Tag: Reflections

#MyPhDStory – A Journey of Self Discovery

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Self awarenessStudying for a PhD can be a lonely process, however the thoughts you have and the emotions you feel are shared by others in your ‘small’ PhD student community. In today’s ‘Reflections’, Miriam Madziga, a third year PhD candidate at the Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development (IESD), De Montfort University shares some thoughts on her PhD experience so far.

My PhD journey started long before I made my application, it started in my mind, as I gave some thought to why I wanted to pursue a PhD.  I am curious and inquisitive by nature, always wanting to know ‘how’ and ‘why’ things worked the way they did. I also loved writing, which combined with a love for research would serve to my advantage. I knew I wanted to pursue a PhD but did not know what my topic area would be or what doing a PhD entailed. There were more than a thousand questions that flooded my mind. So I did what I do best when trapped in a mentally overwhelming situation, I go on holiday!

I also knew I wanted my topic area to be connected to my previous academic background/ field of ‘Environmental Economics, Waste & Resources Management’ as well as relevant to the world and society at large. I then decided to focus my research on ‘water.’ ‘What about water?’ was my next logical reasoning. I found tons of information and previous research conducted on water generation, production, treatment, supply and remediation; all from ground and surface water sources but very little on production of water from atmospheric water sources. So, I decided to look at the ‘unobvious’ aspect of water where there was very little attention and this was what gave birth to my research topic: Water from air!

Another important factor is the relevance of my PhD research to society today, water is  an element in its abundance on the Earth and yet faces global persistent challenges around the world – this led me to asking the question ‘Why’ and then to ‘Finding out what I could do about this’. My research is investigating the use of condensations systems to extract clean drinking water from air’ and I have decided to apply this especially to poor communities.

What has my PhD experience been like? It has been unlike any other thing I have ever experienced. When I first started, I felt like an octopus on skates trying to keep my balance while navigating through new territory. Nothing really prepares you fully for a PhD like doing one. Where I seemed lacking in skill or knowledge, I quickly sought assistance and applied myself. The transition onto my PhD was made smoother because my University provided doctoral training courses which gave me a better understanding of what the process was like and what skills I needed to develop to succeed.

My PhD journey has been one of self-discovery, especially of new skills and abilities I did not know I had. I have developed excellent organisational skills; planning is very crucial to enable me progress with my PhD as well as have a life outside of it! I set weekly and monthly goals for my research and look forward to rewarding myself with adventure trips such as: skydiving, scuba diving, hiking, or snowboarding.

My time keeping has significantly improved. As an undergraduate student, I recall being late so often to lectures that I was mandated to take a ‘time keeping’ session – to which I arrived late! However, the contrast between who I was then and now has been huge and I am pleased to see the transformation in my research as well. I can tell you to some degree of precision what my calendar is like from today even up to the end of the year – all a credit to planning management.

I suppose my mental preparation was what paved way to the resilient spirit which kept pushing me through tough times, challenges and setbacks. The biggest challenge of all for me was funding as I am self-funded. This meant that being a PhD candidate was akin to working a regular job with no income for a minimum of 3 years while simultaneously sourcing funds to enable me conduct my PhD research.

A sustaining factor was the desire within me to pursue a PhD despite all odds. Call it kismet, but suddenly opportunities began to emerge to aid me along the way. Assistance in form of business consulting opportunities, networking and monetization through my blogging platform and sales of products I had made and books I had published. I took advantage of every opportunity that came my way. This in turn opened up more connections and networking opportunities with people, industry and other Universities.

My PhD journey has also been sustained by the self-motivation that I continue to generate within myself. When the going gets tough; I find comfort in the place of prayer and meditation, laughter and joy amongst friends. I build endurance, clarity and stamina at the gym and while playing roller derby with my team Roller Derby Leicester, and most importantly the love and support of my family and loved ones.

So, if you aspire to elevate yourself to the league of extraordinary researchers, develop new skills, make new connections and progress in your career, I will most definitely say ‘YES’! Go for a PhD!!

#MyPhDStory – My PhD Life lessons

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We were pleasantly surprised about the response to our article discussing myths about PhDs. Studying for a PhD can be a life changing process; successfully completing one provides the opportunity to learn not just about your discipline but about yourself as a person. In this article, Amara reflects on some of the most valuable life lessons she learnt while studying for her PhD.

