The Academy is excited to announce the launch of its new PGR development opportunity “Belonging Begins Here: Navigating Culture, Connection and Confidence as a Postgraduate Researcher.”
The session will take place on Monday, 1 December 10.00am (hybrid) register here.
As global collaborations are becoming increasingly more central to research, the ability to navigate cultural diversity should be seen as a priority for our postgraduate researcher community. International research teams, which are often composed of researchers from different cultural, linguistic, and disciplinary backgrounds, are now the norm rather than the exception. Diverse teams bring together varied perspectives, methodologies and lived experiences thus enriching the research process and broadening the scope of research inquiry. While these teams offer immense potential for innovation and discovery, they also present unique challenges such as differences in communication styles, expectations around hierarchy, or attitudes toward time and deadlines that require thoughtful engagement with cultural differences. To navigate these challenges, cultural competence should be embedded within the research journey for all our PGRs.
The Academy is now providing this support by offering our first intercultural development session for postgraduate researchers. As part of their development, PGRs will be encouraged to take responsibility for learning about their colleagues’ and supervisors’ backgrounds and being mindful of their own cultural assumptions. PGRs will see how cultural diversity in research teams can lead to more impactful outcomes, that diverse teams are better equipped to address global challenges—such as climate change and migration—and to produce research that is relevant and applicable across many different contexts. Ultimately, embracing cultural diversity is not just about avoiding conflict or improving team dynamics but recognising the value of every researcher’s contribution and creating an environment where innovation and people can flourish. There is also a strong focus on helping international PGRs new to the UK transition with helpful advice and guidance.
As academia continues to globalise, the ability to work effectively across cultures will be a defining feature of successful research teams. The future of academic research lies in collaboration—not just across disciplines, but across borders and cultures. By investing in the development of cultural understanding and awareness at an early stage for our PGRs at Liverpool, we lay the foundation for more inclusive, ethical and impactful researchers of the future.
We are all working as part of an international community, so this is an important session for all PGRs to attend, register here for our hybrid session on Monday, 1 December 10am–12pm.