As PhDs, we might occasionally take up some teaching. The motivations to do so varies, but there are also some considerations to bear in mind if – and when – we decide to do so while researching. Read Aya Nassar’s experiences in this week’s PhD Life post…
Everyone’s been there. You have a burning question to ask at a conference but you can’t think of the right words or the best way to frame it. Maybe anxiety takes over and you start worrying what other people might think of you. This summer, Chengcheng Kang has overcome this anxiety and shares her experiences…
Despite the increasingly encouraging calls for interdisciplinary research, interdisciplinary life is more than working with different backgrounds. In this week’s PhD Life post, Aya Nassar describes her thoughts on being an interdisciplinary PhD researcher…
Speaking to strangers is quite literally the stuff of nightmares for some people. But the PhD experience involves doing just that. In this article, Sophie Shorland runs though some tips on making the academic conference easier for introverts, as well as anyone new to the conference experience…
In the arts and humanities we are informed that we need to get that first book out in order to progress our career and move closer to that first academic position. Read this blog post to find out more about the process, based on Dr Alice Eden’s recent success of gaining a book contract with…
Struggling to socialise in the public side of PhD and academic life? Do you dread the lunch breaks at conferences, clueless as to what you should say to everyone? In this week’s post Jenny Mak offers a mindset shift for the introverted PhD student.
While I had prepared thoroughly for outreach and public engagement sessions during the Enchanted Community project, I didn’t anticipate just how much I would also learn from the sessions. I discovered that ‘outreach’ – despite the name – is about much more than reaching out from the University, instead it was just as much about…
As a PhD student, you’ve probably received plenty of advice about what to do and how to behave at academic conferences. However, it’s likely that sometimes that advice hasn’t actually been very helpful in practice. Here, Sophie shares four common pieces of bad conference advice…
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Granted, Charles Dickens was referring to the French Revolution, but this also applies to the trials and tribulations of romantic relationships during your PhD. How about we treat Valentine’s Day as a chance to reflect on how romantic love fits into our busy…
Last week we summed up 2017, but what’s in store for 2018? Read this week’s post to find out…
We’re all searching for Study-Work-Life balance, right? However, it would also be smart to consider other projects while searching for that elusive equilibrium. Christina Efthymiadou shares her thoughts on the benefits of joining a multi-disciplinary network…
Have you ever heard someone say “the best #selfie is the one that isn’t”? Well, in the case of a #PhDshelfie, the best one is the one you share with other PhD students. Here’s mine, now let’s see yours…
A researcher’s life can be a bit isolating. Before you know it, you’ve spent little time connecting with your supervisors, other professors in your department, academics you admire and, of course, those PhD students around you. It does not have to be so! Lucy Richardson tells us that you shouldn’t dismiss those face-to-face interactions…
Is it worth spending most of the conference glued to your screen? Are conferences hashtags where the real party happens? Ondrej discusses the pearls and pitfalls of tweeting from a conference… Academic conferences are usually exhausting. You spend the whole day (or, more often, several days) closed in a lecture room, often without direct sunlight or…
In the seemingly endless struggles with your dissertation, you may think about joining a dissertation support group. Experts in dissertation shepherding often advocate a group. It be excellent for “solace, support and motivation” (Axelrod & Windell, 2012, p. 101) and sharing of information and writing techniques (Grant & Tomal, 2013; Joyner, Rouse, & Glatthorn, 2012;…
Exploring the emotional processes involved in both being and becoming academic
Musings of a nutty professor in the making
molding Research in the mainstream
Because there's always room for improvement
The evolving tale of my PhD as it happens
physio.researcher.illustrator
Language, Digital Media and the Family
