Research Training

Research training is enhanced through research groups and clusters to provide peer support and mentoring. A high quality of intellectual, physical and resource environments is maintained, as the result of substantial ongoing investment.

Super Vision: insight and interaction in graduate art and design research

1.00 - 6.00 p.m. Tuesday 23 March
CSAD Howard Gardens

CSAD is hosting a half-day symposium on graduate research in art and design, focusing on the supervisory process. Short presentations from research students and their supervisory teams are invited which cover the following points:

how supervisory teams plan and shape the research process;
how the interests of supervisor and student might intersect, i.e. how they might become interlocutors, possibly with a view to co-authorship of an article; ideally, each team member should contribute and there will be an exchange of views on the topic selected by the team;
the pleasures of supervision in art and design research (and some of the obstacles too, if appropriate at an open forum).

Ideally, point (2) will be the focus of the presentation. Presentations should be up to 20 minutes, with ten minutes of questions. Supervisory teams from Bath, Bristol, Gloucester and Swansea will also be invited. Dr Iain Biggs and one of his research students from UWE, Bristol, will be keynote speakers. A plenary performance writing session is planned, where insights from one of the afternoon's presentations will be written up as the beginnings of a co-authored article. A buffet lunch (charge of £10) and afternoon tea will be provided, and there will also be a post-symposium meal in central Cardiff.

To participate, please send a 300-word outline of how your supervisory team might address points 1-3 to Clive Cazeaux, Graduate Studies Coordinator, by Monday 1 March 2010.

Places are free but limited, so please register in advance. There will be a £10 charge for those wishing to attend the pre-event buffet. To register for a place at the symposium and/or book a place at the buffet lunch, contact Debbie Savage, Research Coordinator, by Monday 8 March 2010.

Sink or Swim? Residential Seminar for Early Career Researchers

2nd - 4th December 2009

Gregynog, Powys

This residential seminar aims to provide support and guidance for Early Career Researchers. You will find it helpful if you are about to complete or have recently submitted your PhD, or if you wish to become more research active in future.

Day One will start with an introduction by the programme team. The day will conclude with a feedback and discussion session, dinner and (optionally) the bar.

Day Two will concentrate on issues of research support and funding, with inputs from Funding Bodies. Once again, the day will conclude with a feedback and discussion session, dinner and (optionally) the bar.

Day Three will focus on research planning. It will start with a session on getting published, and will then involve a practical session in which participants will discuss their plans and refine a personal action agenda.

For more information or to book a place contact Joan Fothergill, Newport School of Art Media and Design.

Writing artists accounts of practice: layering, description, analysis, and evaluation

Following Research Methods for Practice-Based Doctorates in the Creative Arts, November 2008's AHRC residential workshop at Gregynog Hall, Chris Smith's presentation is now available to download (pdf).

Chris Smith is Director of Research and Convenor of the Visual Arts Practice Research Group in the Sir John Cass Department of Art, Media and Design London Metropolitan University and editor of the Journal of Visual Art Practice published by Intellect.

His research interests lie in the field of art and design philosophy, particularly the connection between theory and practice, relating to a concern with praxis in art and design. He collaborates with others from the Visual Arts Practice Research Group in projects related to the relationship of imagination and image, and with Art & Language on the question of 'What work does the artwork do?'. This has led to various national and international symposia and exhibitions.

Chris supervises a range of doctoral students drawn from art and design as well as the crafts. He has run a number of workshops in collaboration with the Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design, University of the Arts, London, on supervision of Masters and Doctoral students. He also sits on the Council for Higher Education in Art and Design AHRC working group, examining issues related to practice-led research.

Research Methods for Practice-Based Doctorates in the Creative Arts

WIRAD Residential Workshop for PhD Candidates and Supervisors

Gregynog House, Powys

26th -28th November 2008

Of writing many books there is no end; and much learning is a weariness of the flesh
(Ecclesiastes, 12:12)

Writing and the Practice-Based Thesis: Practice Based Research Methods Workshop

The workshop is the latest in a programme of events designed to set up a training and development network in practice-based postgraduate research. The whole programme is focussed on developing the specific practical and theoretical skills required in the planning, conduct and analysis of practice-based research.

This event will deal with aspects of the formal writing needed in carrying out and submitting practice-based doctoral research. A draft outline is presented on the next page. The workshop will involve a "Writing Masterclass", in which participants will be able to present their writing strategies and issues and problems arising from their work-in-progress for critique by their colleagues and by a panel of expert doctoral supervisors.

The event takes place at Gregynog House, near Newtown, Powys. Gregynog is the University of Wales Residential Conference Centre.

The programme is open to postgraduate students and research degree supervisors who wish to focus on practice-based research. Participation is free to registered research degree candidates and academic staff members within WIRAD. Participants from other institutions are very welcome, at a nominal fee of £50.00 for full board, including accommodation and meals.

To find out more, or to reserve a place, please complete the application form and return it by email to Joan Fothergill.