The Sino-British programme: reflections on developing a psychotherapy programme for Chinese participants working with children and adolescents

This article will offer a perspective on collaborating in designing and delivering the Sino-British programme; a three-year training postgraduate programme for Chinese participants working as counsellors and psychotherapists with children and adolescents. The perspective is by an English teacher and co-organiser with her Chinese colleague Dr Wang Qian. The many vicissitudes described; both challenges and moving surprises, are the author’s own views but I have also drawn on contributions made by several of the English teachers who have contributed to the programme.

Hydroinformatics education – the Water Informatics in Science and Engineering (WISE) Centre for Doctoral Training

The Water Informatics in Science and Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training (WISE CDT) offers a postgraduate programme that fosters enhanced levels of innovation and collaboration by training a cohort of engineers and scientists at the boundary of water informatics, science and engineering. The WISE CDT was established in 2014 with funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) amongst the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. The WISE CDT will ultimately graduate over 80 PhD candidates trained in a non-traditional 4-year UK doctoral programme that integrates teaching and research elements in close collaboration with a range of industrial partners. WISE focuses on cohort-based education and equips the PhD candidates with a wide range of skills developed through workshops and other activities to maximise candidate abilities and experiences. We discuss the need for, the structure and results of the WISE CDT, which has been ongoing from 2013–2022 (final year of graduation). We conclude with lessons learned and an outlook for PhD training, based on our experience with this programme.

Understanding the drivers of bottlenecks in RANZCP training: modelling and a calculator to determining sustainable trainee intake

Objectives: Demand for places in postgraduate psychiatry training programmes has increased over recent years. All systems have capacity limits, and concerns have been raised regarding the sustainability of the current intake. This paper presents a modelling exercise to exploring the presence and strategies to resolve bottleneck in the Queensland training programme. Methods: Mathematical modelling based on the RANZCP training regulations and the characteristics of the accredited training programme. Results: A training bottleneck was identified which has been impacted by increased training intake, demand for Advanced Training certificates, and location factors. Conclusions: This investigation raises important questions regarding the future management of postgraduate training in psychiatry in Queensland that may be applicable more widely across Australia and New Zealand. In particular, it highlights the large impact that can result from even small incremental increases in trainees across varying levels of the postgraduate programme and the importance of limiting trainee intake in a manner proportional to the availability of mandatory terms.

Cartridge Music in the Quarantine: Presence, Absence, Contingency Setups and (De-)territorialised Performances

Between the end of May and the beginning of June, 2020, we performed individually, filmed, synced together, edited and presented a quarantine version of John Cage’s Cartridge Music. Uploaded on YouTube, the performance was broadcast on 1 June, as part of the 4th Research Colloquium of the Postgraduate Programme in Music of the Federal University of Paraíba. Stranded at home since March, unable to reach our respective faculty offices/studios, and mostly left with domestic gear, kitchenware, sound-producing car equipment and our children’s toys, we put together an emergency version of the piece, characterised by three dramatically different setups, each with its own spatialities and soundworlds. Importantly, our use of the signifier “emergency” here is meant to refer much more to the concrete condition of our existences in this particular situation, than to the contingential circumstances of this specific musical activity. In this paper, we discuss the piece by considering its preparation, performance, presentation the (de-)territorialisation of performance and on the territorial metaphors embedded in collaborative artistic interaction, we question the notions of “place” and “venue” in the context of a collective performance that happened in three different locations and of a subsequent première that did not happen in any tangible physical place at all. However, and in spite of the substantial de-territorialisation of our gig, we also consider a set of persisting spatial narratives that inscribe the performance in terms of both visually and aurally perceptible power relations. Finally, considering the inherent criticalities of the field(s) of “experimental”, “avant-garde” or simply “contemporary” music, we assess the gains and losses of such a dematerialised and yet ubiquitous performance in terms of audience participation and appreciation.

Hydroinformatics education – The Water Informatics in Science and Engineering (WISE) Centre for Doctoral Training

The Water Informatics in Science and Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training (WISE CDT) offers a postgraduate programme that fosters enhanced levels of innovation and collaboration by training a cohort of engineers and scientists at the boundary of water informatics, science and engineering. The WISE CDT was established in 2014 with funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) amongst the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. The WISE CDT will ultimately graduate over 70 PhD candidates trained in a non-traditional UK doctoral programme that integrates teaching and research elements, focuses on cohort-based education and equips the students with a wide range of skills developed through workshops and other activities to maximise their abilities and experience. We discuss the need for, the structure and results of the WISE CDT, which has been ongoing for 6 years. We conclude with an outlook for PhD training, based on our experience with this programme.

The Value of an Enterprise Postgraduate Research Programme for creating business start-ups in the UK

The Masters of Enterprise Programme is a postgraduate programme whereby a student attempts to start a business during the course of their studies. Established in 2001, we have analysed the success of the 59 companies created from the course and found that as expected the start-up rate is higher than the general population. We also found that ratio of male to female founders (70-30) was similar to start-ups from the general population; however, the survival rate of ventures created from the programme was significantly higher. Also, a higher rate of the businesses were employing more than just the founder, implying they are what could be considered “Entrepreneurial” businesses rather than simply someone self- employed as might be normal in some careers. Despite many overseas students completing the course, only 3 of the businesses were founded outside the UK, suggesting the UK economy is benefitting from the ventures created. We also discuss other outcomes from the course such as these entrepreneurial students are often recruited by top corporates. We further discuss what we believe are the contributing pedagogic factors to its success. Keywords: Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Education, Employability, Start-ups, UK economy.

A study of applicants’ preference on choosing a postgraduate programme using Discrete Choice Model

Is having a degree of a postgraduate programme necessary and indispensable? Over the recent decades, it is noticeable to find that experienced professionals with a postgraduate degree would move up the corporate ladder relatively faster than those who do not. Because of that, professionals seeking for master degree or above are growing. In parallel, many universities in Hong Kong are offering various postgraduate programmes to attract potential applicants resulting in severe competition among universities themselves. Leveraging on the Discrete Choice Model (DCM) and sensitivity analysis, this study examined how the six essential attributes would make an impact on the ranking of a postgraduate programme. To validate the model, three hundred and thirty-nice responses were collected through a mass survey. Our findings highlighted that reputation of the university, practicality of the programme, focuses on future economies and cost of the programme were more important factors than location of the university and internationalization of students’ profile for potential applicants to choose a postgraduate programme in Hong Kong. This study intended to offer practical insights and direction for universities when designing a better and more attractive postgraduate programmes.