Doctoral community builds bonds at Angus retreat
Eighteen postgraduate research (PGR) students from the University of St Andrews Business School recently travelled to The Burn mansion in Angus for the School’s annual PGR Retreat.
The retreat brought together doctoral researchers from the Departments of Economics, Finance and Management, alongside faculty volunteers, for two days of academic exchange and community-building activities.
Sessions ranged from the serious to the playful. Students used memes to represent their PhDs, practised communicating their research to non-experts, and enjoyed hiking and quizzes.
The retreat was organised by PGR Representatives Waqas Anwar and Jakub Kowalczyk, Director of Postgraduate Research Dr Fergus Neville, PGR Administrator Sumit Bains, and faculty volunteers Dr Christian Engles, Dr Shannon Harris and Dr Tam Nguyen.
Dr Neville said:
“It was fantastic to bring the students together in an informal environment to give them space to share their aspirations, experiences and concerns, learn more about each other’s work and further strengthen the supportiveness of our PGR community.”
Student feedback highlighted both the setting and the conversations. One wrote:
“I really enjoyed our interactive discussions, mainly when we were in smaller groups or when we had the discussion with the faculty members, and the location was absolutely beautiful.”
Another reflected on the connections formed:
“It gave me a chance to talk to PhD students I hadn’t been in touch with before, and it strengthened the sense of cohesion in our group.”