PGR Matters Podcast

PGR Matters Podcast

Dive into the world of research with our PGR Matters Podcast! Meet postgraduate researchers and staff from the University of East Anglia and beyond as they unravel mysteries, share their passion, personal experiences and discuss all things academic. Hosted by Dr Matthew Sillence from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities Graduate School. Have an idea for an episode? Feel free to get in touch at pgrmatters@pm.me. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast episode are those of the hosts and guests and do not represent the views of the PGR Matters Podcast's sponsors, partners, or affiliated organizations. Guest opinions are their own.

  1. Oct 27

    Careers Beyond Academia

    In this episode, Matthew Sillence meets Dr. Holly Prescott to discuss navigating careers beyond academia. Holly recounts her own non-linear career path: after leaving her first university, she returned to study, completed an English degree and PhD, and found that teaching, student support and helping people make decisions mattered more than staying within one subject. A postgraduate ambassador role formed a bridge into recruitment and career guidance at the University of Birmingham. Drawing on her new book, Navigating Careers Beyond Academia: A Practical Handbook for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Researchers, Holly discusses her decision to address the emotional impact of transitioning out of an academic role, rather than immediately focusing on CVs or job titles. She shares an exercise to help researchers identify valued tasks, what they want to leave behind and what they want to add. Holly also encourages low-risk experiments during a PhD, such as organizing events and engaging with hidden abilities, to test interests and develop transferable skills.  Through the conversation, researchers are reminded that career management is an evolving process and it may take time to explore different roles and work environments. Drawing on the high-level research skills that postgraduate researchers already possess, and turning these abilities to understanding different sectors and roles, is a powerful means of meeting the challenges of the modern job market. [00:03:29–00:09:23] Prescott’s non-linear academic journey and transition into career guidance. [00:10:02–00:12:48] Identifying preferred work activities and using a first post-PhD role to experiment. [00:14:17–00:19:05] Addressing uncertainty, grief, fear of judgment, and rejection during career transitions. [00:19:57–00:23:58] The Keep/Lose/Add framework and examples of testing interests during a PhD. [00:26:11–00:29:07] Career management as an ongoing process, while recognizing structural barriers and separating rejection from self-worth. [00:30:45–00:32:21] Prescott’s book, Postgradual blog, and career workshops. Links- Holly Prescott's blog - Postgradual- Holly Prescott's LinkedIn page- Prescott, H. 2027. Navigating Careers Beyond Academia: A Practical Handbook for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Researchers (Routledge)Credits Music by Matthew Sillence.Transcript and episode summaries were created using Otter.ai and edited by Matthew Sillence. All audio and imagery for this episode were created by Matthew Sillence and Holly Prescott.

  2. Oct 22

    Developing Researchers

    This episode of PGR Matters features researcher developer Dr Kate Jones from Manchester Metropolitan University. Kate traces her path from teaching English, literature, and media studies to doctoral research at the University of East Anglia, where she studied child figures in mid-20th-century literature. An AHRC-funded project, After the Archive, helped her recognize how research skills extend beyond academia, igniting an interest in researcher development. Kate describes her work at the researcher development organisation, Vitae, which included working in policy and well-being, before joining Manchester Metropolitan University in 2023. There, she champions inclusive research cultures and recognizes academics, research technical professionals, and people outside universities as all contributing to a research culture. The conversation also explores a cross-institutional mentoring scheme for mid-career researchers, offering space to reflect on identity, purpose, and future direction. In discussing challenges, such as job precarity, sector-wide funding cuts, heavy workloads, and limited time for professional development, Kate reminds us that the PhD can lead to many futures, and research skills remain valuable across careers and sectors. [00:03:05–00:09:14] Kate’s path into research [00:09:35–00:15:22] Research careers and Vitae [00:15:24–00:21:28] Well-being and development [00:21:29–00:32:55] Research development at Manchester Met [00:33:18–00:47:54] Mentoring mid-career researchers [00:53:51–01:04:24] Challenges and wider career possibilities Links- Vitae- Manchester Metropolitan University- Researcher Development Concordat- Kate Jones | LinkedIn Credits Music by Matthew Sillence.Transcript and episode summaries were created using Otter.ai and edited by Matthew Sillence. All audio and imagery for this episode were created by Matthew Sillence and Kate Jones.

