LJMU celebrates tenth Postgraduate Research Festival

LJMU’s Doctoral Academy marked its tenth Postgraduate Research Festival this May with more than 150 staff and postgraduate researchers participating across 50 posters, micro-tutorials, presentations and Three Minute Thesis (3MT) talks.

The 2026 festival theme was ‘The Perfectionist’s Playground: Rethinking Research Culture and Community’ continuing the annual tradition of showcasing the impressive quality of doctoral research at LJMU and encouraging open discussion about the realities of postgraduate research.

Highlights included research talks from Dr Luke Olsson and Professor Scott Foster, reflecting on the perils of perfectionism and how researchers can build belonging and connection in research environments. While an interactive panel of experienced research supervisors also shared insights on expectations, research ownership, work-life balance and managing professional relationships.

Psychology PhD researcher, Maria Planes Alias, won the LJMU 3MT competition and now goes through to the UK 3MT quarter finals with her presentation on ‘Empathy in healthcare interactions with fibromyalgia patients’. Rebecca Lowes from the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences was named the 3MT runner-up for her presentation on reconstructing dinosaur movement, while Cherene de Bruyn from the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences won the People’s Choice Award for her talk on using microbes to find hidden graves.

There is the hugely enthusiastic and passionate “playground” of research and knowledge exchange at LJMU that facilitates idea sharing, problem-solving, peer support, personal development and award-winning presentations.