Postgraduate researcher wellbeing programme

Monday 20 October 2025 – 12pm to 1.30pm – Group Room, 19 Clarendon Place, LS2 9JY

‘Poor mental health and wellbeing can affect students academic performance’ (IPPR, ‘Not by Degrees’ 2017).

This workshop explores a ‘resilience toolkit’ of useful strategies to help you develop your ability to recover from setbacks and adjust to change during your time as a researcher. In this session we look at how by cultivating a 'Growth Mind-set' we can learn to view making mistakes as an essential and integral part of the learning process.

Monday 17 November 2025 – 12pm to 1.30pm – Group Room, 19 Clarendon Place, LS2 9JY

Academic life can bring with it a lot of striving and pressure to produce the perfect thesis which can cause problematic levels of stress; hindering progress, success and wellbeing. This workshop explores alternatives to perfectionist thinking and considers how developing a ‘good enough’ perspective can help you work in a healthier and more effective way towards your goals.

Monday 17 November 2025 – 12pm to 1.30pm – Group Room, 19 Clarendon Place, LS2 9JY

This workshop is for students who are finding balancing the various demands of academic life, family life, paid work, and doing a research degree difficult and stressful. The aim is to help participants deal more effectively with these competing pressures and look at ways of managing stress.

Monday 19 January 2026 – 12pm to 1.30pm – Group Room, 19 Clarendon Place, LS2 9JY

This workshop will give you a better understanding of what wellbeing really means and why it matters to your PGR success. We will explore practical strategies to enhance your self-care toolkit throughout your academic journey and beyond. This session also covers the university wellbeing initiatives and resources available to you during your time as a researcher here. 

Monday 16 February 2026 – 12pm to 1pm – MS Teams

This session explores the topic of uncertainty in relation to the PGR experience and considers the ways in which uncertainty can impact on emotional wellbeing. The workshop will introduce a theoretical model to look at the potential impact of uncertainty and anxiety on motivation, productivity and emotional wellbeing and will explore a number of useful strategies to help work towards your research goals in a balanced and sustainable way.

Monday 16 March 2026 – 12pm to 1pm – MS Teams

Do you struggle to get started with important research tasks? Is it difficult to allow yourself leisure time or is it spoiled by a nagging sense of guilt? This workshop will help you understand the nature and purpose of procrastination and identify strategies to challenge procrastination, leading to a more balanced and productive way of working. 

Monday 15 June 2026 – 12pm to 1pm – Group Room, 19 Clarendon Place, LS2 9JY

Imposter Syndrome is a ‘state of mind’, a belief that one day someone will discover that you are not as smart as they think. It’s a syndrome that has a powerful presence in academia. This workshop will look at why academic researchers can develop Imposter Syndrome and offer suggestions to overcome this syndrome which otherwise creates self-doubt, low self-esteem and lack of motivation.