The Roey Grads Podcast

We patched in a fifth microphone in Sound Studio One so Charles and Will could sit down with Sandra Celada, Charley Clayton and James Powell from the University's Library and Digital Services Team. We discuss the many services their team offer students, the lifecycle and management of resources, the persistence of the physical, heavy-metal-on-dead-tree-pulp book in spite of the ascendency of everything digital, and the inevitable question of AI. 

Links: 

• The Library’s Web Home 

• Contacting the team 

• The Library’s excellent FAQ, LibAnswers 

• The new Jessica Kingsley Autism and Neurodiversity Collection (Institution access only!) 

Chapters 

00:08 Introduction 

00:12 Overview of the teams and their roles 

03:25 Resources lifecycle: acquisitions, weeding 

04:13 How is the paper book faring? 

05:41 “The architectural and social arrangement” 

06:25 Use of the Library space for other things... 

09:27 Recent Library initiatives and wins 

10:20 The Library’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives 

11:20 The team’s take on AI 

15:57 What are your reading at the moment? 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes 
 
Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

Aaliyah, Charles and Will sit down for a chat with Kaylianna Christian. Hailing from Florida, Kaylianna chose Roehampton with great care to study the impact of children’s literature in the moral education of early years learners. Kaylianna is a Christian minister, currently Young Life and Families Pastor at St Peter’s, in Notting Hill, and her doctoral journey is moved by a profound Faith, but her research includes secular texts, from Peter Rabbit to Frozen. We discuss the challenge of data collection involving young children, her background in Theology and nurseries in the US, the joys and challenges of doctoral study, and why it’s good practice to throw in a fiction book once a month in the middle of all that literature. 

If you are a grad student at Roehampton’s School of Education, Kaylianna is 🫵 your rep, and if you have ideas, complaints, suggestions, or anything else, do send her an email! 

Chapters 

00:08 Introduction 

00:30 Kaylianna and her research 

01:52 Kaylianna’s academic route to the PhD 

02:56 Choosing London, Choosing Roehampton 

03:57 Professional PhD and Professional life 

05:23 Data collection with Early Years children 

08:04 Being an Academic Rep for SofE 

09:01 Building an academic network 

10:07 Favourite part of doctoral studies 

11:12 Challenges of doctoral studies 

11:58 Getting support 

12:32 Differences with undergrad and Masters 

14:10 Suggestions for improvement? 

14:44 Tips for current and future Phd candidates 

15:46 Managing information 

16:35 Tips for well-being? 

18:03 Something unrelated 

19:08 #PhDGlow 

20:24 Final words 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes 
 
Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

Will and Charles speak to Sara Houston, Professor of Dance and Director for the Centre for Research in Arts and Creative Exchange at the University of Roehampton’s School of Arts. Since the late 2000s, Sara’s research has focused on the benefits of dance for people with Parkinson’s, starting from a small project with the English National Ballet, then growing into a decades-long project, culminating in her 2019 Book, Dancing with Parkinson’s.  

Sara’s own PhD was at Roehampton, we discuss her personal route to it, what has changed, and what has stayed the same. She is also co-director of the Consortium for Researching Inclusive Culture and Arts (CRICA,) a research programme in partnership with the London School of Economics – which amongst other things offers funded PhD studentships... 😉 

Chapters 

00:08 Introduction 
01:04 Dancing with Parkinson’s: the origin story 

02:58 The role of the English National Ballet 

04:31 The current landscape 

05:15 Different methods for different evidence 

09:46 Sara’s own PhD at Roehampton 

11:21 Dance as an academic discipline 

12:37 The PhD, then and now 

14:56 CRICA: the Consortium for Researching Inclusive Culture and Arts 

16:12 Do you have to be a dancer to research Dance? 

17:00 Sara’s tips for grad students 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes 
 
Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

Earlier this year Jake Elliot was awarded his PhD at Roehampton. He returned to the university for this show, to tell us about his thesis - about William Blake and London - and offer some insights into how to complete a PhD successfully - he passed his viva in May with no corrections. 

Jake has already published an article about his work (see below) and is teaching in Oxford while preparing a proposal for a book.  

