There can be significant barriers before a student submits their application for a postgraduate degree and a key part of Martingale’s method is working with candidates to ensure that they have the knowledge and the confidence to overcome them. This is why Martingale Scholarships offer support before applications are even submitted and the recently held PhD Showcase event is a key piece of this. It gave Qualified Candidates the opportunity to meet with academic representatives from our partner universities, find out more about the courses on offer through the Martingale Scholarship, and demystify the application process.
Qualified Candidates
Qualified Candidates are students who were successful in the Martingale assessment process and are eligible to receive a Martingale Scholarship. They will go on to become Martingale Scholars upon receipt of a Martingale-funded offer for an eligible course at a partner university.
On Friday 12 December, we hosted the Martingale PhD Showcase for Qualified Candidates at The Conduit. The event featured three main sessions: an academic panel, a networking lunch, and a panel with current PhD students.
The academic panel set the scene for the day, introducing the academics from Martingale’s partner universities and the courses they offer, laying the foundation for conversations throughout the day.
During the networking lunch, Martingale’s partner universities hosted stalls for the Qualified Candidates to find out more about what they offer in a more informal setting. This gave the candidates an opportunity to ask questions directly to the representatives from the universities they are most interested in applying to.
The PhD student panel approached the application process from the perspective of those who have recently gone through it themselves. For the candidates, this was an opportunity to humanise the experience of applying and assuage any concerns the candidates may have around the early stages of postgraduate study.
Luke, a 2025 Martingale Scholar who attended the Showcase last year as a candidate, spoke on the PhD student panel to share his personal experience of the PhD application process. Reflecting on what he got out of the Showcase he said, ‘I hope the Showcase has changed the candidates’ opinion on what a PhD is because, at least before I started and went through the Martingale process, it was just an unknown possible thing that some people did and some people didn’t. So, I hope it has demystified it for them. I think the Showcase has made it clear both what a PhD is and the necessary steps you need to take to get there.’
Speaking from the academic perspective, Professor Alex Rogers from the University of Oxford said about the event, ‘It’s very rare to be at an event where you’ve got all the different CDTs together. I think it’s important to be able to see the contrast between them because there really is no single application process, so actually having a broad range here is really useful.’
We look forward to supporting the candidates through their application journey and are excited to see what they can achieve in their research journeys.