Culture within TESS Lab

Achieving professional and personal goals efficiently and safely requires a suitably supportive environment. We are proud of our positive lab culture where members support one another in significant, creative, and constructive ways. This page describes the TESS Lab culture. Anyone considering working with us is welcome to contact any current or former members to learn more about this culture in practice.

Andy was Exeter’s 2025 nominee to the Times Higher Education (THE) Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year award, following a Dean’s Commendation for Excellence in Post Graduate Research Supervision.

Inclusivity

TESS Lab is an inclusive, mutually supportive, and welcoming environment, where everyone is respected. Our group is diverse across many different dimensions, most importantly encapsulating a wide range of life experience, alongside representation from many different nationalities, cultures, ethnicities, and genders, with mature students and neurodiverse participants. TESS Lab has a strong collective identity and we pay close attention to the cross-cultural competencies needed to enable us to work together effectively. We promote inclusivity and equity to enhance multi-dimensional diversity and global equality in knowledge production.

Individual Supervision

Every member of TESS Lab receives engaged individual support and mentorship from the lab leader to help each trainee identify and progress towards their own goals for their shorter-term project and their longer-term career. The intensity of contact is determined by each trainee’s needs but most members have a 1-2-1 supervision every two weeks in a blend of in-person and online interactions as necessary.

Group Support

Meetings

To advance our scholarly work and maintain our community, we have weekly online meetings through most of the year. These meetings are stimulating discussions in an active research community, exploring topics ranging from each trainee’s individual research project to topical journal articles, training in research tools, academic processes, and research integrity. The online format helps ensure accessibility to members based in different locations and we have rotating facilitation that is often a peer-led ‘flipped teaching’ model with space and encouragement for peer feedback to help facilitators learn by teaching and to support diversity of perspectives.

Workspace

In addition to the meetings, we also have a very active Slack online workspace where a lot of mutual help is offered between members of the group, with information sharing and discussions via various themed channels.

In Person Events

Most of TESS Lab members based on Exeter’s Streatham Campus are situated in the Kay Building (room K6). To strengthen our collective identity and have fun, TESS Lab members located close to Exeter participate in informal events several times a year (often with researchers from other groups), including social dinners and trips to explore the natural world nearby.

One way to help people feel more included is to pronounce their name correctly. While most people want to address others correctly, it can take practice and repetition to get pronunciation right for unfamiliar names. Consequently, many of us in TESS Lab embrace ‘hear my name’ by linking recordings of the correct pronunciation of our names in our online bios or email signatures. Even if one believes that their own name is easy to pronounce, this can be an act of solidarity and facilitate respectful interactions in multi-cultural communities. For those wishing to participate, there is a free and straightforward service supporting this at https://user.namedrop.io.

Testimonials

“TESS lab is a welcoming and collaborative environment to work in. With a strong and supportive culture, the research group provides a workspace that inspires creativity and discovery. It is a real pleasure to be part of a research group where diversity in research and personality is so strongly encouraged. We have regular meetings where the whole group share ideas and explore a range of research concepts. The pool of skills amongst the group is large and continues to expand; I am privileged to be a part of this community and am excited to see what the future brings for TESS lab.“

Dr Hugh Graham, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis

“TESS Lab was such a welcoming and supportive environment to work in. As part of my MSc dissertation, I was exploring new ways of analysing data and developing new skills. Whenever I needed guidance or advice everyone in the Lab was happy to help and their enthusiasm to see me succeed enhanced my overall experience.“

Amy Shaw, MSc Student

“The inclusive culture of TESS Lab has played a crucial role in building my confidence and developing my understanding of best practices within the research field. The collaborative and supportive environment has provided invaluable support throughout my MSc and the transition to my PhD. It provides a space to share ideas (at any stage of development), learn a range of skills, and ask for help, no matter how simple the question may be.“

Brianna Pickstone, MSc student and PhD student

“Undertaking postgraduate research comes with its challenges, both technical and personal. Having the academic and personal support from the TESS Lab community has been invaluable to progressing in my PhD. Everyone is keen to offer advice and material, providing a pleasant atmosphere and network that I am glad to be a part of”.

Emily Doyle, PhD Student

“Being part of TESS Lab has been a really good and productive experience for my PhD journey. The team comprises individuals with diverse skills, expertise, and at varying levels of experience. This diversity makes it exceptionally easy and efficient to seek guidance and support on complex subjects. The weekly TESS Lab meeting has also been a very good opportunity to discuss various important topics, learn new things and sharpen my skills and knowledge on different subject matter.“

Enimhien Akhabue, PhD Student

“Tess Lab has a diverse membership composed of researchers at various stages in their research careers and working across multiple geographies. Being an early career researcher undertaking multi-disciplinary research, the lab has provided that unique space for personal growth, surrounded by peers who are not only experienced but open and willing to help. The lab provides a great space for brainstorming ideas during project development stages, getting constructive criticism as one’s research advances, practicing and improving presentations before facing larger audiences, or just exploring emerging innovation trends that could make the research process more exciting. I find the weekly meetings very insightful, often causing me to reflect deeper into my research process and drawing on the experiences of my peers and the unique expertise each of them brings to the group for self-improvement. Dr. Andy the group convener ensures all members get a chance to host a session and is always seeking new ways to better the group and the membership experience. Over the past few years I have been a member, the group has improved so much. I cant even imagine how much better it will get in the next few years.”

Antony Emenyu, PhD student

“TESS Lab is a very compassionate and empathetic group. Everyone takes the time to understand others’ needs and perspectives. This has made me feel very welcomed and accepted.”

Jess Thomas, PhD Student and Research Technician