WRDTP Welcome Event 2026-27

All new social sciences doctoral researchers from the Universities of Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Manchester Metropolitan, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam and York are warmly invited to attend the WRDTP’s annual Welcome Event. This year’s event will be hosted by the University of Leeds.

Attendees will learn more about the training and other opportunities offered by the WRDTP, as well as having a chance to meet and network with other new PhD students and representatives of the WRDTP’s Training Teams. Several current and former PhD students will also be sharing their experiences and tips. Please refer to the provisional schedule further down this page.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided, and assistance with transport will be available to WRDTP/ESRC-funded PGRs and other PGRs from our eligible departments. The WRDTP also offers assistance with childcare expenses to those with caring responsibilities.

This is a compulsory event for WRDTP/ESRC-funded PGRs starting their PhD in the 2026-27 academic year. Those who previously attended this event during their Master’s year, in October 2025, need not attend again. If this applies to you, please email training@wrdtp.ac.uk to confirm that you will not be attending.

As well as new PhD students funded by the WRDTP/ESRC, this event is open to:

• Any non-WRDTP/ESRC-funded PhD student in the social sciences from a WRDTP partner university;
• Any WRDTP/ESRC-funded student undertaking their Master’s in the 2026-27 academic year (although we recommend attending this event in the first year of PhD study, i.e. in October 2027);
• Any supervisor of a PhD student in the social sciences at a WRDTP partner university (whether or not the supervisee is funded by the WRDTP/ESRC).

When booking a place at this event, you will need to specify which of the Interdisciplinary Pathways aligns most closely with your research. This corresponds to the parallel session you will attend after lunch. Please attend your parallel session ready to introduce yourself/your research briefly and informally to peers whose research is in a similar area (formal presentations will not be required or expected).