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RSVP Newsletter: July/August 2026

  • 3 days ago
  • 6 min read

📣 Call for contributions: RSVP International Research Supervision Conference 2027

Submission deadline: Wednesday 30 September


Taking place next year, our inclusive, scholarly-based conference will focus on transforming the culture and practice of research supervision in diverse contexts. Topics include, but are not restricted to:

  • Professional development for supervisors in HEIs and Industry

  • Recognition and value of supervision as part of a positive research culture

  • Team and collaborative supervision

  • Hidden curriculum of supervision

  • The ‘Next Generation’ of supervisors

  • Quality and consistency in supervision practice and experience

  • AI, social media and emerging technologies and their impact on supervision


Equity, diversity and inclusion are integral to all of these themes.


A variety of contributions are welcome, including your scholarly work, lived experiences, evidence-based practice, and blue-sky ideas.

Preparing your RSVP conference submission: top tips and writing clinic

Thursday 3 September, 1-2pm (BST), Zoom


For those considering submitting to the RSVP International Research Supervision Conference, we’re hosting a free online session to help prospective contributors develop their conference submissions.


Join us online as we walk through the conference submission criteria, offer perspectives on what reviewers will be looking for, share practical tips for developing a cohesive 300-word abstract, and give you time to work on your own proposal and ask questions.


This session is open to everyone considering submitting a proposal, and may be particularly useful if you are new to conference submissions. You don’t need to arrive with a completed abstract – an initial idea is enough!





New CPD opportunity for industry-based doctoral supervisors


One of the central RSVP aims is to explore and support the contributions and roles that industry supervisors provide to supervisory teams and postgraduate researchers experiences. To help achieve this, we’ve developed a professional development programme based on focus group data that we’re now ready to pilot with industry supervisors who are willing to engage and provide feedback. In exchange, we will provide opportunities to share ideas, reflect with colleagues and develop a deeper understanding of your supervisory practice (and lunch!)


Who can apply and get involved?


For the pilot, we're looking for industry-based supervisors who:


⚙️ Work in Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering (STEM) disciplines;

🎓 Have supervised up to (and no more than) three doctoral candidates to completion of their degree;

📝 Are currently supervising a doctoral candidate.


If you fit the bill and can join us in Birmingham on Friday 18 September, we’d love to hear from you!


Find out more and apply for this programme (applications close on Friday 28 August or once all places have been filled - whichever comes first).


Focus Group Report: Academic Research Supervisors


To build professional development that actually works, we began by listening to the people on the ground. We know that one size doesn’t fit all, and that’s why we conducted a series of focus groups in the first year of the project, exploring the doctoral supervisor experience from every angle - including an unprecedented look at industry-based supervisors, the challenges faced by Deans and Directors of Doctoral Schools, and a "deep dive" into the PGR experience based on PRES data.


The first of the focus group reports is now available and covers the voice of academic research supervisors. These findings have directly underpinned the design of Starting Strong: A Programme for New Research Supervisors and the professional development programme for industry supervisors, ensuring that both are fully grounded in the lived experiences of those engaged in research supervision.





RSVP resources launching from Autumn 2026


Over the past year, we’ve been researching, co-creating, and piloting professional development interventions for doctoral supervisors with an incredible network of Practitioner Partners. We’re in the process of digesting the feedback and completing revisions, and are delighted to announce that we’ll be making a staggered release of many of these free resources to the sector from Autumn 2026 through to Spring 2027.


Our core focus has been identifying, harnessing and translating supervision best practices into different cultural settings, putting peer-to-peer learning and reflective practice at the centre, while fostering communities of practice.





New UK Research Supervision Survey (UKRSS) fact sheet resources


In 2021, the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) conducted the first iteration of the UK Research Supervision Survey, with support from the Wellcome Trust and UKRI. It was open to all those involved in supervising doctoral candidates and provided them with an opportunity to share their attitudes and experiences of the role. In 2024, UKRSS was repeated in partnership with RSVP. The survey received 5,174 usable responses from supervisors across 141 institutions between 3 June and 16 July 2024.


Alongside the full UKRSS reports, we’re now pleased to share two fact sheets which distill key facts across two themes:





Three more thematic reports based on UKRSS data are on the way, more on that coming later this year! Also, a third iteration of UKRSS will be taking place in 2027.


Piloting updates


Starting Strong: Piloting a new approach to research supervisor development

We’ve reached an exciting milestone with the successful completion of the first pilot of Starting Strong: A Programme for New Research Supervisors.


Starting Strong was developed in response to a growing recognition that traditional supervisor induction often focuses on policies, procedures, and compliance requirements, while offering limited opportunities to explore the realities of supervisory practice. With this in mind, our team designed a programme as a structured developmental journey, combining practical tools, reflection, peer learning, and cross-disciplinary discussion.


Over four interactive online sessions, participants explored:

  • The purpose and scope of supervision

  • Developing a supervisory identity

  • Effective supervisory conversations

  • Enabling doctoral progress and independence


Interest in the programme exceeded our expectations. We received more than 100 applications from supervisors within our Practitioner Partners, and we selected 67 supervisors to participate across three cohorts. Participants represented 10 institutions across the UK, Europe, and South Africa, creating rich opportunities for cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional learning.


Early evaluation findings have been highly encouraging and have been shared at the UKCGE Annual Conference 2026, and will be shared at the Nordic Conference on PhD Supervision.


We extend our sincere thanks to all participants, facilitators, and institutions who contributed to the success of this first pilot. Their enthusiasm, engagement, and willingness to share experiences have helped shape an exciting new direction for research supervisor development.


Launch of Phase 2 with Practitioner Partners

At the end of May, we released the second set of piloting materials for the RSVP Practitioner Partners. By working with specialists within relevant subject areas, we’ve developed adaptable materials to support supervisors with neuroinclusive practice and culturally aware research supervision. In addition to this, we’ve created a guide to establishing a local, institutional support network through a supervisor seminar series. Over the coming months, we’ll test and refine these materials ahead of a wider sector launch in the next academic year.

Upcoming conference appearances


We’ll be presenting at the following conferences in the coming months where we’ll be providing insights into the development and testing approach we’ve utilised to co-create RSVP resources, and diving deeper into specific interventions. More information will be shared on LinkedIn closer to the time.

Publications & Resources


Keynote: Transforming Graduate Supervision for the Future - creating and curating change▪️2026 Quality in Postgraduate Research Conference (QPR)

Karen's keynote for this year’s Quality in Postgraduate Research Conference (QPR) addressed the challenges research supervisors face in their role, and considered ways to transform graduate supervision for the future. She used RSVP data from the 2021 and 2024 UK Research Supervisor Surveys, the RSVP Collection report by Professor Stan Taylor on Professional Development Provision in the UK, and forthcoming focus group data. Her views are her own.



Insights into cross-sector doctoral supervision▪️2026 Researcher Education and Development Scholarship Conference (REDS)

Based on a presentation from this year’s REDS conference, Dr Hang Li (RSVP Postdoctoral Research Associate) draws on findings of the RSVP focus groups with industry supervisors involved in doctoral supervision.



Useful UKCGE resources (from recent events)


 
 
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