New Vistas – Editorial

Special issue - 27^th Annual Doctoral Conference at the University of West London 

This special issue of New Vistas is dedicated to UWL doctoral students in recognition for their significant contribution to the University’s research standing and environment. It presents the abstracts of the talks and posters presented at the conference which took place on the 12th of July 2024.

The 27^th Annual Doctoral Conference was my first as Head of the Graduate School and I could not have been prouder. In fact, the UWL doctoral conference has held a special place in my heart since I first started at UWL, as a doctoral student myself, back in 2011. This is where I learned the ‘academic trade’ – presenting research to an audience, later on supporting students, and now as Head of the Graduate School.

The 27^th conference was a time for celebration – and there was a lot to celebrate - so let’s take a brief look at the UWL doctoral community’s achievements in 2024. We were delighted with our excellent results in the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) in 2024, with the UWL doctoral community voted 2^nd out of 53 institutions globally for ‘Overall Satisfaction’ and ‘Community’ and among the top 7 for ‘Responsibilities’, ‘Support’, ‘Supervision’ and ‘Research Culture’. The doctoral community also grew quite a bit; not just in numbers but also in its ambition to develop further (e.g., through engagement in research seminars and symposia) and its dedication to support as many students as possible through their doctoral journey (e.g., through initiatives such as the student experience group, the peer mentoring scheme, and the careers day). Many of UWL’s doctoral students have gone on to have sterling careers whether in academia (some of these within UWL), industry, local government or think tanks. We owe this success to all doctoral students - past and present – and to their dedication to research, their enthusiasm for learning and their willingness to share.

Similarly to previous conferences, the 27^th doctoral conference was packed with innovative, engaging and thought-provoking talks - 31 oral presentations and 11 posters - covering a wide range of topics and disciplines, including: music, creative writing, media, psychology, biomedical sciences, engineering, computer science, health, education, business, transport and tourism. Students from various backgrounds participated – whether international, home or settled status, full-time or part-time, some at the beginning of their doctoral journey, others nearing the end. We were also very lucky to host two fantastic keynote lectures. The first one was delivered by Professor Julie Wall, from the School of Computing and Engineering, on the transformative potential of AI in speech and generative technologies. The second one was given by Professor Jeremy Strong, from the London School of Film, Media and Design, and provided an insightful overview of his academic career.

And of course, there were prizes - deservedly awarded to Cezar Portillo, from the London College of Music, for best oral presentation (and Seeja Sudhakaran, from the School of Computing and Engineering, as runner up) and to Jordan Bazoer, from the School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, for best poster presentation (and Robert Matthews, from the same School, as runner up). Neil Livingtone from the London College of Music also received the Marcia Worrell award for his outstanding contribution to the research community.

There was much to celebrate, and still a lot to look forward to - not least the 28^th Annual Doctoral Conference which will take place on the 11^th of July 2025. Let’s all work together to ensure that it remains a place of inspiration, connection and fun!

Prof Caroline Lafarge

Head of the Graduate School