POSTGRADUATE COMMUNITY

Welcome

Here, you can find out about our group of research postgraduates, who we are, what we do, and events and projects– both academic and social – which we are organising or involved in.

The Informal Postgraduate Committee

As well as the various academic and staff-led bodies, the department has established a more informal, postgraduate-led group that meets, irregularly, on a more social basis called the INFORMAL POSTGRADUATE COMMITTEE.

Who We Are?

The informal postgraduate committee is the name given to the community of postgraduates in the department of politics and international relations. The committee is an informal, relaxed postgraduate-led committee that meets irregularly –usually on a social basis- to discuss issues relating to the postgraduates in the department. In short, if you are a politics or international relations postgraduate (taught or research) then you are a member of the committee.

What We Do?

The purpose of the postgraduate committee is threefold; to provide an informal, relaxed peer group environment to discuss issues of common interest. Conference papers, or student presentations to the Departmental seminar group, can be discussed before the event itself, an ideal way to prepare for the official presentation. This allows the student to receive critical but welcome feedback, and to highlight areas where more work is required. These presentations are organised solely at the request of the students themselves. Secondly, it simply gives the postgraduates within the Department an opportunity to come together and discuss any problems they might be facing in their research. For First Year postgraduate students in particular, this gives them an opportunity to pick the brains of their colleagues and benefit from their past experiences. Thirdly, the committee acts as a means to organise social events such as nights out, the Christmas party and sporting events. This third purpose of the committee hopefully engenders a collegial atmosphere within the postgraduate community to making the postgraduate experience more friendly.

Role of the President

The President of the committee has several roles; to act as a spokesperson for the committee, to co-ordinate social events such as the Christmas party or nights out, to inform postgraduates of events in the department, to organise academic events such as seminars or practice presentations, and to welcome new postgraduates to the department. The President is elected at the start of each academic year by the other postgraduates in the department, usually by a show of hands, and is usually in their second year of studies.

Contact e-mail: politicsandir@abdn.ac.uk