  3. Sep 30

    Open Research and You

    Matthew Sillence introduces open research and the Copyright Dough project, developed with colleagues at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and University of Essex. Guest Gabriel Baxter-Baker describes returning to UEA after performance work to pursue a PhD on transgender oral storytelling. They explain how storytelling traditions value sharing, adaptation, and tracing stories’ origins, challenging conventional copyright ideas. A Creative Commons workshop broadened their understanding of licensing options and inspired Gabriel to share research to build community. They hope their creative and critical work can invite reuse. This episode also describes the expansion pack’s paired play and chance cards, which explore licensing, collaboration, and responses to research reuse. [00:00:06] — Open research project and the Copyright Dough resource and expansion pack.[00:02:23] — Gabriel’s academic journey, from performance to doctoral research at UEA.[00:05:34] — How storytelling’s shared, evolving traditions relate to copyright and attribution.[00:09:22] — Learning about Creative Commons licensing and remixing.[00:11:22] — Making creative and critical research available for reuse.[00:13:02] — Open research practices, sharing work in progress, and building academic community.[00:18:00] — A shared vision for a queer storytelling corpus.[00:19:01] — Advice for researchers and Gabriel’s contact details.[00:21:32] — Expansion pack features: paired play and chance cards about collaboration, licensing, and research reuse. Links - Copyright Dough (Figshare.com)- Copyright Dough Expansion Pack (Figshare.com) Gabriel's Profile and Activities- Gabriel Baxter-Baker (UEA research portal)- The Folklore Society Rumour conference- Get a Word in Edgeways FestivalLegendæry Nights (via Instagram - @thorn.lucid and @lucideers)Lucid Cabaret Licence- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Credits Music by Matthew Sillence.

  4. Mar 25

    Open Research Training

    In this episode of PGR Matters, host Matthew Sillence explores how open research training is evolving, with a focus on the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Featuring Dr Samuel Moore (MORPHSS project, University of Cambridge) and Hannah Crago (University of Essex), the conversation looks at how traditional ideas of “open science” can be reframed for different disciplines, and how gamification—including the Copyright Dough game and escape rooms—can make open research concepts more engaging, practical, and accessible for researchers at all levels. [0:00:00–0:03:15] Setting the Scene: Open Research Training & Series Recap [0:03:15–0:07:17] Samuel Moore’s Path into Open Research [0:07:17–0:12:42] Inside the MORPHSS Project [0:12:42–0:25:57] Rethinking Openness: Broadening Concepts, Ethics, and CARE [0:25:57–0:53:18] Gamification in Open Research Training (Hannah Crago) [0:53:18–1:00:00] Adapting Games for Online Open Research Training [1:00:00–1:03:00] Resources, OERs, and Future Directions Links - Dr. Samuel A. Moore - Publishing Beyond the Market | University of Michigan Press - MORPHSS – Materialising Open Research Practices in the Humanities and Social Sciences- Openness in the arts, humanities and social sciences: Documenting open research practices beyond STEM (A MORPHSS Project Report)- Knowledge Commons - Open access, open source, open to all - Hannah Crago | University of Essex - Project - Copyright Dough - Figshare - Gamified Research Support - Support for Researchers - Library & Cultural Services at University of Essex Licence- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Credits Music by Matthew Sillence.

    Open Research Training

  5. Mar 18

    Open Access Publishing

    In this second episode of season 2, Matthew Sillence talks with Sean Andersson, Dr Alison Barker and Dr Sean Seeger about Open Access (OA) publishing for books and articles. Through our conversations, we unpack Green, Gold and Diamond OA routes, Creative Commons licences, image permissions, university OA funding, and how postgraduate and early‑career researchers can make their work more visible and accessible.[00:00-04:15] – What is Open Access? Green, Gold, Diamond routes and CC licences. [04:15-16:08] – OA at Essex: funds, repositories, and read‑and‑publish deals (with Sean Andersson). [16:08-31.20] – Turning an art history PhD into an OA monograph and handling image permissions (with Alison Barker) [31:20-35:38] – Images, third‑party copyright and choosing CC BY‑NC‑ND. [35:38–43:51] – OA monographs, utopian studies and interdisciplinarity (with Sean Seeger). Links- Creative Commons Licenses - Open Access Publishing - University of Essex - Barker, A.C. (2025). The Dissemination of Saint George in Early Modern Art (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003454731 - Seeger, S. (2025). Utopian Variations. Utopia in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture. Peter Lang Verlag. https://doi.org/10.3726/b22926 Licence- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Credits Music by Matthew Sillence.

