Giving feedback (PRES)

The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) is a national survey conducted by institutions across the UK and globally. Providing feedback to us about your experience allows us to keep doing the things that you have loved and to make improvements to areas where you think things could be better.

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey 2025

PRES will next be run in 2025. The survey will be open from the 25th April to 16th May 2025.

How do I complete the PRES?

Eligible Doctoral Researchers (those who have been at the University for more than 6 months and are still in active registration) will be invited to take part in PRES by email. If you are eligible to complete the survey, in the week beginning 21st  April 2025, you will receive an email from studentsurveys@lboro.ac.uk. This email will provide you with a personal link to complete the survey.

It takes approximately 15 minutes to complete PRES and it is your chance to play your part in shaping the future of the Loughborough Doctoral Experience. 

What happens to the results?

Your feedback gives you the chance to change things for the future. Over 100 universities and colleges take part in the PRES which means we can compare your experience with that of students at similar universities. Your feedback is confidential to the Doctoral College and any reporting of the feedback will be anonymous.

The results will be discussed within your Schools/Departments as well as at University level. We really do value your input; no one knows the student experience better than you.

The survey will ask you about the whole range of your research experience including:

  • supervision
  • resources
  • research culture
  • progress and assessment
  • responsibilities
  • research skills and professional development
  • opportunities
  • overall experience

This means you have the opportunity to provide your feedback, both positive and negative on a whole range of areas.

Is PRES anonymous?

Your survey response is confidential to the team processing the results. All data in the reports generated from the survey are anonymised so that no individual can be identified by Supervisors, Schools or the wider University community.  
The survey asks that any comments you make should not identify yourself or any specific members of staff.

What happens to my data?  

Loughborough University has chosen to run the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey because it provides valuable information that the University can use to improve the student experience. We value your responses and all personal information you provide will be treated strictly in terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679).

While the survey is running, your responses are held by Jisc, who maintain the Online Surveys platform. After the survey closes Jisc shares the responses with the Advance HE and survey responses are accessed by the University.

In the University your response data will be held securely and accessed only by appropriately trained staff who are aware of the confidential nature of the information. These staff are located within central administration teams and are independent of administrative services in Schools. Before data are reported on, the responses are anonymised, by removing information and statements that may identify you. Data are then reported to Schools and Support Services of the University and a sub-section of this data is reported back the Students Union. Data are used as part of academic reviews and inform the University’s Key Performance Indicators. We retain the anonymised responses to research policymaking and to track the effectiveness of new interventions.

Can I withdraw my survey response?

You are able to withdraw your consent for your response to be processed up to the point at which we anonymise the data. If you wish to withdraw your response, please email studentsurveys@lboro.ac.uk and state your student registration number.