Setting Your Doctoral Goals for 2026!

Setting Your Doctoral Goals for 2026 is a practical, reflective workshop designed to help doctoral researchers plan the year ahead with clarity, structure, and intention. Rather than relying on vague resolutions or ad-hoc planning, this session introduces proven doctoral planning tools that support structured, realistic, and sustainable goal-setting.

Participants will be guided to distinguish between different types of doctoral goals, including PhD progress goals (such as milestones, writing, data collection, and completion planning) and PhD skill development goals (including research methods, academic writing, analysis, teaching, and research communication). Making this distinction helps candidates move beyond simply “moving forward” in their PhD, towards deliberately developing as competent and confident researchers.

The session also expands the focus to include personal and professional development goals, recognising that doctoral success is shaped not only by outputs, but by wellbeing, capacity, confidence, and career readiness — both within and beyond academia. Participants will reflect on how their time and energy are currently distributed across these areas, and where recalibration may be needed for the year ahead.

By the end of the session, participants will leave with a clearer sense of direction for 2026, a framework for a structured set of goals across multiple domains, and a practical planning framework they can revisit throughout the year — supporting doctoral progress that is purposeful, balanced, and sustainable.