We discussed the role of the police in London, Blake as a visual artist and a writer, and how Jake’s studies enrich his enjoyment of a walk down Regent Street.  

Links: 

Blake’s “Watchman”: Los and the London Police 

EUROPEAN ROMANTIC REVIEW 2024, VOL. 35, NO. 3, 545–561 

London (Blake, 1794) 

Chapters 

01:00 The London watchmen and the police 

03:05 Blake the traditionalist? 

05:13 Defining the subject of the thesis 

08:28 Claims to ‘advance knowledge’ through the thesis 

13:12 The use of (French!) critics in Jake’s thesis 

16:34 How London was changing in Blake’s time 

19:02 Completing your thesis is ‘only a milestone’ 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

The ambience for the reading of London is courtesy of the BBC’s sound archive, BBC Rewind - it was recorded in... Bratislava 

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes 
 
Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

Charles and Will sit down for an inspiring chat with Louis Wright, head of Sustainability, and Amelia Iswariah, Sustainability and Energy Officer. They discuss the work of the sustainability team, and sustainability efforts in the HE sector more broadly; the importance of awareness-raising, communication, storytelling; and balancing these qualitative aspects of their impact with the quantitative accounting, in carbon or currency. There is, of course, a mention of the hidden – and dire – environmental impact of AI and cloud computing; also, sustainability events past and future, including the 2026 London Student Sustainability Conference, and the crucial roles of free pastries in student engagement. 

Feedback, ideas, suggestions for events,  want to get involved? 

Get in touch at [email protected]. 

The team is keen to hear from you 🫵 

Links: 

• Sustainability events 

• 2008-2022 Carbon Management Progress Report 

Chapters 

00:08 Introductions 

00:28 What is Roehampton’s sustainability strategy? 

03:03 Decarbonisation plan and net zero target 

03:24 Emission categorisation (scopes 1, 2, and 3) 

04:24 Quantifying the university’s carbon footprint 

05:13 Evaluating the impact of the team’s work 

07:46 Attitude to sustainability in the HE sector 

08:28 Roehampton’s new School of Sustainable Engineering and Technology 

09:30 Student-led sustainability initiatives 

10:15 Communicating and convincing across the institution 

12:23 Working with students 

14:28 Reconciling the university’s attitude to AI with its sustainability goals 

17:51 Working with non-profits, charities and cross- sector groups 

20:54 The London Student Sustainability Conference 

22:12 What can grad students do for Sustainability at Roe? 

24:22 Upcoming events 

26:34 Wrap-up, credits (no bloopers this week) 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes 
 
Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

In this episode, Will speaks to Jian Bakir, a third year Education PhD student. Jian’s thesis explores the experience of primary school teachers in active war zones – in this instance Aleppo, Syria. They discuss the very personal path to Jian’s research, the difficulties of collecting data from a war zone, her likes, dislikes and recommendations when it comes to doctoral life.  

Recommendations: 

AI for literature: 

- https://elicit.com 

- https://scite.ai 

The PhD Life Raft podcast 

The Grad Coach YouTube channel 

Chapters 

00:08 Introduction 

00:41 Jian and her research 

01:18 The road to her PhD 

02:45 The challenge of data collection 

04:58 Jian’s professional journey 

08:06 Her favourite aspect of the doctorate 

09:36 Challenges and pain points 

11:37 Support through the PhD 

13:28 The support she wishes she got 

15:20 Recommendations 

18:45 Health and wellbeing 

20:10 Advice for doctoral students 

22:52 Studio wrap-up 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes 
 
Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

Charles sits down for a chat both broad and deep with John Moxon, interim deputy dean, educational partnerships lead and academic discipline officer in the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. John has an impressive range of professional expertise – from software to religious studies. With doctorates in both physics and theology, he currently publishes papers about the Acts of the Apostles whilst teaching Discrete Maths at Roehampton. On this week’s show, he talks about his academic career, explaining why he made the move from science to the humanities, why he thinks theology still has a bright future, and why we should be more worried about society’s dwindling faith in science.   

