Starting a PhD is a big decision. And there are lots of choices to make. What university? What topic? What group? Not to mention your supervisor. Then of course there are the practicalities of life such as work, where you live, and who you live with.
It is no longer enough to offer “just a PhD program”. Universities and their faculties, colleges, schools and departments all need to prepare PhD graduates for the workforce. And not just the research or academic workforce, but the wider workforce. We know that 50% of PhD graduates will immediately go onto a non-academic career, and […]
There are often cries in research “you should have a mentor” but what does that mean, and how do you even get one? IMHO a mentor is someone who has been through some of the things you are goingthrough and can provide advice, guidance, and suggestions on the types of actions and approaches you could […]
Academic research is increasingly collaborative across all disciplines.1,2,3,4 Yet being more collaborative does not necessarily increase productivity – certainly not on a per-author basis.5 Thus, as an ECR or PhD student it is a legitimate question to ask – should I join a team, build a team or go it alone? To be clear I’m […]
Despite my best efforts I have not been able to find much published work on how to be a good PhD student. I’m not talking about the qualities of a PhD student – such as organisation or perseverance. I’m not talking about good PhD programs – such as planning, professional development and good supervisors. I’m […]
What do I do? I help people getting a PhD or those who already have a PhD answer the question “What next?”.
There are many skills that I developed during my PhD that have been useful beyond it. In this video I go through several, as well as suggest some things you could do to prepare for your life beyond your PhD or current role.
One of the biggest problems in a PhD program is lack of students. More students means greater peer support. More students also means many events and activities are more cost effective (or less dollars per student).
At the recent IMNIS event on building an industry career, three questions came from the audience that I thought were useful to write about in a little more detail. Q1) – When should I transfer to industry? My thoughts 1) – There is no right on wrong time, just the time. If you think that […]
In an earlier blog I wrote about the important parts of a CRC PhD Program. Some of you might be reading this and in the process of applying for or setting up a newly awarded centre or institute. Bearing that information in mind, when designing or implementing a supplementary or industry-focused PhD program consider the […]