About EmpowerHer PGR
Building Inclusive Skills, Networks, and Careers across the UK–Malaysia–ASEAN+3
EmpowerHer PGR:
- Tri-national partnership: EmpowerHer brings together Brunel University London, Taylor’s University (Malaysia), and Yonsei University (South Korea).
- Supporting female PGRs: The initiative co-creates skills, networks, and opportunities for female postgraduate researchers.
- Partner strengths: Each institution contributes its expertise in research excellence, global employability, and sustainable leadership.
- Global and local impact: Activities are designed to ensure outcomes that are globally relevant and locally embedded.
- Regional collaboration: Together, partners are building a lasting UK–Malaysia–ASEAN+3 research network.
- Long-term vision: EmpowerHer advances gender-equitable research futures and inclusive doctoral development.
Our Journey:
Barriers
Identifying challenges
Learn
Knowledge development
Practise
Skills application
Apply
Real-world implementation
Exchange
International collaboration
Sustain
Long-term support
Impact
Measurable outcomes
Aligned with the UN SDGs (4, 5, 8, 9, 17), EmpowerHer builds lasting infrastructure for inclusive doctoral training and international collaboration.
SDG4: Advance inclusive postgraduate education via digital research workshops, publication support, mobility for female PGRs, and embedded curricula resources.
SDG5: Promote gender equality by empowering women in higher education through leadership, technology, and career pathways with measurable participation gains.
SDG8: Enhance employability through global skills, planning, and industry training.
SDG9: Co-develop digital sustainability modules driving innovation.
SDG17: Strengthen UK–Malaysia–ASEAN+3 partnerships through joint resources and Empowerment Hub adoption.
Purpose
Female postgraduate researchers in the UK, Malaysia, and South Korea continue to face structural disadvantages, including underrepresentation, limited access to global research networks, and persistent skills gaps. EmpowerHer addresses these challenges by co-developing cross-border training modules, harmonising postgraduate support frameworks, and piloting international exchanges. By embedding sustainability and institutional integration, the project enables long-term adoption and sector-wide dissemination, advancing employability, inclusion, and gender-equitable higher education outcomes through digital skills and flexible learning pathways.
Objectives
- Deliver co-developed cross-border workshops for female PGRs, building research, digital, sustainability, and publishing skills.
- Implement partner-led bootcamps awarding micro-credentials in sustainability and global career readiness.
- Enable international exchanges and joint seminars, generating collaborative research outputs.
- Launch an open-access Female PGR Empowerment Hub with digital modules for alumni engagement and sector-wide adoption.
- Ensure majority female participation, prioritising underrepresented groups through flexible and hybrid delivery.
Consortium/Partners
Brunel Business School, Brunel University of London
Brunel University London is a leading UK research-intensive university with a strong international profile and a long-standing commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusive postgraduate education. Through EmpowerHer, Brunel leads the project’s academic vision, governance, and evidence-led design. It brings deep expertise in doctoral training, academic publishing, and research leadership to co-create a gender-responsive model for supporting female postgraduate researchers. Brunel oversees quality assurance, impact monitoring, and sustainability, ensuring that EmpowerHer delivers measurable, scalable change aligned with UK excellence and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Taylor’s University, Malaysia
Taylor’s University is a leading private university in Southeast Asia, recognised for excellence in industry engagement, sustainability, and innovative teaching. Within EmpowerHer, Taylor’s University leads Sustainable Leadership and Industry Pathways, bringing its strengths in practice-based learning, entrepreneurship, and SDG-driven curriculum design. Taylor’s Unkiversity designs and delivers the Female Leadership Bootcamp in Sustainable Technology, connecting female PGRs with employers, alumni, and regional innovation ecosystems. It is responsible for industry co-creation, real-world case development, and experiential learning, ensuring that doctoral training translates into leadership capability, career readiness, and long-term opportunity across ASEAN. Taylor’s anchors EmpowerHer’s regional impact and sustainability focus.
Yonsei University, South Korea
Yonsei University is one of Asia’s most prestigious research-intensive universities, with global leadership in digital innovation, information systems, and graduate education. In EmpowerHer, Yonsei leads Global Employability and Career Development, acting as the bridge between academic training and international labour markets. Yonsei designs and delivers career bootcamps, employability toolkits, and cross-cultural mobility frameworks. It leads the development of global career pathways, digital skills training, and international mentoring models, enabling female PGRs to navigate global research and industry environments with confidence. Yonsei ensures that EmpowerHer equips participants with future-ready, internationally transferable career capital.
Brunel University of London
Project Team
Dr Pantea Foroudi
Project Lead
Professor Dorothy A. Yen
Project Co-Lead
Professor Habin Lee
Project Co-Lead
Professor Caroline Scarles
Project Co-Lead
Dr Dongmei Zha
Director of Dissemination and Knowledge Exchange
Lana Abdulla
Research and Dissemination Advisor
Mohammad Riyad Jamal Almajali
Social Media & Digital Content Coordinador
Taylor’s University
Professor Magiswary Dorasamy
Project Lead
Yonsei University
Professor Hee-Woong Kim
Project Co-Lead
Gulbin Durmaz
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Programme
EmpowerHer PGR is a global, multi-phase development programme designed to support female postgraduate researchers in advancing research excellence, academic publishing, and international career pathways. The programme integrates research training, publishing support, leadership development, and global employability, delivered through cross-border collaboration between leading institutions. It combines workshops, bootcamps, mentorship, and applied learning to ensure participants progress from research ideas to tangible outputs and career advancement. The structure reflects best practice in postgraduate development, combining workshops, bootcamps, and applied learning experiences tailored to different stages of the research journey.