John’s theology paper mentioned on the show:  

‘An Unnoticed Jacob–Esau Allusion in Acts’ Religions 2022, 13(5), 434. 

https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/5/434 

Chapters 

00:08 Introduction 

00:55 John’s research on the book of Acts 

03:31 On the’ nerdy aspect’ of biblical studies 

06:00 John’s original background 

09:19 Trips to South America 

11:56 Changing academic fields 

17:25 Is faith a prerequisite to theological studies? 

18:27 The state of Theology as an academic field 

22:38 Reflections on Artificial Intelligence 

25:30 Wrap-up 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes 
 
Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

In this episode, Will sits down with Sripadma Ganapathi, a third-year Dance PhD student of Roehampton's School of Arts. A dancer, and teacher, of Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance form, Sripadma shares details of her  interdisciplinary research, which aims to create a dance-based warm-up routine for Bharatanatyam dancers to help reduce the form's high injury rates. 

Her multidisciplinary mixed-method approach involves ethnographic sourcing movements from an ancient Hindu text, the Nāṭya Shāstra, and validating their effectiveness using motion capture technology, in collaboration with the School of Life Sciences.  

We chat about the personal and academic journey to her doctorates, joys and pains, support and recommendations 

Mentioned: 

• PhD Help on Instagram 

Chapters 

00:08 Introduction 

00:39 Sripadma's research 

01:52 Collecting the data 

03:05 Sripadma's journey to her PhD 

05:22 Life beyond the PhD 

06:27 Her favourite parts of the PhD 

08:54 The most difficult parts 

10:20 The support she got 

11:23 The support she wish she got 

12:30 Recommendations 

13:15 Tips for health and wellbeing 

14:18 Final words 

15:18 Studio recap 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes 
 
Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

In the very first episode recorded for the podcast, in somewhat DIY conditions, Will sits down with Mairead Watson and Jane Pollard from the Disability and Dyslexia department, who outline all the support the University offers to students who need it. 

We cover the disabilities and learning needs supported, the types of support, accessing the DSA, and, relevant to grad students, a new initiative to make Vivas and other milestones more accessible. 

Get in touch with the D&D service at [email protected], 0208 392 3636, or in the Richardson Building (Digby Stuart College) 

Chapters: 

00:09 Introduction 
00:32 Mairead, disability advisor and Jane, Dyslexia (and neurodiversity) coordinator. 
01:20 What qualifies as a disability? 
01:55 Getting support 
02:38 Summaries of adjustments 
03:46 The Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) 
04:50 DSA for international students, and research students\ 
06:30 A hidden gem 
07:13 Support for vivas and other milestones 
09:25 Getting in touch 
10:19 the Beautifully Neurodiverse student group  
12:04 Wrap-up 
 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/study/academic-areas/graduate-school 

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes.  
https://pixabay.com/users/diamond_tunes-25553362 
 
Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

In this episode, Charles speaks to Catherine Archer-Richards, who is in the final months of her PhD in Children's Literature. Catherine’s thesis, “Shakespeare as the ‘girl’s friend’” investigates the way girls in the Victorian era encountered the works of Shakespeare, at home and at school. She situates the influence of these early literary encounters on the evolving conceptions of girlhood, and the emancipation of women over the Victorian period.  

We also hear about Catherine’s path to a PhD, the practicalities of archive research, relationships with supervisor, and the crucial tip to always note down the page number of quotes! 

Chapters: 

00:09 Introduction 
00:55 Shakespeare as the ‘girl’s friend’ ?? 
02:24 Catherine’s path to her PhD 
04:37 Victorian literature, then and now 
05:42 Bowlder and the Lambs: Shakespeare at home 
07:31 Archive research 
10:03 Organising research materials 
12:46 Why no research is wasted effort 
14:46 Writing up 
16:39 Working with supervisors 
17:27 Finding your argument, finding your voice 
18:20 Academic writing 
19:25 Finishing the PhD, considering the after 
20:15 Wrapping up 
 

The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  

https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/study/academic-areas/graduate-school 

Our theme music is by DiamondTunes.  
https://pixabay.com/users/diamond_tunes-25553362 
 
Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]