Farewell to Dr Kate Conway, Manager of the Norwich Biosciences Graduate School
Dr Kate Conway has retired and we wish her a very happy retirement. Kate was Manager of the UKRI-BBSRC Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NRPDTP), Manager of the Norwich Biosciences Graduate School and interim Associate Director for Postgraduate Research at the University of East Anglia.
Kate first joined the John Innes Centre (JIC) in 1988, gaining her PhD in 1992 in plant cell biology. She went on to undertake postdoctoral research at the JIC and the University of Cambridge working on cell-to-cell communication in plants. In 1997 she returned to JIC to run their PhD admissions and then developed her career managing the postgraduate research provision at the Norwich Bioscience Institutes. Over the past year she has been the interim Associate Director (PGR) at the University of East Anglia with whom she has been employed for 23 years. Kate has played a critical role in developing doctoral training programmes on the Norwich Research Park and advocating for a successful, supportive and inclusive postgraduate researcher experience. Kate managed the first UKRI-BBSRC DTP bid which in 2012 was awarded £12m. Since then, she has been a key player in bidding for and managing the second and third UKRI-BBSRC funded DTPs including supporting the programmes through three successful mid-term reviews. Her expertise, dedication, mentorship, compassion, diplomacy and professionalism, as well as her sense of humour and her ability to remain calm in a crisis, will be greatly missed!
Kate said “It has been a hugely rewarding and wonderful career working together with a fabulous team to ensure Norwich Research Park is one of the best places to undertake postgraduate research in the biosciences. It has been very satisfying over the years to see students succeed and further develop their careers. I wish the Partnership and postgraduate research on the NRP continued success in the future.”
In her retirement Kate plans to continue hiking and birdwatching, as well as spending more time travelling and with family and friends.