On 20 March 2026, the Radcliffe Science Library hosted Talk About Your Thesis, a new event developed in response to graduate student feedback. The aim was to give graduate students the opportunity to practise presenting their research in a friendly environment, while also meeting fellow students from across departments.

The session brought together just under 30 students from across MPLS, MSD and beyond for seven short talks followed by an informal lunch. With speakers presenting on a wide range of topics, attendees had the chance to hear about research far beyond their own specialism, while speakers gained valuable experience of presenting to a broader audience.

The RSL thanks Rueben College for use of their Lecture theatre to support the event.

Why we ran the event

Postgraduate students need to present their research at different stages of their careers, from conferences to transfer workshops to public engagement, but many have said there are limited opportunities to practise outside their own research groups or departments. Students also expressed interest in connecting with other graduate researchers across the University.

Talk About Your Thesis was created to support both of these aims: building confidence in presenting and creating opportunities for conversation and connection.

A broad and engaging programme

One of the strengths of the event was the variety of subjects represented. Rather than focusing on a single theme, speakers were invited to talk about their DPhil research in a style suitable for a general audience. This created a programme that was varied, accessible and engaging.

The talks covered topics including social media and social anxiety, ocean mixing caused by icebergs, battery design, atomic structure modelling, HIV-1 molecular epidemiology, irradiation damage in fusion reactors and smartwatch training. The diversity of topics helped make the event lively and gave everyone the chance to learn something new and the speakers did an excellent job making the topics understandable.

A welcoming atmosphere

Feedback from both speakers and attendees was very positive. Students appreciated the chance to practise their speaking skills in a supportive setting and valued the opportunity to meet researchers from outside their own departments.

“It is a great opportunity to practice presenting skills in a friendly environment”

“It’s a great event to practice speaking in an informal manner”

“This crowd was so friendly and engaged it was a really positive environment to practice in”

That welcoming atmosphere came through strongly in the feedback.

“Everyone was really friendly! It was great and I hope the library considers doing it again :)”

“Doing a DPhil can be very isolating, this is a great opportunity to meet other DPhil students”

One attendee reflected on both aspects of the event:

“I most enjoyed meeting people over lunch, but the whole event was great! The broad range of subject areas was good for learning about topics outside my specialism and for meeting interesting people who I might not otherwise have met. Everyone was very friendly, especially the library staff”

Looking ahead

The event was very well received, and feedback showed that there is interest in a similar event in the future. We are looking into possibilities of running a comparable event next year, which would incorporate feedback such as including a short Q&A after the talks.

Overall, Talk About Your Thesis offered exactly what many graduate students had been asking for: a chance to share research, practise speaking and connect with others in a welcoming environment.

The full list of speakers from Talk About Your Thesis 2026