For PhD candidates & postdocs
Lead a community. Support your peers. Grow as a researcher
Become a PeerPower Ambassador: get free training to build and lead a peer community where early-career researchers support each other's wellbeing, skills, and careers.
What PeerPower aims to achieve by 2028
A more resilient research environment starts with each other
Navigating uncertainty, managing expectations, and finding your place in academia can be challenging. Having people to turn to matters.
PeerPower brings early career researchers together to build communities that create opportunities to:
- Connect with people who understand the challenges of academic life.
- Share experiences and learn together, rather than navigating every challenge alone.
- Build a more supportive research culture, one community at a time.
The ambassador role
Be the person who brings people together
As a PeerPower Ambassador, you'll help create and sustain a community of early career researchers who share an interest, challenge, or goal.
As an Ambassador, you can:
- Foster and strengthen peer connections
- Promote mental health and wellbeing in the community
- Facilitate inclusive, psychologically safe spaces
- Support group dynamics and community continuity
What to expect
You won't be starting your community from scratch
Free, self-paced online training
Short courses covering topics such as leadership, community facilitation, conflict management, and psychological first aid.
Guidance on how to design your community
A practical handbook to help you plan and run your community, and explore ways to collaborate with your institution.
Exchange with other PeerPower Ambassadors
Online meetups with fellow Ambassadors and the PeerPower team to share experiences, discuss challenges, and exchange ideas.
The benefits
Why researchers become PeerPower Ambassadors?
Growing transferable skills
Develop leadership, conflict management, community facilitation and peer-support skills, while leading a community.
A network of peers
Connect with fellow researchers and Ambassadors across countries, an antidote to how isolating research can feel.
Part of PeerPower
Your community will carry the PeerPower name, connecting you with a wider network working toward a more supportive research culture.
Is it for me?
This is for you if you…
- Are a PhD candidate or postdoc (an early-career researcher).
- Care about wellbeing, community, and a healthier research culture.
- Want to develop leadership, community development and facilitation skills.
You do not need to…
- Be a mental health expert. You'll be trained to support peers and refer them to help, not to provide therapy.
- Hold any formal position or authority. You lead as a peer.
- Have led a group before. The training starts from the basics.
Getting started
How to become a PeerPower Ambassador?
Complete the core training
Free, self-paced online training:
Plan your community
Create an initial plan for your community that will evolve as your community grows.
Ready to start?
Start with an idea, build connections, and develop your community over time
Interested in bringing the PeerPower methodology to your institution? Get in touch with our team at [email protected]
PeerPower is supported by
