Postgraduate Academic Representation

Postgraduate Academic Representation at the Students Association is overseen by the Director of Education and the Postgraduate Reseach and Taught Presidents. They work alongside a dedicated group of PGT and PGR Academic Reps to ensure that your views are heard at a university level. The Students' Association is committed to ensuring that all its students are supported through the academic representation system. We therefore endeavour to build a system that works for everyone. 

 

What is the PG Representation System?

The PGT and PGR President Roles were proposed and created during the 2020/21 academic year to fill a gap in mid-level representation for postgraduates. These roles perform a similar function to the Faculty Presidents in the undergraduate system. However, the distinction between PGT/PGR qualification levels was deemed to be more significant for PG students than the Arts/Sciences faculty split. 

The PGT and PGR President were created so that postgraduate academic representatives are supervised by PG leaders who are better able to support them. In the past, PG Academic Reps were supervised by undergraduate School Presidents who expressed that it was challenging to speak on behalf of postgraduate students and that they generally didn't know how best to help their PG Reps. PG Reps felt similarly disconnected from their School Presidents. Additionally, when surveyed, PG students reported that they felt less comfortable sharing feedback with undergraduate students than postgraduate students. For these reasons, it was determined that a new supervisory structure for PG Reps was essential. 

For more information about the resources the Students' Association has available for Postgraduates, please view the Postgraduate Book.

Click here to read the full Postgraduate Representation Report. 

 

Role Descriptions

PGT and PGR Representatives

Postgraduate Taught and Research Representatives speak for their cohorts on matters related to the learning and research experience respectively. Specifically, PGT and PGR Reps:

  1. Gather feedback from the postgraduate cohorts they represent.
  2. Collate and analyse PG feedback, looking for trends, themes, and possible actions that could be taken.
  3. Present feedback and potential outcomes to PG-focused staff at Student-Staff Consultative Committee meetings in their departments.
  4. Work with staff to implement actions and make changes that postgraduates want to see.
  5. Close the feedback loop by communicating changes and the effects of PG feedback to their cohorts.

In addition, Postgraduate Reps work with the PGT and PGR Presidents on PG-wide issues and priorities, and attend a regular forum meeting to collaborate and dialogue with other PG Reps. PG Reps can also take on other school-wide priorities and initiatives that they identify.

PGT and PGR Presidents

  • Elected, part-time paid positions

    • £12.86 per hour, up to 16 hours per week

  • Reports to Director of Education

  • Works alongside other elected representatives, serves on University Committees, and is a member of the Student Representative Council.
  • Oversees PGT and PGR Reps Respectively
  • Positions serves for one calendar year following election

Who are my Postgraduate Reps?

The PGT and PGR Academic Reps are elected in Sepetember and October of each year. Please contact [email protected] to learn your current representatives.

Postgraduate Representatives' Handbook

View the 2021-2021 Postgraduate Representatives' Handbook.

How To Get Involved 

Elections for PGT President, PGR President, PG Officers and PG Reps will be held in October. Click here for more information.