Rebekah Smith McGloin

Role

Rebekah provides strategic leadership in the area of inclusive research culture, environment and doctoral education.

She is accountable for:

• the implementation of a research culture delivery plan that will produce a demonstrable increase in equity, support and ambition
• doctoral education at NTU, with a focus on creating an inclusive doctoral community and an excellent postgraduate researcher experience
• the delivery of research staff development and capacity building to support and embed a diverse, ambitious research culture.

Career overview

Rebekah joined NTU in January 2020 and spent three years leading Doctoral School and Research Operations. In June 2023, she became Director of Research Culture and Environment which gave her the opportunity to combine several strands of work on open research, civic engagement, collaboration, EDI. It also includes her leadership of a £7m project portfolio including UfN Co(l)laboratory and the EDEPI Project.

She was previously Director of the Doctoral College and Centre for Research Capability and Development at Coventry University. She has also worked in doctoral education at University of Nottingham where she completed her PhD in 2005.

Rebekah has a strong interest in transformational change and growth in research and expertise in researcher capability development and research capacity building. She is committed to creating strong, diverse and inclusive doctoral communities. She has an extensive track record in doctoral training, in particular in the configuration, set-up, and delivery of regional, national and international doctoral training programmes.

External activity

Rebekah has been a regular UKRI Panel/Review Member for doctoral training awards since 2018 and is frequently invited to roundtable consultations related to doctoral education, research culture and equality, diversity and inclusion including UK ‘Collective Talent Funding’ (2023) and the ‘New Deal for PGR’ consultation (2021). She was selected to be an expert panel member for the UK Concordat for Researchers National Review (2019) and she was a member of BBSRC-UKRI People and Talent Strategy Panel (2017-2022).

She amplifies her contribution to policy and practice through her work with the UK Council for Graduate Education, of which she was an elected member of the Executive Committee for 7 years.

Her national policy work includes: three years chairing a UK Working Group on Diversity and Sustainability of Organisational Structures for Doctoral provision and co-authorship of two reports on structure and strategy in doctoral education in UK and Ireland, published by UKCGE (2015, 2022). She is also co-author on a national PGR Admissions Report, based on a national survey of practice in recruitment and admissions to doctorates in the UK, published with UKCGE.

Rebekah is currently Principal Investigator for two externally funded projects:

1. Research England/Office for Students project entitled Equity in Doctoral Education through Partnership and Innovation (EDEPI) which aims to drive sector-wide change in PGR recruitment and admissions practices and support for transition into doctoral education for under-represented groups;
2. (Research England Development Fund project entitled Universities for Nottingham Co(l)laboratory Research Hub, which engages local citizens, organisations, and communities in setting the agenda for research at their local universities, conducting those research projects, and empowering communities to lead local change.

Rebekah is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences in practice and research in doctoral education, including The Society for Research in Higher Education, UK Council for Graduate Education, Quality in Postgraduate Research (Australia), and Vitae.

Rebekah has worked in partnership with collaborators on projects in Australia, Singapore, India, South Africa, Oman, Chile, and across Europe.