Perseverance can be more important than intelligence – We had a saying in my lab that became my PhD mantra – ‘Never give up!’ Everyone knows that doing a PhD comes with its own unique challenges but I severely underestimated how difficult it was going to be. Nothing I had experienced during my undergraduate degree prepared me for starting a PhD. Six months into my PhD, sadly, my Director of studies (Supervisor) passed away suddenly after a very brief illness. He was more than just a supervisor but a mentor and someone I respected and liked greatly. I seriously considered throwing in the towel but I remembered ‘Never give up.’ My supervisor had given me a golden opportunity and I was going to keep working until I got to the end. There were many more obstacles along the way but I kept building up my perseverance muscles. If you are doing a PhD now and feel like giving up at some point, don’t worry, it is perfectly normal. The myth is that PhDs are super smart geeks but the truth is they’re just a tenacious bunch. See your PhD as a marathon and not a sprint.  Your intelligence may get you into a PhD but perseverance is a requirement for successful completion.

Success = 1% inspiration + 99% perspiration!

Learn to manage failure – Learning not to take failure personally but to use it as a growth tool. No one tells you that about 75% of your experiments will not work the first time. That you will spend an uncountable number of hours writing an article, finally getting all co-authors happy with it, send it off to a journal and get a rejection email three months later! I learnt to toughen up. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. I taught myself to see criticism as encouragement. Up until starting a PhD, I had never really had to deal with failure. I thought I was a great student – I had finished with a 1st after all – I laugh now at how unprepared I was at the beginning. I learnt the hard way that failing is an event and the best way to deal with it was to get back in the ring and keep punching. I was only a failure if I allowed failing to stop me in my tracks. Towards the end of my PhD, I noticed that I had developed my problem solving skills and was better equipped to handle issues – even those unrelated to my PhD as well. For more information on dealing with rejection, see here.

Who you know is just as important as what you know – I am an introvert by nature. The nature of PhDs means that you work on your own for extended periods of time which suited my personality to a T. I soon realised how important it was to create and cultivate productive relationships. A PhD is an independent project, not a loner project. I was encouraged to start attending conferences from my first year. At first, I saw these meetings simply as opportunities to present my work but I have learnt to use them to expand my network.  Networking is not just about about finding employment opportunities but can even help provide solutions to some PhD issues. I was able to solve a problem I had been struggling with for a few months in a thirty minute conversation I had with a Professor at a scientific meeting. Your PhD supervisors will have a significant influence on how your PhD progresses and is one of the most important relationships you will have during your PhD and even after you finish. The key word with regards to relationships is ‘productivity.’ Some of my relationships did not survive my PhD because I could not ‘turn up’ at every event. On a personal level, I would never have made it through without friends and family. There were some dark days but my cheerleaders always had my back and I am forever grateful.

Read More – The PhD Survival Guide

Master your subject AND develop your skills – A PhD is awarded for making an original and significant contribution to  knowledge in a specific discipline. This takes a considerable amount of work and effort but I found out that it was important for me to develop my skills profile as well. Having all that knowledge was great but as I got to the end of my PhD and started looking at job advertisements, I realised that transferable skills were just as important. Even though my PhD was lab-based, I realised that there were many opportunities to develop my leadership, creative thinking, problem solving, communication, organisational, management, teamwork and even enterprise skills. I started my teacher training during my PhD as I wanted to have something extra to offer potential employers in addition to my qualification. During my PhD, I realised that I actually enjoyed managing projects almost as much as working in the lab!

Lab-based PhD not Lab-based Life – I learnt that I needed an ‘escape’ from the lab ever so often. I know many PhDs seem almost superhuman and are always the first to get into the lab and the last to leave EVERY DAY but that didn’t work for me. I spent long hours in the lab, weekends, overnight at some points…but I made sure I had some outside interests. I volunteered for a children’s charity at least twice a month. I registered to become a STEM Ambassador. I started a small business (thanks mum). Studying for a PhD does not mean you cannot be entrepreneurial. I do not know many well paid PhD candidates and financial security is important to me. I realised that there would be life after my PhD and there were no guarantees with regards to employment. It was a balancing act but what better way to learn management?

There is still some work to be done regarding diversity in the sciences and academia – particularly in senior positions. While things are getting better, I believe we still have our work cut out. There is still gender bias and an under representation of ethnic minority females. This ignited a desire and passion for engaging with young people to encourage them to think about careers in science (We will be writing more about this but we also welcome any thoughts on how this diversity gap can be closed).

