Changing the World One PhD at a Time: Mature Post-Graduate Researchers as ‘Quiet Activists’

This paper shares an account of a year-long qualitative research project which examined the experiences of mature post-graduate research students (PGR) (defined as those over the age of 25 when commencing their PGR studies) at the University of Bristol (UoB). In total 75 in-depth interviews were conducted across 6 faculties. The paper highlights that many mature PGRs' motivation to return to Higher Education (HE) stem from activist ideals of improving the world grounded in experiential knowledges. Life experience can represent highly valuable knowledge which can used engaged to tackle a range of challenges including environmental change. The paper advocates for the implementation of further accommodations to empower mature PGRs, enabling them to leverage their wealth of knowledge and experience to enhance research insight and application.