Welcome to the Incubator Gathering 2025! This information page lists all of the relevant information about the MHR Incubator event, including details of assigned sessions, room locations and the informal post-Gathering networking session.
The Incubator Gathering 2025 takes place from 10am-3pm on Tuesday 4 November 2025 in Manchester.
Resources from the Incubator Gathering
Main session slides:
Skills Workshops
- Pitching to funders: writing successful fellowship applications (Sophie Hyndman) - presentation slides
- Building and maintaining effective collaborations (Clare Wakeham) - presentation slides and handout
- Career planning – how to ensure my work brings me what I need now and in the future (Iveta Simera) - presentation slides
Hosted Conversations - Session 1
- Creating supportive communities in mental health research - notes
- What do I need to consider in advance of searching for and applying for funding?
- Paradigm shifts in evidence synthesis: from static unidimensional evidence synthesis ecosystems to an ecosystem of evidence - presentation slides and notes
- Maternity leave and successful career
- Support for researchers with lived experience: what works and what needs to change? - notes
- Moving Beyond Cultural Adaptation: Co-creating Culturally-Centred Mental Health Support in Primary Care
Hosted Conversations - Session 2
- Bridging the gap in reciprocal knowledge exchange in global mental health: Reflections on a pilot peer mentoring programme for ECRs - notes
- Getting started on research impact as an early career researcher - presentation slides
- Steering MHR Incubator into 2026! - notes
- Restoring the Researcher: Embedding Restorative Supervision within Mental Health Researcher Teams - notes
- Navigating clinical academic career pathways - notes
- Interdisciplinary, multisite and multiprofessional boundaries
Quiet Spaces
The Incubator Gathering has two quiet spaces for those wishing for a quiet moment away from the main hall. You are welcome to use the quiet space at any time during the day.
Room F16 is non-wheelchair accessible, and is on the first floor.
For information about the wheelchair accessible quiet space, please ask Emily, Shivani, Bea or Keya for further details.
Location
Incubator Gathering - Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS
Optional networking - ABode Manchester, 107 Piccadilly, Manchester, M1 2DB
Hotel
For those who have requested accommodation for the night of Monday 3 November, we have booked the Premier Inn Manchester Central for you. Your room will be reserved under your name.
Seed Fund 2025
The MHR Incubator is excited to announce the 2025 Seed Fund, open to all Incubator alumni or those enrolled on a current programme. For more information, including application criteria, the maximum grant awarded and how to apply, visit this page.
The deadline to send in your application is 10 December 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
In previous Incubator Gatherings, we have organised a dinner at a local restaurant for any participants arriving on Monday 3 November to meet up. Due to the number of participants attending, we are unfortunately unable to organise a similar event.
However, we encourage alumni and anyone on current programmes to use this opportunity to reach out with their cohort and self-organise a dinner and meet-up together! We will be able to refund your expenses for this dinner, provided they fulfil the University of Oxford's financial guidelines.
You can claim back up to £25 for your dinner. As per our funder's regulations, we are unable to reimburse any alcoholic drinks. Click here to download the University of Oxford's Finance Guide.
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Complete the Expense Form spreadsheet ('Expenses claim form.xlsx') found under 'Important Links'.
- Remember to sign and date your name under ‘Claimant Signature’ (typing your name is completely fine)
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Public transport: list the total ticket price in ‘Curr Amount’
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Driving: calculate the distance, in miles, between your start point and end point and put that in ‘Miles’. To calculate the ‘Curr Amount’, please refer to the University of Oxford’s finance guide for exact details.
- Food and child care: Add the amounts claimed under 'A
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Attach either a photo or PDF of your travel receipt.
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Note: receipts are not needed for cycling and driving
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Email your expense claim and receipts to us (mhresearch@psych.ox.ac.uk) with an edited version of the statement below:
I can confirm that the claim for reimbursement of £XX.XX for expenditure dated XX/XX/XX, is in respect of bona fide business expenses, incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily on behalf of the University.
Please note that we can’t process any expense claims without the completion of these three steps (with the exception of driving/cycling which require only the expense form and statement)!
If you require further help, please reach out to Shivani or Keya at mhresearch@psych.ox.ac.uk.
No worries! Please check the email sent on Friday 31 October for Shivani's contact details and text her so that we are aware.
We will have space in the main hall area to place your luggage. Please keep any valuables on your person.
Agenda
9.30am
Arrivals and refreshments
10.00am
Welcome Talk
10.10am
Networking session (structured and facilitated)
11.00am
Tea and coffee break
11.20am
Skills workshops
12.30pm
Lunch
1.15pm
ECR hosted conversations (session 1)
1.55pm
ECR hosted conversations (session 2)
2.25pm
Tea and coffee break
2.40pm
Reflections and next steps
From 3.00pm
Optional social at ABode