    Open Access Publishing

  6. Mar 4

    What is Open Research?

    This first episode of season 2 on PGR Matters introduces Open Research and why it matters for postgraduate researchers. Matthew explores how open access policies (especially UKRI from 2021) have reshaped expectations that publicly funded research outputs should be freely available and reusable, with evidence that open access work gains wider and more diverse citations. Our guest in this episode is Grant Young, Head of Open Research at the University of East Anglia Library and in conversation, move from open access publications to open research across the whole project lifecycle. Key ideas include transparency (making methods, decisions, and processes visible where appropriate), the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), and planning for future reuse of data by both humans and machines. The episode also introduces the MORPHSS project and CARE principles (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, Ethics), stressing that open practices must be balanced with ethical responsibilities, especially when working with marginalized communities. [00:00:11 – 00:04:11] – Series introduction, definition of open research, UKRI policy, citation benefits  [00:04:11 – 00:11:25] – Grant Young’s role, open research beyond publications, transparency as a research attitude  [00:11:25 – 00:19:49] – Funders, public money, research impact, and the open research support team in the library  [00:19:49 – 00:30:08] – FAIR principles, especially interoperability, metadata, formats, and AI/machine readability  [00:30:08 – 00:34:35] – Open research in the humanities and cross-disciplinary learning between humanities and STEM  [00:34:35 – 00:39:54] – MORPHSS, reproducibility vs replicability, FAIR vs CARE, ethics and marginalized communities, next-episode teaser Links- Arthur, Paul Longley, and Lydia Hearn. 2021. ‘Toward Open Research: A Narrative Review of the Challenges and Opportunities for Open Humanities.’ Journal of Communication 71 (5): 827–53. APA PsycInfo (2022-60288-008). https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqab028.  - Ensuring open research – UKRI - Knöchelmann, Marcel. 2019. ‘Open Science in the Humanities, or: Open Humanities?’ Publications 7 (4): 65–65. Directory of Open Access Journals (edsdoj.5fc9ac3e28c04ae8b32e598c5f86fb10). https://doi.org/10.3390/publications7040065.  - MORPHSS – Materialising Open Research Practices in the Humanities and Social Sciences - Openness in the arts, humanities and social sciences: Documenting open research practices beyond STEM (A MORPHSS Project Report) - Open Research - UEA Library at University of East Anglia Licence- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Credits Music by Matthew Sillence.

    What is Open Research?