Read more – 4 Strategies for an effective relationship with your supervisor

Enjoy it – I enjoyed doing my PhD, not everyday but as a whole. We hear a lot about the ‘burden’ of a PhD but there are great moments too. Some of my closest relationships today are people I met while doing my PhD. I have been mentored by two awesome scientists. I have had the opportunity to go around the world to present my research which I would not ordinarily do if not for doing a PhD. I am more confident speaking in public. I now question everything; there is just something about reading hundreds of papers to write your thesis that makes you begin to think critically about everything else. Don’t spend the few years of your PhD complaining (well not every day). It is a challenge but who doesn’t love a challenge?

I may come back to this topic because it is by no means exhausted. More importantly, I would like to know what lessons you learnt from graduate school or during your PhD. 

HeadshotAbout our writer – After completing a PhD in Microbiology and Food Science,  Amara is developing her career in academia – providing teaching and learning solutions in UK FE and HE Institutions as well as conducting research in Food Microbiology. Amara believes in the combined power of education and productive relationships as essential tools for building successful careers. ‘Ignorance can hurt more than sticks and stones.’

If you enjoyed reading this article, please share and subscribe to our network! If you have an article you would like to share with our readers, please get in touch – info@aspiringprofessionalshub.com.

#MyPhDStory – Attending my first conference

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QFS2010-photo-ENSS_2179Conferences provide a good opportunity for academics –early career researchers in particular – to present their work and develop valuable contacts in their field. Preparing for your first conference can seem daunting as you do not know what to expect, especially if you will be presenting! In today’s Reflections post, Nina, a research assistant at the University of the West of England, shares her experience of attending an international scientific conference for the first time.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to present my first poster at the Koninklijke Nederlands Vereniging voor Microbiologie (KNVM) Microbiology Spring Meeting held in Arnhem, Netherlands.  I had never been to a conference before so I hope sharing my experience will help other conference newbies.

 

Day 1

Monday (AM)

So…I’m not a great sleeper but I woke up quite tired, probably because I was so excited about the trip. It was a short journey from Bristol to Amsterdam – only an hour on plane. When I got to Amsterdam, it took a little while to figure out how the public transport system worked to get to Arnhem. I managed to get on the right train, the right bus and even get off at the right stops. In the end, travelling was easy as everyone spoke English and I arrived in one piece although knowing basic Dutch may have been of some benefit but hindsight is a great thing. The double decker trains blew my mind!

Monday (PM)

The hotel was lovely and I caught up with my industry sponsors and had dinner. This provided a good opportunity to settle in before being swept the official start of the conference. I would highly recommend getting in a day early if you can.

Day 2

Tuesday (PM)

I didn’t sleep terribly well but I think I was just nervous. Breakfast was so good, I forgot about my nerves for a while. I arrived at the conference early to give me enough time to set up my poster. Seeing my poster amongst the others gave me an overwhelming sense of pride and achievement. All the time I spent working on it was so worth it. My sponsors introduced me to a few people after which I attended some plenary sessions. There were about 500 people in the audience and I felt honoured to be among them. I used lunch as an opportunity to mingle with the crowd which was a bit daunting at first as everyone around me was speaking Dutch! I overcame my nerves and introduced myself to people, thankfully, everyone spoke English.

Tuesday (PM) – Poster time

After a few breakout sessions, it was time for the official conference dinner. I was sitting alone at a table and just kept hoping someone would sit with me. Luckily, three lovely Dutch professors sat at my table and we have a very good conversation about our respective countries, academia and loads more. It was so good, I almost forgot that it was time for me to present my poster! In case you were wondering, yes, the poster was presented at night time – after drinks!

I went to stand by my poster and made eye contact with a gentleman whose poster was next to mine. He explained that he was also presenting for the first time and was nervous. It was nice to talk to someone on the same level as I was and this helped me relax. Most attendees just walked by, having had a quick scan, moving on before I could say anything to them. Eventually, one by one, a few people came to ask questions. The questions were not as difficult as I expected e.g. ‘What is your poster about?’, ‘Why is this relevant to us?’ etc. I felt I answered confidently and accurately, overall, it went very well.

Day 3 – Homeward bound

I slept much better as the nerves had finally gone. I attended the morning meetings in the most relaxed state I had been since Monday. Unfortunately, I had to miss the second part of the day’s programme to enable me catch my flight. Overall, it was a great experience and I wondered why I was so nervous in the first place!

I would not call myself an expert on attending conferences but these are a few things I learnt from my experience –

Just be brave and talk to people…it was hard for me at first but I found everyone I spoke to really friendly and engaging.

