Book now: the Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference 2022
We are excited to share that the University of Salford’s Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC) 2022 is back in-person for the first time since 2019!
Taking place on Wednesday 29 June and Thursday 30 June at our MediaCity campus and online, the free conference is open to staff, students and the public, and is a great opportunity to join us in celebrating the work of our postgraduates.
SPARC is a forum for developing research, offering a space for postgraduate researchers from all disciplines to exchange ideas. Taking part will enable you to actively engage with our postgraduate research community and see what they have been working on.
This year’s conference will feature over 60 researchers presenting several talks and interactive workshops for participants to get involved with, and two keynote speakers – Professor Turi King and Dr Cristina Vasilica. You can learn more about them at the bottom of this page.
Supervisor of the Year award
Since 2019, SPARC has also been an opportunity for Salford staff to be nominated for the ‘Supervisor of the Year’ award! This is an award that recognises those academic staff members who have demonstrated excellence in their practice, based on nominations by their postgraduate research students. The nominees are to be judged ‘blind’ by a panel who looked for signs of good pastoral support, availability, providing access to networks and opportunities, constructive guidance and excellence in their own fields.
What is a 'supervisor'?
The supervisor of a PhD candidate is required to provide academic guidance and practical support from the start of the research project through to the oral examination (called a Viva Voce) and award of their doctorate. Each student has a supervisor team, normally comprising a lead supervisor and a co supervisor, who will guide the student but not lead the research project – a good student-supervisor relationship is crucial for the student’s progress, but students cannot expect their supervisor to provide all the answers; by the time they finish their PhD, they should be the expert.
Nominees this year include:
School of Health and Society
- Tony Long
- Annie Wood
- Margaret Coffey
- Daniel Parker
- Carina Price
- Nicola Spence
- Alison Brettle
- Penny Cook
- Gregory Keenan
- Sue McAndrew
Salford Business School
- Marie Griffith
- Alex Fenton
- Tony Syme
- Suzanne Kane
School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology
- Alaric Searle
- Christopher Murphy
- Caroline L. Davey
- Ursula Hurley
- Nicola Spelman
School of Science, Engineering & Environment
- Andrew Clark
- Meisam Babaie
- Ilaria Coscia
- Paul Coates
- Mustafa Munir
- Sunil Vadera
In recognition of our amazing nominees, Doctoral School Director Katherine Yates and Pro Vice Chancellor for Research Karl Dayson will be hosting an afternoon tea celebration on Friday 17 June exclusively for those who are nominated.
The winner of the award will be announced on Wednesday 29 June at the end of the day, so be sure not to miss out!
Book your place today!
The two-day conference will be available to attend online or in person at MediaCity. You can choose your type of attendance for both days when booking your attendance for free.
For any queries, please contact sparc@salford.ac.uk in the first instance.
About the keynote speakers
Professor Turi King, University of Leicester
Turi is a scientist, presenter, speaker and author who is passionate about communicating science to the public.
Turi uses genetics in the fields of forensics, history and archaeology. She is perhaps best known her work “cracking one of the biggest forensic DNA cases in history” (Globe and Mail, February 2013) leading the genetic analysis for the identification of King Richard III.
Her award-winning PhD examined the relationship between the Y chromosome and British surnames combining forensic DNA techniques with history and genealogy, the first large scale study of its kind.
Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, who invented DNA fingerprinting, was one of her PhD advisors. Named as one of the world’s ‘rockstar genealogists’, her work since has covered not only family history but the use of genetic genealogy in forensics and historical cases.
Dr Cristina Vasilica, University of Salford
With a background in digital business, Cristina worked in the industry before joining Academia and undertaking her PhD here at Salford. Her research is aligned with current agendas, promoting collaborative work and co-creation with the local communities to make deeply impactful positive change.
She delivered on various projects, including co-designing, implementing, evaluating and franchising the Greater Manchester Kidney Information Network (GMKIN), an online community for renal patients; or utilizing digital methods to identify patients' information needs. She introduced the Digital Skills Passport within the nursing curricula to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills required to work and thrive in the digital economy. Her work has informed policy development; reflected in work undertaken in collaboration with INVOLVE (National Institute for Health Research, 2014).
Cristina won the VC’s Research Excellence Awards 2013, Innovation Award for use of Social Media (2015) and the Big Chip Digital Awards (2018).
For all press office enquiries please email communications@salford.ac.uk.