Research & Academic Development
This strand supports participants across the full research lifecycle:
- Developing research ideas and positioning contributions
- Designing robust methodologies and ethical research processes
- Conducting systematic literature reviews and bibliometric analysis
- Applying qualitative and quantitative research methods
- Using advanced research tools and analytical techniques
Idea → Design → Ethics → Study → Paper Blueprint
Outcome: Participants develop a robust research design, methodological competence, and a structured research blueprint ready for implementation.
Academic Writing & Publishing
Focused support is provided to help participants produce high-quality academic outputs:
- Structuring and writing journal articles
- Positioning research for high-impact journals
- Journal selection and submission strategies
- Responding to reviewer feedback (R&R)
- Learning from real publication journeys
Draft → Manuscript → Review → Career Strategy
Outcome: Participants produce a submission-ready manuscript and a clear, targeted publication strategy.
Career Development & Global Employability
Bridges academic training with global career pathways:
- Academic careers across international systems
- Industry, consulting, and policy pathways
- Digital branding and professional positioning
- Leadership development and confidence building
- Global mentoring and networking opportunities
Career Exploration → Skill Development → Professional Positioning → Global Networking → Career Pathway
Outcome: Participants gain a defined career pathway, enhanced professional positioning, and readiness for global academic and non-academic opportunities.
Leadership & Sustainability Bootcamp
Taylor’s University, Malaysia | 27–29 July 2026 | Hybrid
A three-day immersive bootcamp focusing on leadership, sustainability, and global impact.
The programme progresses from:
- Leading Self (identity, confidence, wellbeing)
- Leading Systems (sustainability, technology, ethics)
- Leading Impact (entrepreneurship, global futures)
Each day integrates leadership development with academic progression through the 4Rs: Reading, Writing, Reviewing, and Revising.
Leading Self → Leading Systems → Leading Impact → Global Impact
Outcome: Participants develop leadership confidence, systems thinking capabilities, and the ability to translate research into global impact.
Mentorship & Applied Support
Participants benefit from structured mentoring and hands-on support:
- One-to-one and group mentoring
- Feedback on research and draft papers
- Methodological troubleshooting
- Guidance on journal submission and career progression
Outcome: Participants receive tailored feedback and guidance, resulting in refined research outputs and improved readiness for publication and career progression.
Certification
Participants who complete the programme requirements will receive an:
(Co-issued with the British Council Going Global Partnerships programme)
Research & Academic Development
Literature Review Mastery
Systematic literature review: main procedures and guidelines for interpreting the results
Professor Lucia Porcu
Wednesday, 8 June
Time: 10:00–13:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
The Use of Bibliometric Analysis to Contribute to Future Research: Critical Consideration Factors, Steps, and Points
Professor Brian R. Chabowski
Wednesday, 10 June
Time: 10:00–12:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
Looking into the Past – What We Know, What We Don’t, and Why It Matters
Dr Reza Marvi
Monday, 15 June
Time: 10:00–13:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
Qualitative Research Mastery
Foundations of Qualitative Enquiry
Dr Lalnunpuia Samuel
Thursday, 18 June
Time: 10:00–13:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
Using the Past for Business Insights (Historical & Documentary Analysis)
Dr Lewis Smith
Thursday, 18 June
Time: 12:30–14:30 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
Grounded Theory – What, Why, How
Dr Alessandro Feri
Monday, 22 June
Time: 10:00–13:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
Qualitative data analysis: Thematic analysis
Dr Gulbin Durmaz
Wednesday, 24 June
Time: 10:00–13:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
Qualitative data analysis: Nvivo
Dr Eleni Chatzopoulou
Friday, 26 June
Time: 10:00–13:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
Qualitative Research Mastery
Beyond the Trace: Theorizing Organizational Routines using Computational Sequence Analysis and Critical Realism
Professor Habin Lee
Monday 6 July
Time: 10:00–12:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
Foundations of Experimental Research Design
Dr Jungmin Jang
Monday, 3 August
Time: 10:00–13:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
Applying Experimental Methods to Participants’ Own Research
Dr Long Chen
Wednesday, 5 August
Time: 10:00–13:00 (UK Zone)
Format: Online
- Brunel Business School
The Phd Journey: The Mixed Method Approach and Everything Else
- Speaker
Professor of Marketing & Strategy
- Brunel Business School
The Research Journey: Literature Review, Research Design, and Academic Writing
- Speaker
Lecturer, Marketing and Entrepreneurship
- Brunel Business School
Qualitative Research Mastery and Using the Past for Business Insights
- Speaker
Lecturer in Marketing
Lecturer in Marketing
- Brunel Business School
From Idea to Implementation: Experimental Design
- Speaker
Senior Lecturer in Marketing
Lecturer in Marketing
Content for this section is coming soon.
- Please check back for updates on the project’s deliverables.
Logo and Visual Identity
Empowering, Inclusive, Credible, Forward-looking
We speak with confidence, warmth, and credibility
Our voice is inclusive and research-led, supporting women researchers to grow, connect, and lead, together.
Core Visual Symbol
is built around a wing-inspired design, symbolising uplift, growth, and forward movement. The wings represent the support structures that enable women researchers to rise, progress, and lead.
Wings as Empowerment: Wings symbolise potential, freedom, and aspiration, reflect EmpowerHer’s role in enabling women to move beyond barriers
Layered Forms as Pathways: Multiple wing lines represent stages of development, mentoring, and collective support, emphasise progression from early career to leadership
Balance and Direction: The upward orientation communicates momentum and confidence, the symmetrical balance conveys stability and credibility
Colour and Form Logic
Green wings: growth, sustainability, and institutional trust
Purple wings: women’s leadership, visibility, and confidence
The wing visually expresses EmpowerHer’s commitment to enabling women to rise, together
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