Draft Programme:
8:15-9:00 Yoga session: an optional, pre-Festival 'pause' to help you start the day (sports building)
9:00-9:30 Registration (Student Life Building)
9:30-9:45 Welcome, Prof Julie Sheldon and the 2025 PGR Festival Organising Committee (208/209, SLB)
9:45-11:00 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) University Final
11:00-11:30 Break
11:30-12:30 Parallel Workshops #1 Choose from:
1. 'Understanding 'the ologies' - a practical journey towards abstract ideas', Dr Chris Matthews OR
2. 'Introduction to research grants', Mike Hession, LJMU Research Grants Manager OR
3. 'Telling the story of your research' (title TBC), Dr Stephe Harrop, storyteller and researcher
12:30-14:00 Lunch and Poster Viewing
14:00-15:00 Parallel Workshops #2 Choose from:
1. 'AI: Your Research Assistant', Dr Sara Mursic OR
2. 'Creative playful science illustration and communication', Mark Roughley, LJMU School of Art & Design and Face Lab OR
3. PGR and Alumni Panel, 'PhD journey: tips for today and tomorrow'
15:00-15:30 Break
15:30-16:30 Keynote: 'Getting Good Research Done', Dr Chris Matthews
16:30-17:00 Closing remarks and prize announcements, Prof Keith George, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research & Knowledge Exchange) and PGR Festival Organising Committee
Postgraduate Researchers from all disciplines and all stages are invited to take part in the 2025 PGR Festival Poster Competition. This is an excellent opportunity to use your creative skills and present your research visually to a wide audience beyond your school and faculty. There are also several cash prizes to be won.
The poster competition is open to all MPhil, PhD and Professional Doctorate Researchers. Your poster should be accessible to a non-specialist academic audience, so think about how you could communicate the key message of your research to another postgraduate researcher from a completely different discipline.
Printed posters will be displayed throughout the festival on the 21 May and will also be made available online in the run-up to the event. They need to work well on a screen as well as in print and should be A1 and landscape orientation with no more than 500 words of text.
Key deadlines
Friday 4 April: submit your details and poster title
Friday 2 May: submit digital poster files to PGRFestival@ljmu.ac.uk. Please send a JPEG version (for use online) along with a PDF or PowerPoint file. These will be used for judging in the week before the festival.
Monday 12 May: submit A1 printed poster to the Doctoral Academy office, 1st floor Aldham Robarts Library.
Wednesday 21 May: PGR Festival at the Student Life Building, chance for delegates to vote for the People’s Choice winners and announcement of prizes.
A1 poster printing is available in Aldham and Avril Robarts Libraries and the Student Life Building. Please see this guide to printing. Any difficulties printing your poster, just email us at PGRFestival@ljmu.ac.uk.
Judging Criteria
The posters will be assessed using the following criteria:
- Visual impact – is the poster visually engaging with a logical flow? Does it use space effectively? does it make good use of visual elements to convey complex information?
- Content - Is the research situated within a relevant field? Are the aims, objectives, and methods communicated? Is it clear why the research is being done and what its potential impact might be? Middle and later stage only: are the findings clear?
- Research communication – can the poster be easily understood by a non-specialist academic audience? Does it have an engaging title? Does it communicate a clear ‘take home’ message and/or tell a compelling story?
Winners will be announced at the close of the PGR Festival on Wednesday 21 May.
Poster Resources
You can find poster resources and examples on the Researcher Development Programme Canvas site. You can also attend a training session on Research Posters on the 24 April.
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a communications competition for doctoral researchers, originating at the University of Queensland. It challenges researchers to tell an intelligent, non-specialist audience what the research is about, why they are doing it, and why anyone should care in just three minutes.
Winners of the LJMU 3MT Faculty heats will go on to take part in the final round of the competition at the PGR Festival on 21 May. As well as a prize of £500, the LJMU 3MT overall winner secures a place in the UK 3MT quarter finals!
To take part in the 3MT, look out for communications from your faculty about local heats, which are taking place during April and May. The top three presenters from each faculty will go through to the final competition.
You can find more 3MT information and resources on the Researcher Development Canvas site (join here if you're not already enrolled. There are also some information sessions about preparing for the 3MT coming up:
PGR Festival planning is led by a committee of doctoral researchers.
Madeline Rowe
I am a French and British PhD student in Psychology. I am in my second year, and my research focuses on midlife women's alcohol use and how it may relate to menopause and mental health. I am excited to be part of the 2025 PGR festival committee, and I hope you will have a great time there. Looking forward to meeting you all on 21 May!
Louise Rimmer
I am a novelist and former secondary school teacher. My PhD research examines the faulty epistemology of the West’s ‘war on terror’, and the othering of terrorists in mainstream fiction. I am writing a novel from the perspective of a victim of radicalisation.
Pouria Motalebi
I am a second-year PhD researcher at Liverpool Business School, focusing on the economic impact of cultural mega-events, particularly the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) program in medium-small cities. My research examines how these events influence urban development, tourism, and policy, assessing their economic implications and long-term sustainability. I am excited to be part of the Postgraduate Research Festival 2025 team and look forward to helping create an engaging and inspiring event for fellow researchers.
Delaram Yazdani
I’m a second-year PhD student at LJMU’s Engineering School. My research focuses on sustainability and energy efficiency in the maritime sector, exploring ways to reduce environmental impact and make port operations more efficient. I love connecting with other PGRs because we all have unique experiences and stories to share. Can’t wait to meet you at the PGR festival and hear yours!
Eleanor Cantwell
I'm based in the school of Sport and Exercise Sciences and I'm in the sixth year of my PhD. My research is concerned with all things psycho-social development, coaching and talent development environments in the British Gymnastics performance pathway. I know that PhD's can be lonely at times and I also know how valuable connecting with other PGRs and finding your tribe can be in tackling that. This is why I am excited to be working with a great team to put on an event that hopefully fosters those connections and covers the topics you really want to hear about.
