Exhibition: PhD Pioneers

Being A Team 

In common with other universities, the experience of those studying for a science PhD could be very different from those studying arts and humanities. Typically, a science research project would often form part of a bigger project which meant that PhD students would work within a team of others working on the same project, often in the same laboratory and usually supervised by the same professor. Professor Steven Rose describes that in the 1970s, the OU science faculty followed the same structure, but that he had to work hard to set up a team that his previous universities took for granted. He therefore arranged regular lunches, drinks evenings and talks for his PhD students and research assistants. The OU’s support for lecturers and PhD students setting up prestigious academic research groups, like Steven Rose’s Brain Research Group, helped build this close teamworking environment. In his video clip opposite, Ken Richardson says "the other amazing thing was the group of people I found myself in amongst".

Some PhD study did not take place at Walton Hall. Julia Goodfellow’s Biophysics PhD was based at the OU’s Oxford Research Unit where there was a settled research culture and most of the study was scientific and done in groups, fostering a positive feeling of teamwork amongst the students. She says, "we had this new world, and then we also had the old world of Oxford".

The PhD cohort was also able to take part in the societies and social activities that were organized for staff at Walton Hall in the 1970s. Stephen Potter joined and performed with the Chamber Music Club and four of the interviewees took part in the iconic “Ballad of Walton Hall” operetta written and performed by Vice Chancellor Walter Perry, staff and PhD students, of which you can see some photos within Alfred Vella's enthusiastic description in his video excerpt opposite. He enthusiastically expounds how "the first ten years worth of history was played out on stage".