If presenting a poster, wear something smart but comfortable because you want to be as relaxed as you can be.

Take some work with you, you’ll be amazed how much work you can get done during the commute and with less distractions to boot!

Bring business cards. I didn’t have any but everyone else seemed to. A business card enables people remember you and projects professionalism. If you are going to spend all that time networking, it is important your new contacts can remember your name!

Pace yourself. It can be a long day, especially if you have late night presentations. Try to get settled in a day early to adjust to your new surroundings.

If abroad where English is not the first language, learn basic terminology (Hello, Please, Thank you); it just seems more polite.

Keep your poster, it’s a nice memento of the good work you have done. You can also find somewhere to put it up in your University.

A practical one for the ladies – do not pack new shoes or heels! You’ll be surprised how long you will be on your feet!

As a final thought, just remember that everyone was once in the same boat as you. There is nothing to be afraid of, if anything, this conference proved to me just how fun and relaxed it can be.

Thanks Nina. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. If you would like to share your experience(s) with us, contact us on aspiringprofessionalshub@gmail.com.

#UniAdvice – Three simple tips that improved my academic writing.

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Writing 1Do you approach writing assessments with fear or excitement? Do you procrastinate till the day before your paper, dissertation, essay, technical report is due because you just do not like writing. In this article, Emmanuel shares his journey to becoming a better writer. No one is born a great writer, we all have to work at it!

Speaking to my students in a revision class this afternoon about writing dissertations, I was reminded about some of the advice I received that changed my understanding of writing and actually made me appreciate academic writing and dare I say, start to enjoy it. The funny thing is that like many other students at university, I enjoyed creative writing.  I could write for fun, tell stories and create tales etc. However, I found academic writing challenging. I will share three of the key bits of advice I received during my masters and doctorate.

The first major change in my writing came from my MSc project supervisor (and mentor) who told me that my writing was too modest. Initially, my thoughts were, of course it should be modest. Clearly I did not understand the logic behind the statement and as she occasionally reminds me, she read my work about ten times before giving the go ahead to submit (I despaired at that point). Looking back over the years, my writing was modest for many reasons – one in particular which resonates with many students which is cultural background. Coming from a cultural background where you are not meant to criticise or question ‘authority’ creates a writing mindset where you write like you are walking on coals of fire “softly softly” just to get through the writing rather than express your ability, knowledge and critical awareness. She said, “Your writing is a reflection of your personality” so project yourself well through your writing.

The second bit of advice that got me through my academic writing was the importance of planning your write up before you put pen to paper or better still, fingers to keyboard. With the experience of marking dissertations you get to see different levels of engagement and ability to write but it is all so easy to see the unplanned dissertation or thesis write up. An unplanned dissertation or thesis is usually more difficult to write and for the marker hard to read or follow. Without planning, written work can lack coherence and structure. So what to do? There is no generic first step but before you start writing it would be helpful to seek advice from your tutor, adviser or supervisor (who obviously understands your topic or project) about how to plan your writing and what would be important to communicate in your work; review past successful dissertations in similar subject areas and have the key materials you need to begin your writing. For example, if writing a science focused dissertation or thesis, without  a well written ‘Methods’ and ‘Results’ section, you are unable to articulate your findings and tell a good story. Many Universities provide writing support through their learning development units so take advantage of them!

The third key I received from my doctoral supervisor was simple but effective. Writing a thesis is like telling a story. Considering these great bits of advice came from women, does it mean women are better writers???? Food for thought. Back to reality now, if you cannot tell a critically appraised, logical and well written coherent story then your write up would not be received as well as you might think or believe. From personal experience and talking to several examiners, it is common that at the end of a viva (Oral examination) examiners tend to comment on the quality of the writing and in some cases how easy or nice or pleasant a thesis or dissertation was to read. Think about this, if your work is easy and pleasant to read, perhaps it would be easy and pleasant to assess??? So remember, tell a good story (not a narrative) of your academic work or project and ensure it reads well and makes sense before you press the submit button.

Many thanks to my supervisors for the key tips that ensured I developed a liking and value for my voice on written academic work. Please share your own tips in the comments sections. For any suggestions or tips about getting through the academic writing process, please feel free to email us at info@aspiringprofessionalshub.com. Connect with us on Twitter @emmanueladukwu and @amaratweets.  

If you enjoyed reading this article, please share and subscribe to our network! If you have an article you would like to share with our readers, please get in touch – info@aspiringprofessionalshub.com.