Circle Mentors: Thinking about pairing your PhD journey with a role in consultancy or another industry? It’s definitely possible, but it might require some creativity to shape a career that truly fits you. Combining academic research with practical industry work can be incredibly rewarding. Let’s explore how you might navigate this path. Why Combine Academia and Industry? Splitting your time …
The Inclusive Research Network is a public LinkedIn group, designed to connect prospective and current postgraduate researchers, alongside addressing some of the barriers that ethnically minoritised students may face in postgraduate research. The network ran an online panel event called ‘Candid Conversations: Navigating Life Behind the PhD’ on 31st January 2025. It was co-hosted by Lubena Mirza and Amirah Muhammad, …
I’m Lubena Mirza, a first-year PhD student about to begin my second year. Introducing myself as a first-year always feels a bit strange because my inner voice often asks, “Still?” There have certainly been ups, downs, and delays, but I’ve learned that the PhD journey is a multi-faceted one: there’s the journey in your mind, and the one you’re actually …
YCEDE Advocacy Scheme co-ordinator George Gisborne sat down to discuss how the scheme worked out for one of the pairings in the last academic year. Aisha Mariam joined the Advocacy Scheme in September 2023 while studying an MSc in Materials Science at the University of Sheffield. She joined the scheme interested in a PhD in Chemical Engineering (her BEng subject) …
As a moniker, ‘Black History Month’ does a lot of heavy lifting. You’re talking about all the histories of Blackness around the world in just one month? It is the definition of a Sisphyean task. This assessment might seem jaded, but it comes from the pendulum swing between erasure and celebration that Black histories experience in mainstream culture and society …
I’m halfway through the 2nd year of my PhD in Politics at the University of York and I’m a YCEDE scholar. Outside of academia, I’m a community organizer and activist. When I applied to my PhD program in 2022, I had one career goal in mind and that was to use my platform to advocate for social justice issues through …
My name is Adelaide Omitowoju and I have just joined the project as the YCEDE Project Administrator for Workstream 3 at the University of Sheffield. I have previously worked in student experience and recruitment within higher education institutions. I also recently completed work on a HEIF research and policy-oriented project with the Department of Politics and IR at the University …
The panel discussion on Navigating Minority Ethnic Identity in Postgraduate Research was a vibrant and thought-provoking event. It effectively united postgraduate researchers, YCEDE colleagues, stakeholders and other participants, creating a rich and varied dialogue. The members brought diverse perspectives and firsthand experiences to the discussion, making it a stimulating and engaging exchange centred around the essential topic of minority ethnic …
by Adam Chen, PhD candidate with the Strategic Joint Studentship between the University of Birmingham and the University of Nottingham Upon completing my undergraduate in Sociology at the University of Sheffield, I realised my aspiration to start a career in research. This realisation motivated me to pursue a Master’s degree in Social Research. After a few weeks into my Master’s …