MASTS/SUPER Graduate School 13th Annual Student Retreat and Writing Retreat

Registration is now open for the Annual Student Retreat! Please fill out the Microsoft Form that has been sent to your inbox by Friday 23 February at 5.00 pm.

This is one of the mandatory core Graduate School events so we expect to see you there. Please make every effort to attend and actively participate. If you have extenuating circumstances please let us know by email via [email protected].

The goal of the Retreat is to bring you together from across your geographically dispersed institutions and to create a supportive community, while providing informative training sessions, talks, and time to network. You can find feedback from PGRs that attended previous Retreats below.

The Retreat will be held at the Macdonald Aviemore Resort from 1.00 pm on Monday 11 March to Wednesday 13 March at 3.30 pm. Individual ensuite rooms have been booked for you and all meals are included. Sessions will take place in the Peregrine Suite in the Spey Valley centre at the Resort, a large meeting space with windows for natural light which is accessible by stairs or lift. Please find the programme attached for more information on the sessions.

There is a choice of skills session on Tuesday morning, either Innovation and Impact, or Grant Writing. A social activity session has been included on the Tuesday afternoon. Options include a group walk in the Craigellachie NNR with routes for all abilities, bike hire as there are off-road cycle paths around the area, or ice skating at the Resort. If you do not want to participate in the group activities, the Resort pool and gym are open and the conference space will be available for you to work in if you wish.

Please make your own travel arrangements to Aviemore. There is a train station a few minutes’ walk from the Resort, or you could car-pool together to reduce our carbon footprint! There is free car parking for guests. Travel expenses, and childcare costs, can be claimed from your TSG.

Feedback:

“I LOVED the bar stool sessions. […] The whole vibe of that evening and being in the bar was just wonderful. I enjoyed the free time sessions and Aviemore is a fantastic location. […] The time I had for external activities (enjoying the mountains etc) was perfect with the time for the retreat.”

“I really appreciated that you invited speakers with very varied career paths, also outside of academia. That was super interesting and a great inspiration for what is out there and possible with a phd.”

“The retreat has been a great opportunity to establish fruitful personal and professional links within the postgraduate community, which will hopefully set the scene for future collaborations and knowledge exchange”.

“The hotel was really lovely and comfortable.”