Sharing PhD experiences across the University of Warwick and beyond
Everyone knows how important a work-life balance is, but it can be especially hard to achieve for neurodivergent students. In this week’s post, Daria shares some advice on how to balance your life when your mental state sets extra requirements. By Daria Akhapkina. One of the hardest things I’ve experienced as someone struggling with their... Continue Reading →
Where do you begin with new connections, and, most importantly, why do you need them in the first place? In her new blog post Daria tells you about the possibilities of networking and the opportunities to get started. By Daria Akhapkina. Sometimes doing a PhD sure seems like a lone journey. It’s so easy to... Continue Reading →
Recently, the Community Engagement Team at the Library, who look after the postgraduate study spaces of the PG Hub and the Wolfson Research Exchange, ran an art competition to brighten up those spaces and encourage students to reflect on Warwick as their home from home. In today's blog post, blog editor Ellie looks at some... Continue Reading →
PhD study usually involves huge sets of data, and the command of some software makes it less painful to deal with this matter. In this blog, Ivy introduces three types of software to improve your academic output. By Ivy Zhuo. Transcription generating tools Transcribing is indeed a challenging task for a lot of qualitative researchers... Continue Reading →
Being a research assistant (RA) is not an unusual experience for research students. It is a great opportunity to learn how a research project is operated, allowing us to gain experience relevant to our CV and potential future funding applications. It is also one of the best ways to support ourselves financially or to earn... Continue Reading →
Open science help researchers make their work more accessible to the public. This also means that students can use research to support their own learning! In this blog post Greta discusses how open science can benefit data science learners and how to take advantage of the best data and code sharing practices. By Greta Timaite.... Continue Reading →
Warwick is home to around 12,000 postgraduate students, and many of these are researchers. Studying for a doctorate of some kind, Warwick’s research students contribute to the vibrant research culture at the university, whilst having a strong community of their own. Balancing commitments of supervisions, writing conference papers, and teaching, research life can be busy,... Continue Reading →
Doing your PhD as an international student can sometimes feel a bit scary and overwhelming. In this post, Daria discusses several ways of fighting the common fears of not fitting in or being left out. By Daria Akhapkina Settling in a new environment is hard, especially coming from a completely different academic and cultural background.... Continue Reading →
Did you find yourself, January 1st, setting a load of New Years’ Resolutions? Going to the gym 5 times a week, no alcohol, 10,000 steps a day, 2 litres of water, going vegan, calling your mum every week. Do you find yourself, as we head into April, feeling like you’ve failed miserably at all of... Continue Reading →
As a PhD researcher, GTA and lover of ‘cute sayings’ one of Cherisse’s favourite quotes is ‘In the middle of my little mess, I forget how big I’m blessed’. At last, these She has taken some time to reflect on the confusing, complicated and difficult journey called a PhD figuring out how to stop and... Continue Reading →
Intensive academic reading is what every PhD student would experience during their study. Reasons to read varies, ranging from identifying a research gap, to justifying our study, to writing for publications or to preparing for an academic talk. Or sometimes, simply to answering a question that our colleagues raise to us. This experience is usually... Continue Reading →
As PhD students, we are often focused on research and very little else. But taking a step outside of your PhD to look into the world of work may be worth the time. Having just finished an internship, blogger Ellie talks us through her experiences, and why an internship could benefit you too. By Ellie... Continue Reading →
Presenting at conferences to share our research is part of our life as a PhD student. It is natural to have butterflies in our stomach if it is our first time doing a public presentation. However, even for some experienced speakers, presenting at conferences could bring huge pressure, since anyone could be among our audience,... Continue Reading →
Spend countless hours doom-scrolling when you should be working? Tired of the incessant pinging of inane notifications? This week, blogger Clarissa shares some tips on how to optimise your phone for focus without downloading a single app! By Riss Muller. If you’re anything like me, your phone is somewhat of a time drain. It pings,... Continue Reading →
In this blog post Greta continues sharing her experience on what helped her to break into data science. Previously, she discussed the psychological side of learning programming, today she gives three practical tips that have helped her to get a job in data science and hone her programming skills. By Greta Timaite. A few months... Continue Reading →
