The Postgraduate Research Festival is LJMU's foremost annual event created by postgraduate researchers for postgraduate researchers. This day-long celebration brings together our diverse PGR community to share knowledge, develop skills and forge meaningful connections.
The 2025 Festival theme encouraged participants to reflect on the playfulness and creativity of research. Workshops led by visiting speakers, LJMU academics and PhD alumni explored storytelling, grant writing, Artificial Intelligence, creative science communication and navigating the post-PhD landscape. Keynote Dr Christopher Matthews (NTU) closed the day with a keynote on single-minded social science and ‘Getting Good Research Done’.
The soundtrack for the day was a collaborative ‘PGR Playlist’, created by delegates, which is available on Spotify.
8.15 to 8.45am Yoga session: an optional, pre-Festival 'pause' to help you start the day (LJMU Sports Building)
9 to 9.30am Registration, with live music by Saxmode (upper ground floor, Student Life Building)
9.30 to 9.45am Welcome, Prof Julie Sheldon and the 2025 PGR Festival Organising Committee (208/209, SLB)
9.45 to 11am Three Minute Thesis (3MT) University Final
11 to 11.30am Break
11.30am to 12.30pm Parallel Sessions #1 Choose from:
"Understanding ‘the ologies’: a practical journey towards abstract ideas’ (Dr Chris Matthews) OR
'An Introduction to Research Grants (Mike Hession) OR
‘Research that Resonates: crafting your academic narrative’ (Dr Stephe Harrop)
12.30 to 2pm Lunch and Poster Viewing
2 to 3pm Parallel Sessions #2
Choose from:
‘AI: Your Research Assistant’ (Dr Sara Muršić) OR
‘Creative Playful Science Illustration and Communication’ (Mark Roughley) OR
PhD Panel ‘’Voices of Experience’: Navigating the PhD Landscape and Beyond (Dr Ian Loftus, Dr Tanja Harrison, Dr Andrew Munro, Irina Stadniciuc)
3 to 3.30pm Break
3.30 to 4.30pm Keynote: 'Getting Good Research Done', Dr Christopher Matthews
4.30 to 5pm Celebrating Research: Reflection and Recognition, Prof Keith George, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research & Knowledge Exchange) and PGR Festival Organising Committee.
5 to 6pm Festival Reception, an informal space to continue discussions with your PGR Community, with drinks, board games, a PGR 'open mic' and a chance to hear the collaboratively curated LJMU PhD Playlist!
Competition Winners
Three Minute Thesis Competition
Winner: Joel Kearney (Sport & Exercise Sciences), 'Walking freely: the case for markerless motion capture in clinical settings'
Runner-up: Jenna Rice (Sport & Exercise Sciences), 'Level up: Improving movement competence through gamification'
People's Choice Award (voted by festival delegates): Sarah Charlin Klingberg (Justice Studies) 'Lost in transition - examining the risks of unaccompanied migrant children going missing in the UK'
Poster Competition - early stage category
Winner: Alexandros Amorginos (Sport & Exercise Sciences), ‘A high-protein Mediterranean diet and resistance exercise for cardiac prehabilitation’
Runner-up: (Joint) Rebecca Lowes (Biological & Environmental Sciences), ‘Walking with dinosaurs: toe angle and foot posture in birds and their ancestors’ and Sio Wynne (Public & Allied Health), ‘Adaptive methods for alleviating gender dysphoria in transgender and non-binary adults’
People's Choice Award: Milad Mousazadehgavan (Civil Engineering and Built Environment), ‘A macro threat in micro size: a novel approach for microplastic treatment’
Winner: Ian Eustace (Nursing and Advanced Practice), ‘Integrated care for patients following acute stroke’
Runner-up: Eleanor Cantwell(Sport & Exercise Sciences), ‘Drawing, showing, telling: what do the gymnasts think?’
People's Choice Award: Fatema Almadaweb(Business School), ‘An investigation into changing retail trends and its impact on retail firms’ internationalization: Evidence from Saudi Arabia market’
This year, 56 PGRs submitted posters for the PGR Festival. There were two categories for the posters: 'debut single' or early-stage PGR posters (for PGRs without findings to report at this stage) and middle and later-stage PGR posters (bringing together PGRs with findings, 'full album' and later stage PGRs who wanted to present new ideas for post-PhD research, 'B sides').
The competition brief was to create a poster with visual impact, offering a taster of the research in a way that is accessible to a non-specialist academic audience. All in fewer than 500 words!
You can view an online preview of posters for each category below:
The official judging was undertaken by Associate Deans for Research and Research Institute Heads, with a Judges' choice prize and runner-up for each category.
Judging criteria
Visual impact – is the poster visually engaging with a logical flow? Does it use space effectively? does it make good use of visual elements to convey complex information?
Content - Is the research situated within a relevant field? Are the aims, objectives, and methods communicated? Is it clear why the research is being done and what its potential impact might be? Middle and later stage only: are the findings clear?
