Role:
PGR Course Representative, Museum Studies Research Week Conference Planning Lead

Where:
School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester

When: June 2025

Strengthening the sense of community between researchers within the Museum Studies cohort has been a primary focus of mine as the PGR Course Representative and leader of our Research Week planning committee. Major changes and financial strain within the University had put extra pressure on everyone this year. To weather this it was important to me that our cohort was given opportunities to bond, to show up for each other, and to find ways to ensure that everyone felt supported and valued.

My efforts towards this included planning our annual Research Week with the aim of centering accessibility, mindfulness, enjoyment, and opportunities for community and relationship building as the program was designed for and with the cohort.

It was important to me that the schedule was accessible with ample buffers between sessions, long breaks, and 2.5 hour lunches to prioritize comfortable socializing and looking after our bodies. Giving us this time allowed us to share many meals, coffees, and meaningful conversations with each other that wouldn’t be possible in a packed schedule

When the world feels increasingly divided by ideology and misconceptions, and when our School is going to have this merger, these human connections we build through shared academic space are more valuable than ever.

-Research Week attendee, Museum Studies Post Graduate Researcher

I polled the cohort and worked with a small team of MS PGRs to plan a variety of workshops and seminars which focused on researcher wellbeing, career advice, and practical skill development for the PhD. A major highlight of the week was a group trip to Sezincote House in the Cotswolds, where staff and PGRs spent the afternoon slowly wandering the gardens with each other and celebrated the grounded send of calm and community they could feel growing.

I couldn’t feel a deeper sense of pride and happiness over how this week went. I feel more connected than ever to the people in this cohort and like my personal community has strengthened as an international researcher living abroad. I could not have done this without the unwavering support of so many people in the cohort and with the PGR Director Stacy Boldrick. The amount of gratitude that’s been expressed towards me this week has given me strength to continue to guide us towards even greater inclusivity, accessibility, mindfulness, and human connection during my upcoming years within the Museum Studies community at Leicester.