Postgraduate Employment Survey

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Exciting news!

The NUS has launched a major piece of research looking into the employment of postgraduate research students. We are asking all of these students to complete the survey found by hitting the link below.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BRYX8QQ

The Postgraduate Employment Survey seeks to find out:-

• what kinds of higher education employment roles postgraduate research students undertake within and outside their institutions
  
• the quality of the postgraduate higher education employment experience in terms of information and support
  
• how postgraduates’ experience of being employed in a teaching role compares to their experience of other kinds of paid work in higher education

The results of the survey will be used to inform and update the NUS/UCU Postgraduate Employment Charter and produce a Guide to the Charter for the use of unions, scheduled to be released in early 2010.

In 2000 an earlier version of this survey found that less than half of respondents had received a clear statement of conditions of employment on taking up a teaching or academic-related role in their institution, while on average respondents worked 6.3 unpaid hours of work per week.

The survey will also capture a picture of what kinds of employment-training postgraduates receive. Of particular concern is the experience of postgraduates who teach and whether postgraduates receive the support and training to enable them to be effective in their teaching roles.

The survey is aimed at postgraduate researchers who have taken on any kind of employment role in their own or another institution since September 2008. This ranges from first-year researchers who are currently in employment at their own or another HE institution to recently postdoctoral researchers.

Any researcher who completes the survey has the option to be entered into a prize draw to win £50 of Amazon vouchers.

Please let me know if you have questions about the survey.
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Grad School: Catch-Up #2

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I have just met up with my contact at the Grad School for a catch-up.

Aside from updating her on my activity this Semester, I also learnt about activity from their side:

• last Friday they hosted the yearly Grad School Guest Lecturer event. The speaker this year was Dr Gillian Tett, an assistant editor for the Financial Times.

• a new project called Adept is coming to campus, which specifically focuses on increasing the employability of postgraduates. I am planning on meeting with the coordinator after Christmas to learn how postgraduates can benefit from this service. Until then, more information can be found by hitting the top link here.

• the Grad School will also be helping us spread the word about the NUS research into postgraduates who teach (PGTs) which was launched today. More on that here.

• we will also be using their networks to recruit a Postgraduate Research Rep for our Association.

All in all, a very helpful catch-up.

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PGMSA 2009-10

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The Postgraduate & Mature Students' Association (PGMSA) Committee 2009-2010 were elected on Tuesday 17th November.

They are as follows:

• Chair - Inya Egbe
• Vice Chair - Frank Ogbuagu
• Treasurer - Eniola Abeni Tolani
• Secretary - Akua Aboabea Aboah
• PG Taught Rep - Nhamburo Ziyenge
• Social Secretary - Manuel Lopez Delgado
• IT Coordinator - Dongsheng He

We are still looking for a PG Research Rep and a Mature Students Rep so please let me know if you are interested.

We have met up twice since the AGM and are making exciting plans for next year, such as promoting the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) and arranging a joint Spring Ball with Nottingham Postgraduate Students' Association (PGSA).

If you would like to contact your PGMSA then please email postgradmature@guild.bham.ac.uk.

And please join our Facebook Group and invite your friends.

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The BIS Review - Areas To Consider

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The deadline for responses to the BIS Review is approaching and the National Union of Students (NUS) are hoping to coordinate responses from Students' Unions by asking them to consider the following three areas:

a) What are the barriers affecting diversity of participation in postgraduate study and how can we widen access to postgraduate study?

b) What role should employers have in postgraduate education? Are there any concerns around the issue of employer engagement?

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c) What should universities be prioritising to make sure international postgraduate students have a positive experience of study in the UK?

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If you are a postgraduate student and would like to feed into this review, then send your thoughts on the above areas to my email address: pmso@guild.bham.ac.uk.

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We will be putting together an official response on Friday 11th December.

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Postgraduate Student Rep Forum

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On 1st December, I attended the Postgraduate Student Rep Forum with Brigid Jones (Vice-President of Education & Access).

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This forum occurs twice a semester and allows us to maintain communication with our Student Reps regarding any issues that they are encountering.

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At this Forum, we spent some time discussing the BIS Review and the areas of consideration that we have been asked to respond to by the NUS. We received some great feedback and it will help inform the official Guild response to the Review which we are submitting to the NUS on Friday 11th December.

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