Research communication – can the poster be easily understood by a non-specialist academic audience? Does it have an engaging title? Does it communicate a clear ‘take home’ message and/or tell a compelling story?
Three Minute Thesis
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a communications competition for doctoral researchers, originating at the University of Queensland. It challenges researchers to tell an intelligent, non-specialist audience what the research is about, why they are doing it, and why anyone should care in just three minutes.
LJMU 2025 3MT Finalists
Joel Kearney (Sport & Exercise Sciences) Walking freely: the case for markerless motion capture in clinical settings
Jenna Rice (Sport & Exercise Sciences) Level up: improving movement competence through gamification
Sarah Charlin Klingberg (School of Justice Studies) Lost in transition - examining the risks of unaccompanied migrant children going missing in the UK
Michael Monaghan (Education) Growing student-centred learning and teaching across the university
Vicky Ellingham (Education) “These Are My People”: reclaiming science through identity and motivation
Amer Salih (Engineering) Investigating dam’s control and performance using machine learning analytics
Cairns Turnbull (Astrophysics Research Institute)Complimenting ripples in spacetime with the universe’s most powerful explosions
Salma Shalaby (Psychology) The canaries’ experience
Ahmed Mohammed (Engineering) Powering Iraqi Homes with Smarter Solar Energy
Reem Abdulhakim (Law) Towards equitable access to justice: understanding access to justice and protecting human rights in the English legal system for vulnerable communities
Nic Davis-Crane (Business) Police culture and leadership: it’s complicated
Joanna Wootton (Sport & Exercise Sciences) Stair falls: the effect of the environment
Reuben Singh (Liverpool Business School) Foresight into the future of clean energy
PGR Festival organising committee
PGR Festival planning is led by a committee of doctoral researchers.
Madeline Rowe
I am a French and British PhD student in Psychology. I am in my second year, and my research focuses on midlife women's alcohol use and how it may relate to menopause and mental health. I am excited to be part of the 2025 PGR festival committee, and I hope you will have a great time there. Looking forward to meeting you all on 21 May!
Louise Rimmer
I am a novelist and former secondary school teacher. My PhD research examines the faulty epistemology of the West’s ‘war on terror’, and the othering of terrorists in mainstream fiction. I am writing a novel from the perspective of a victim of radicalisation.
Pouria Motalebi
I am a second-year PhD researcher at Liverpool Business School, focusing on the economic impact of cultural mega-events, particularly the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) program in medium-small cities. My research examines how these events influence urban development, tourism, and policy, assessing their economic implications and long-term sustainability. I am excited to be part of the Postgraduate Research Festival 2025 team and look forward to helping create an engaging and inspiring event for fellow researchers.
Delaram Yazdani
I’m a second-year PhD student at LJMU’s Engineering School. My research focuses on sustainability and energy efficiency in the maritime sector, exploring ways to reduce environmental impact and make port operations more efficient. I love connecting with other PGRs because we all have unique experiences and stories to share. Can’t wait to meet you at the PGR festival and hear yours!
Eleanor Cantwell
I'm based in the school of Sport and Exercise Sciences and I'm in the sixth year of my PhD. My research is concerned with all things psycho-social development, coaching and talent development environments in the British Gymnastics performance pathway. I know that PhD's can be lonely at times and I also know how valuable connecting with other PGRs and finding your tribe can be in tackling that. This is why I am excited to be working with a great team to put on an event that hopefully fosters those connections and covers the topics you really want to hear about.
I am a French and British PhD student in Psychology. I am in my second year, and my research focuses on midlife women's alcohol use and how it may relate to menopause and mental health. I am excited to be part of the 2025 PGR festival committee, and I hope you will have a great time there. Looking forward to meeting you all on 21 May!
I am a novelist and former secondary school teacher. My PhD research examines the faulty epistemology of the West’s ‘war on terror’, and the othering of terrorists in mainstream fiction. I am writing a novel from the perspective of a victim of radicalisation.
I am a second-year PhD researcher at Liverpool Business School, focusing on the economic impact of cultural mega-events, particularly the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) program in medium-small cities. My research examines how these events influence urban development, tourism, and policy, assessing their economic implications and long-term sustainability. I am excited to be part of the Postgraduate Research Festival 2025 team and look forward to helping create an engaging and inspiring event for fellow researchers.
I’m a second-year PhD student at LJMU’s Engineering School. My research focuses on sustainability and energy efficiency in the maritime sector, exploring ways to reduce environmental impact and make port operations more efficient. I love connecting with other PGRs because we all have unique experiences and stories to share. Can’t wait to meet you at the PGR festival and hear yours!
I'm based in the school of Sport and Exercise Sciences and I'm in the sixth year of my PhD. My research is concerned with all things psycho-social development, coaching and talent development environments in the British Gymnastics performance pathway. I know that PhD's can be lonely at times and I also know how valuable connecting with other PGRs and finding your tribe can be in tackling that. This is why I am excited to be working with a great team to put on an event that hopefully fosters those connections and covers the topics you really want to hear about.