This week Library staff member Emil gives an overview of the social, wellbeing and skills activities currently happening in the Library, and invites you to develop a positive work-life balance. By Emil Rybczak When the Christmas break is just a memory and you’ve committed to multiple deadlines before Easter, how do you keep on top... Continue Reading →
The PhD is the pinnacle. The highest educational qualification you can receive. Beyond then, it’s just professorships, and who wants one of those? But does the PhD being the pinnacle of education mean it’s the pinnacle of your education. Should it even be a pinnacle at all? Not necessarily. In this week’s blog, Ellie discusses... Continue Reading →
As we return to campus for term two, you may find that Warwick has so much to offer which you might not have discovered yet. Emily shares her five favourite hidden gems of Warwick you may not have heard about before and why they should be a must on your Warwick to-do list! By Emily... Continue Reading →
PhD life has always been understood as a life of solitude. However, it is not necessarily so. Indeed, there is no denying that our research topic could be too specific to be like anyone else’s. Nevertheless, the trajectory of our PhD life bears more resemblances than differences. In this week’s blog, Ivy shares her thoughts... Continue Reading →
In her final review, Emily shares her PhD thoughts from December. Read the New Year’s Resolutions she is setting for a successful year for her and her PhD! By Emily Alger. It’s a new year and a new start for me and my PhD. Though I began my PhD back in October, I consider 2023... Continue Reading →
Has being at home with your family this Christmas made you realise you really miss animals when you're at university? Before term starts, blogger Iona looks at some ideas to get some time with them this term time. By Iona Craig Rea, the beautiful cat of my student house. Image: Iona Craig. When I came... Continue Reading →
Nearing the end of the year can be daunting but is also, hopefully, the lead up to a re-energising break. Pippa reminisces about the holiday season including her recent years as a post-graduate. By Pippa Richardson. Originally published on December 19th, 2018. When I was little, Christmas was such an exciting time filled with wonder.... Continue Reading →
As 2022 draws to a close, editor Ellie and some of the bloggers from PhD Life and the Study Blog take a look at their plans for Christmas. By Ellie King 2022 feels like the year where we really got back into the swing of things. We left COVID restrictions behind and we fully returned... Continue Reading →
As November came and went, Warwick alumni Emily reached two months into her PhD at the Institute of Cancer Research. See how she is getting on and read her reflections of life after undergraduate study. By Emily Alger Last month I wrote a blog about my initial experiences as a Statistics PhD student at... Continue Reading →
After a year working in a museum, blogger Ellie has recently returned to her PhD study. After her first whirlwind month, she has sat down to share some of her experiences and tips on coming back to research after a break. By Ellie King For most of 2022, I haven’t been a PhD student. I... Continue Reading →
‘The upgrade panel’— ‘the most frightening thing’ labelled by some new PhD students. So, what is ‘the upgrade panel’? Is it really something scary? Is there a possibility that someone would fail it? How can I be ready for it? Do I really need nine months to prepare for that? This week, blogger Ivy gives... Continue Reading →
Being a research student means pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. For blogger Greta, this meant taking a leap from a qualitative social sciences-based research to a computational one, and in the process, learning to love programming. In this week’s blog, Greta shares her passion, talking you through how to push yourself in the... Continue Reading →
It’s a new term of a new academic year, and so now is a good a time as ever to say hello to the new bloggers and hello again to our continuing bloggers for PhD Life! This week, editor Ellie gives us a tour of the team behind the blog. By Ellie King The PhD... Continue Reading →
In October, Warwick alumni Emily began her PhD at the Institute of Cancer Research, she shares her October reflections and advice here, one month into her studies. By Emily Alger Emily graduated from Warwick this summer. Image: Emily Alger. As I write this, I’m on my first ever conference in Cambridge – first attending a... Continue Reading →
For the past year, we have been following blogger Lucia on her road to submission. We've been through spells of positivity, difficult times, conference panels, and even a trip back home. Now, it is the time to submit. If you'd like to read her journey so far, you can read posts from January, February, March,... Continue Reading →
After a year in industry, blog editor Ellie is back to her PhD and has eighteen months until funding runs out and the thesis needs to be handed in. In this week blog, she shares all her thoughts. By Ellie King I’ve received the email from Student Records telling me I need to re-enrol. My... Continue Reading →
Imagine you’re cycling through 50 browser tabs at once, 2 of them are playing different TedTalks from YouTube at full volume and another is stuck in a 5-second loop of that song you heard the other day – oh, and you can’t close any of them. Now imagine, saturated in all that noise, you have... Continue Reading →
