third regional PRASH (Postgraduate Research in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities) conference travel to Edge Hill University in Ormskirk. 74 postgraduate researchers attended the conference and feedback shows they regarded their overall experience of the day very highly (average 4.5 out of 5). The North West-based universities were well represented at the conference and we also had delegates from Southampton, Keele, the Open University and even Colorado State University!
Conference delegates were warmly welcomed by Prof Bill Bruce, Pro-Vice Chancellor at Edge Hill. Dr Mark Llewellyn, Faculty Director of Postgraduate Research (Humanities and Social Sciences) at the University of Liverpool then gave a fascinating keynote speech about ‘The Value of a PhD'. The afternoon sessions were devoted to interactive skills training workshops on subjects such as speed reading, succeeding as a part-time researcher and managing the relationship with your supervisor. The full conference pack detailing all of the sessions and presentations at PRASH 2010 is available to download from www.vitae.ac.uk/prash2010.
Participants were given the opportunity to present their research as either a spoken or poster presentation. Individual feedback on their performance was sent out to each consenting researcher after the conference - a valuable service provided by Vitae to develop their communication skills for future presentations.
The Vitae NW Hub was proud to sponsor the prizes for the best spoken and poster presentations so we would like to congratulate our winners:
Winners: Best spoken presentation
- Michelle Liptrot (University of Bolton) for "Old Punks Never Die, They Stand at the Back!" - An Investigation of Continued Commitment to British DIY Punk Subculture
- Joann Kiernan (Manchester Metropolitan University) for Safe in their community
- Ray Physick (University of Central Lancashire) for The Football Art of L.S. Lowry
- Susan Graves (Liverpool John Moores University) for Using Computer Mediated Communication as a Data Collection Method
- Russell Bennett (Liverpool John Moores University) for Does Leadership Self Awareness and Emotional Intelligence Support Successful Conflict Management within the Construction Industry
- Julia Bennett (University of Manchester) for Picturing Belonging
Winner: Best poster presentation
- Sabina Shah (University of Manchester) for Islamic Feminism and Its Role in Cinema
Runners-up: Best poster presentation
- Latifa Patel (University of Liverpool) for Does administering a parent reported outcome measure during the annual review process improve the self efficacy of the carer of a child with cystic fibrosis? A pilot study
- Christine Turner (Liverpool John Moores University) for Re-Painting the Nude
When asked about their experiences at PRASH 2010, delegates were extremely positive:
- "I picked up lots of useful ideas i.e. how to present a poster, and how to/not to present a paper for effect. It made me feel more enthused and engaged as a researcher, and a little less isolated. I'm glad attention was paid to the part-time experience."
- "Very valuable and worthwhile, an excellent opportunity to meet others in a similar position and share experiences."
- "Everyone was friendly and there was a real feel of togetherness where everyone was able to talk with one another and discuss their subject areas."
- "The workshops were invaluable - I have already put the lessons into practice and they are great!"
- "I think you would be hard pushed to improve on what was clearly a great success."
- "I find that these sessions provide a moral boost to get me through my studies."
- "I think it offers so much in terms of professional and personal development - opportunity to present and discuss your work and gain advice on various aspects of doing a PhD. On the personal level, research can be an isolating experience and so networking or even simply talking to others who are in the same position is immensely helpful (and reassuring)."
We hope to run PRASH again in 2011 and are planning to expand the subjects covered at the conference to include those in educational research. For further details about the conference or to be contacted when the conference is confirmed, email us at nwhub@vitae.ac.uk.