Twelve Questions to Consider When Changing PhD Topic

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to changing your PhD topic. But there are some things you can consider. Here I ask 12 questions to help you move through the process. And if you’re into scoring, you could rate each one to help you decide what to do next. Transcript: At […]

Six Tips to Become a Better PhD Supervisor

Six tips to being a better PhD supervisor:  1. Do the training.  2. Know your students.  3. Respect their time.  4. Refer to others.  5. Model good behaviour.  6. Make progress visible. Transcript: There’s been a lot of talk, and a lot of information lately about how to be a better student but I don’t […]

Staying Focused on Your PhD

PhDs take forever. Well, it seems that way. Data on completion times suggests 7 years is the average. Yet, (Australian) universities are pushing 3 years, perhaps with a 6 month extension. So, how do you stay focused? Or, more to the point, what are the kinds of things that distract you from making meaningful progress […]

You Don’t Need Another Qualification

As part of the COVID-19 crisis, I suggested people learn something new during that time (see what to do when you cannot do experiments). In some form or another, I’ve seen people take up that advice. Some people just enrolled in an online course. The first that stood out to them. Others asked the social […]

Should I Finish My PhD? and Other Questions You Might Be Asking Yourself If You Want to Leave Academia

Download as PDF There are many reasons to do a PhD. Trust me, I’ve made a list. But few reasons to discontinue, intermit or leave a PhD (or academia). Beyond why you might leave, you should also consider what you should do on the way out. Hopefully these ideas will help you. Should I finish my […]

If I Leave Academia – Should I Retrain and What Matters to Industry?

Download as PDF Naturally, when you consider changing jobs you get a little nervous. You begin to ask yourself a range of reasonable, and unreasonable questions. Second guessing your knowledge and expertise. Wondering if are making the right decision to look for alternative work and wondering if the place you’ll end up will be a […]

Five Points of PhD Program Failure

In this audio, I cover off five different points of failure within PhD programs and how you might address them. Transcript In the work that I do, I’m often asked to help build PhD programs. As a result, I’ve done a fair bit of work research into published research or looking at the published research […]