Welcome to Academic language and communication for doctoral candidates. This site collates information on events and resources to help PhD students, or “PGRs”, at the University of Leeds, to develop the ability to communicate their research to academic audiences (such as supervisors, examiners, reviewers and readers). To receive updates on PGR workshops, subscribe to the site by email (on the right-hand site). The workshops are run by academic staff from the Language Centre – Alex and Millie.

Alex Ding

I am a Professor of English for Academic Purposes at the Language Centre. I have expertise is teaching PGR students and ECR colleagues to help develop their academic literacy and I have taught PGR students at the University of Nottingham, various Indonesian and French universities as well as at Leeds. I am also an experienced supervisor and have supervised over 20 students as well as having examined students from all over the world. See my full profile here.

I have published extensively in the area of English for Academic Purposes and my most recent publication, Language, Knowledge and Society in Higher Education: The Intersection of Social, Epistemological and Linguistic Knowledge in Academic Communication (with Ian Bruce), discusses many central issues that impact academic communication.

Millie Walkova

I am an Associate Professor in English for Academic Purposes at the Language Centre. My areas of expertise include academic writing and doctoral education. I have taught doctoral candidates at Leeds and at Indonesian, French and Slovak universities, and I have trained university lecturers in Indonesia to teach doctoral students. My approach to doctoral education is theory-and-research-informed and evidence-based. See my full profile here.

I am a member of International Doctoral Education Research Network (IDERN) and Baleap SIG Doctoral Education and I review for International Journal of Doctoral Studies. I am the PI of LITE-funded project PGRs’ development of academic language and communication: How do PGRs wish to be supported in addition to supervisory feedback?