Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Postgraduate Research)
Dawn Watling was appointed Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Postgraduate Research) in July 2023, having joined Royal Holloway's Department of Psychology in September 2005. She previously served in a number of leadership roles, including as Director of Postgraduate Education in the School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Associate Dean (Education) for the Faculty of Science, and Director of Teaching and Learning and Director of Postgraduate Research Studies in the Department of Psychology.
In this role, Dawn works closely with the Doctoral School to support Royal Holloway Postgraduate Researchers. Her focus is on leading Royal Holloway to continued success in being recognised as a centre of excellence for researcher development. She established a new Royal Holloway Social Purpose Centre for Doctoral Training focused on developing the diverse skills and experiences needed for future leaders across the field of research and innovation, established the undergraduate and postgraduate Researcher Development Award for Global Majority students to gain research experience, and is committed to securing funding opportunities with Royal Holloway recent success with BBSRC Doctoral Focal award, AHRC South Hub and Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship awards.
Throughout, Dawn has sought to work collaboratively to enhance student and colleague experience, and encouraged clear, consistent and open decision-making. A qualified coach, she has also been committed to supporting postgraduate researchers and colleagues to achieve their goals.
Dawn is a Professor of Psychology, with a primary research focus on understanding the risks and protective factors for mental health and wellbeing, particularly when using social media and when spending time in nature. She is Co-Director of the Environment, Connectedness, Health: Online-Offline (ECHO-O) lab group. Dawn has a number of interdisciplinary collaborations, and is a founding member of the Hub for Interdisciplinary research into Vulnerability to Exploitation (HIVE).
Dawn completed her DPhil and postdoctoral work at the University of Sussex. She has been an Action Editor for the international journal Infant and Child Development, and is currently Editor of the British Journal of Developmental Psychology. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a chartered psychologist, and a member of both the British Psychology Society (BPS) Developmental section (where she has served as a committee member for a number of years) and Cyberpsychology section.
