News - A fantastic ADR UK PhD Student Gathering event!

Introduction

Day one may have been a dull and cold Edinburgh day outside, but inside the Edinburgh Future Institute there was an excited buzz from the attendees and speakers. Mr Alastair McAlpine, ADR Scotland Co-Director, gave a warm welcome to all attendees, and encouraged the PhD students to take advantage of the connections they will make over the next two days. He reminded them that they are the future of administrative data research, and encouraged everyone to build their networks early on in their career, and to focus on talking to members of the communities who are involved in their area of research. Last, but definitely not least, he encouraged everyone to think of the impact they would like their research to have, and to establish that goal right from the start, rather than adding it as an afterthought in the final months.

What is administrative data?

Ally spoke about how administrative data research plays a vital role in helping governments understand society more clearly and to design services that genuinely meet people’s needs. He reminded researchers that by connecting with the public communities affected by the issue they are researching, together with connecting with policy holders and civil servants, means they won’t just be creating research; they’ll be changing lives.

At the evening networking event, Ally said

I’ve been delighted today to welcome the ADR UK PhD cohort to Edinburgh to explore the next steps in their careers and consider the profound impact their work can have in academia and beyond.”

Morning session 

Following a fantastic ice breaker session, we had an excellent and informative morning with a variety of speakers presenting on how to build on your PhD, ending with a busy Q&A section, before moving to the breakout rooms where the PhD students had the opportunity to share their research, with one slide and give a short 3 minute presentation.

Dr Serena Pattaro, the programme coordinator and Chair of the event said:

It was especially great to hear directly from the students about their own research during the breakout sessions, which were facilitated by the morning speakers and provided an opportunity to continue the conversation that started earlier in the session.

Afternoon session

In the afternoon, there was a brilliant session led by ADR Scotland research fellows; Jan, Michelle and Ana on sharing good, reproducible code. This included a practical exercise where students worked together to identify poor practices in an example R script.

The day wrapped up with an inspiring panel of early career speakers from academia, government and the third sector, who shared honest reflections on their roles, aspirations, and career paths.

The day included participants hearing some excellent presentations, providing ideas on 'Building on your PhD'; 'Sharing your research'; 'Developing your skills' and 'Planning their next steps'.

One important activity built into the event, was that after each session, there was plenty of Q&A time for students to ask questions.

They were also encouraged to continue any conversations with speakers during the breaks or the evening networking event.

Day Two

The focus of the morning session was to ensure that any outstanding questions or queries from the students regarding finishing their studentship were answered, with Lizzie providing details of new funding opportunities and providing reassurance and guidance on any fears students had.

Bogusia provided plenty of great suggestions on where to look for suitable employment, encouraging students not to shy away from temporary posts. She also highlighted the new ADR UK Mentoring group that will be looking to recruit newly qualified PhDs to become mentors to support and advise the new PhD cohort for 2026 that will join as mentees, or they may well enjoy becoming part of one of the many upcoming ADR UK Communities of Practice.

Whilst some of the PhD students may wish to have a little time out, Emily shared with everyone that there will be several new and exciting research opportunities involving recently created linked flagship datasets, with many of these Flagship Datasets having Fellowship opportunities.

Serena closed the event by saying,

Putting together the programme for the PhD Gathering event, was very much a team effort, with colleagues from across ADR UK , the strategic hub and ADR Scotland's local event team being involved throughout. We were very grateful that a couple of current PhD students joined the event's planning committee to share what they wanted from the event. Thank you to all students and supervisors who took part in the organising committee meetings. We hope everyone found the event useful and came away with advice that will support them as they move forward in their PhD journeys.

We would be thrilled if those PhD students who attended the gathering, would please complete the feedback survey by clicking this link: ADR UK PHD STUDENT GATHERING 2026 FEEDBACK SURVEY- by ADR Scotland – Please fill in the form