The role of supervisors in fostering positive research culture
The role of supervisors in fostering positive research culture
24 March 2026, 10:00-11:00 GMT
On 24 March 2026, UKRIO will host an expert webinar on the role of supervisors in fostering a positive research culture. The session will examine how supervisory practice directly shapes research integrity and the wider research environment, helping participants understand what supportive supervision looks like in practice and how it can be sustained.
Speakers will explore the changing doctoral supervision landscape, including the growing demands on those in supervisory roles despite lack of recognition and reward for this work. The discussion will consider how these pressures affect research culture, and the role of institutional structures in enabling – or constraining – effective supervision.
Drawing on evidence from the cross-sector Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), the webinar will offer practical insight into how supervisors and institutions can better support good doctoral supervision and strengthen integrity-driven research cultures.
ℹ️ Key details
Format: Online webinar, hosted via Zoom
Access: Free and open to all
Best suited for:
- supervisors with responsibility for overseeing research and supporting early career researchers
- research leaders, heads of department, and institutional managers shaping research culture and supervisory frameworks
- professional services staff involved in researcher development, doctoral training, and research governance
- funders, sector bodies, and policy-makers concerned with strengthening research culture, supervision, and integrity.
Speakers
Dr Owen Gower
Owen serves as the Director of the UK Council for Graduate Education, shaping national strategy to strengthen and diversify the UK’s postgraduate and doctoral landscape. He has contributed to a range of UK-wide initiatives, including the UKRI Talent and Skills Advisory Group and Student Space, alongside projects focused on equity and innovation in doctoral education. His work centres on the purpose and public value of doctoral study, with particular interests in supervision, leadership and researcher autonomy.
With a background at the interface of research and public policy, Owen has fostered interdisciplinary partnerships across social policy, collaborating with organisations such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Runnymede Trust. He holds a PhD in Philosophy and has taught at King’s College London and Royal Holloway, University of London.
Dr Karen Clegg
Dr Karen Clegg is Co-Director of the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), a four-year national initiative transforming the culture and practice of research supervision in partnership with 58 practitioner and industry organisations, including the BBC, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Opera North. She is currently seconded as Reader in Doctoral Education and Practice within the School of Arts and Creative Technologies.
Previously, she led researcher development at the University of York, shaping institutional strategy and delivering accredited programmes for researchers and academic leaders. An elected trustee of the UK Council for Graduate Education and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she holds a PhD in pedagogy specialising in self and peer assessment.