The Doctoral College at Warwick is the university body you all belong to, but you may never have realised! As Warwick PGRs, it’s your one-stop shop for all things PhD, as well as a gateway to university life beyond your department. Pierre Botcherby, PhD Life blogger and PGR Development Officer in the Doctoral College, takes... Continue Reading →
Welcome to Warwick. Congratulations on starting your research journey, and we wanted to give you a special welcome from the PhD Life blog. This blog is part of Warwick Library and is written and organised by researcher and for researchers. We publish a post every week, on Wednesdays at 2.30pm, providing you with all the... Continue Reading →
You’ve finished your degree and summer is over: your PhD is about to start. but you have a summer ahead before you PhD starts. Emily shares her anticipations and thoughts as her PhD journey comes ever closer. By Emily Alger I’ve graduated from Warwick and very soon I’ll start my PhD. I’ve had two... Continue Reading →
Since November 2021, I have been doing a maternity cover placement at my research partner: Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It’s been a year of learning, excitement, successes, and reflection. As I now come to the end and get ready to re-enrol as a student here at Warwick, I wanted to take a minute... Continue Reading →
Are you starting your PhD this term? If so, you’re right in probably wanting to prep things and get yourself ready for your research. But what can you do that is most useful and effective? In this week’s blog, Ellie explores some of the tasks that will prepare you for your PhD in the best... Continue Reading →
Emily shares her experience, application tips and advice as she starts her postgraduate studies as a PhD student at the Institute of Cancer Research. By Emily Alger A PhD was not something I came into university expecting to be my next step after graduation. However here I am, about to graduate from Warwick and begin... Continue Reading →
Thomas Bray Let’s imagine for moment (and I do mean ‘imagine’, don’t try this at home) that you were to wake up, á la Danny Boyle’s post-apocalytic fright-fest 28 Days Later, in the middle of campus, the fifth floor of the library, to be precise. You glance at your wrist, but your watch is missing. You have no recollection... Continue Reading →
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) is a very current concern in Higher Education. Universities are inherently diverse communities, which have grown massively in recent decades, but under-representation and issues around protected characteristics persist. Relatively understood at Undergraduate level, the understanding of these issues at PGR level still has a long way to go. By Pierre... Continue Reading →
Are you the adventurous type? Do you wish to travel and explore during your PhD? Are finance worries holding you back from booking a trip? If so, this blog could be just for you! Sophie offers some tips on how to travel on a budget. I recently wrote a blog on why you should take... Continue Reading →
In this series, blogger Lucia keeps a record of her progress and experience in the months leading up to submission. To read Lucia's post for April, click here. By Lucia Collischonn. "What a year!""But, captain, it's only May" The middle point of the year is fast approaching. This weird month with many flowers, sneezes, a... Continue Reading →
All humans need to rest, including PhD students. Why is it so hard to take a break? A while ago, we asked Research Exchange visitors and Twitter followers to share their favourite ways of relaxing after hard PhD work. We had great responses, varying from travelling, playing computer games, watching Netflix, baking, enjoying various food... Continue Reading →
PhD study can be fraught with uncertainty and overwhelm but learning to tolerate and build resistance to uncertainty might not be as out of reach as you think. In this blog, Clarissa talks about encountering and managing uncertainty as a PGR. By Riss Muller. I think every PhD candidate, past and present, knows just... Continue Reading →
Planning on staying in Coventry or Warwickshire over the summer and not sure how to make the most of the summer months? This week, blogger Clarissa shares some of what’s on offer. By Riss Muller. Summer is here and whilst the good weather may not last particularly long in the UK, there’s still plenty to... Continue Reading →
As we come to the end of another academic year at Warwick, we take a look back over the year in blogs with our editor Ellie. By Ellie King. This academic year has been a little cautious as we emerge from the restrictions of the pandemic and get back to in-person teaching for the majority... Continue Reading →
Doing a PhD can be a lonely experience, especially if one is starting at a new university, or moving to a new area. The pandemic made it especially tricky to find community when everything moved online. However, cultural societies can be a great way to find a ‘home away from home’ experience as a postgraduate... Continue Reading →
In this series, blogger Lúcia keeps a record of her progress and experience in the months leading up to submission. Oh boy, when it rains, it pours. April was a month with a lot of harvesting of hard work, while also being full of rainy days (both real and metaphorical). In April, I took sick... Continue Reading →
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