  7. 08/11/2025

    Poetry, Therapy and the Academy with Dr Stephanie Aspin

    In this final episode of season one, Matthew Sillence and Dr Stephanie Aspin discuss the intersection of poetry, therapy and academic life. Dr Aspin, who has two doctorates and is a neurodivergent therapist, shares her journey from literature to therapy, highlighting her new book Poetry and Therapy: Why Words Help (PCCS Books, 2025). They explore the therapeutic functions of poetry, including telling and symbolizing, containment, transformation, and access to the unconscious. Dr Aspin also discusses the challenges neurodivergent individuals face in academia and the importance of rituals and symbolic acts in therapeutic and academic contexts. [0:00-5:00] Introduction Dr Stephanie Aspin discusses her academic journey, from literature studies to counseling, highlighting her unique career path and recent book Poetry and Therapy: Why Words Help. [5:00-15:00] Neurodivergence and Professional Identity Explores her work as a neurodivergent therapist and co-founder of A-Typicats, a consultancy focusing on neurodiversity in higher education. [15:00-25:00] Functions of Poetry in Therapy Examines four key functions of poetry: telling/symbolizing, containment, transformation, and accessing the unconscious. [25:00-35:00] Therapeutic Approaches Discusses person-centred therapy and psychoanalysis, explaining how different therapeutic methods can intersect. [35:00-45:00] Academic Challenges for Neurodivergent Individuals Shares insights into the unique challenges faced by neurodivergent academics, particularly around administrative tasks and workplace environments. [45:00-52:30] Ritual and Transition in Academic Life Explores the potential of poetry and symbolic acts to mark important academic milestones and transitions. Summary - Poetry can be a powerful therapeutic tool - Neurodivergence requires understanding and accommodation - Rituals and symbolic language help process academic experiences Links - Aspin, S. (2025) Poetry and Therapy: Why Words Help (PCCS Books). - Website: https://stephanieaspin.com/ - Consultancy: https://a-typicats.com/ Content adviceThis episode contains discussion of anxiety and trauma. If you need urgent help for your mental health, a range of services are available in the UK: Get help from 111 online or call 111 and select the mental health option. Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: jo@samaritans.org for a reply within 24 hours Text "SHOUT" to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line, or text "YM" if you're under 19 If you're under 19, you can also call 0800 1111 to talk to Childline. The number will not appear on your phone bill. These services will only share your information if they are very worried about you or think you are in immediate danger.Credits Music by Matthew Sillence.

    Poetry, Therapy and the Academy with Dr Stephanie Aspin

  8. 04/04/2025

    Postgraduate Research Supervision: The Status Quo

    The podcast episode features Dr Karen Clegg and Dr Gill Houston discussing their book, co-authored with Dr Owen Gower, Doctoral Supervision and Research Culture: What We Know, What Works, And Why, which was published by Routledge, Taylor & Francis in 2024. They explore the challenges and importance of doctoral supervision, highlighting the lack of research on supervisors' experiences. The conversation covers topics such as supervisor recognition, professional development, feedback incorporation, and the impact of institutional support on research culture.1. How can institutions better recognize and value the contributions of their doctoral supervisors?2. How do supervisors effectively incorporate feedback from their supervisees to improve their supervisory approach?3. What does Continuous Professional Development (CPD) look like for doctoral supervisors, and how can it be implemented effectively?4. What are the challenges and opportunities in supporting supervisors during and after the COVID-19 pandemic?5. What recommendations can be made to improve the research culture and support system for doctoral supervisors and their research students?The episode provides insights into the complex ecosystem of doctoral supervision, emphasizing the need for institutional support, peer learning, and recognition of supervisors' critical role in research development. Biographies and Links Dr Karen Clegg is a Reader in Doctoral Education in the School for Arts and Creative Technologies at the University of York and Co-PI/Director of the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), a £4.6million, Research England funded project designed to transform the practice and culture of research supervision. Recent publications include Clegg K., Quinlan L. and Palmer N. (2025)  Research Supervision  in the Context of REF - time for a stepchange? Wonkhe 24 January; Gower O., Clegg K. and Cleaver D. (2024) The UK Research Supervision Survey (UKRSS) 2024. UK Council for Graduate Education; Clegg K., Houston G. & Gower O. (2024) Doctoral Supervision and Research Culture: what we know, what works and why. Routledge.Dr Gill Houston is an independent researcher. She has worked extensively in doctoral education, culminating in the roles of vice-chair and chair of the UK Council for Graduate Education. Recent (2024) publications include: Clegg K., Houston G. & Gower O. (2024) Doctoral Supervision and Research Culture: what we know, what works and why. Routledge; Houston, G. and Lunt, I., The final examination of the UK PhD: fit for purpose? Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 49(8), 1182-1195.CreditsMusic by Matthew Sillence

    Postgraduate Research Supervision: The Status Quo
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About

Dive into the world of research with our PGR Matters Podcast! Meet postgraduate researchers and staff from the University of East Anglia and beyond as they unravel mysteries, share their passion, personal experiences and discuss all things academic. Hosted by Dr Matthew Sillence from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities Graduate School. Have an idea for an episode? Feel free to get in touch at pgrmatters@pm.me. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast episode are those of the hosts and guests and do not represent the views of the PGR Matters Podcast's sponsors, partners, or affiliated organizations. Guest opinions are their own.

Information

  • Creator
    PGR Matters Podcast
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    PGR Matters Podcast