BU Research Blog

Today marks the launch of the 2026 national Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES). This is your chance to tell us what being a postgraduate researcher at BU is really like. Your feedback helps us build a better research community for everyone.

The survey is a national initiative led by AdvanceHE and managed at BU by the Doctoral College. Your honest feedback is vital, it helps us benchmark our performance against other universities and, more importantly, tells us exactly where we need to improve our research culture, resources, and support systems.

Key Objectives for 2026:

• Participation: We are targeting a minimum response rate of 40%.
• Focus Areas: Feedback covers supervision, resources, research culture, assessment, professional development, and wellbeing.

Last year, our researchers ranked us above the sector average in 9 out of 10 categories, with an impressive 87% overall satisfaction rate. This feedback directly drives improvements in supervision, research culture, and wellbeing.

What we want to hear about

The survey covers every angle of your journey, including:

• Supervision quality and Progress/Assessment.
• Resources, Research Culture, and Community.
• Professional Development and Wellbeing.
• Your primary motivations for pursuing a research degree.

How to take part

Check your inbox: If you are eligible, you will receive an email today (Monday 13 April) from doctoralcollege@bournemouth.ac.uk with your unique survey link.

Your responses are completely confidential and will be used to drive enhancements at both the Faculty and University-wide levels.

Deadline: Please submit your feedback by Friday 15 May 2026.

What’s in it for you?