Tag: Postgraduate research

Are you considering a PhD?

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With most PhDs spanning 3 to 4 years, it is not a decision to take lightly.

For some students, their passion for research and a specific academic discipline is such that a PhD is an obvious choice as part of their career planning, however, for others it is just one possible option, prompting further questions.

Having an insight into what life is like as a post-graduate researcher is a crucial first step. Without any doubt, you will need to love learning, have a hunger for research, and be a self-starter happy to work for long periods independently. Advice from vitae.ac.uk is to be ‘really clear on your motivations for doing a doctorate, and that it [will be] a positive career step.’

Kayleigh Crouch is a Career Peer Support Adviser with the Careers Service, currently a PGR at the University of Bristol, and has shared her insights on what it’s like to be a doctoral researcher here:

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Completing your Masters application? Let us help!

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Having explored whether postgraduate study is an option for you, and weighed up the pros and cons, you’re now ready to submit your application… but where do you start?!

We often meet students and graduates that find making a start to this process overwhelming. This blog gives you a checklist to inspire you to make a start and provide you with resources that can help you to complete your application.  (more…)

What’s the fuss with the PLUS for Postgraduate Researchers?

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The Bristol PLUS Award is the University’s employability Award, open to students across all years of study – including Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs). In fact, PGR achievers speak so highly of the Award process, we thought we’d share highlights from their feedback: (more…)

Actuation Lab – Growth Stage New Enterprise Competition finalists 2018

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Basecamp Enterprise Team caught up with Growth Stage, New Enterprise Competition finalist Dr Michael Dicker from start-up Actuation Lab to talk about their progress since winning 12 month SETsquared membership from the competition. Here’s what Michael had to say: 

Actuation Lab is now 4 months into its year long membership of the SETsquared Bristol incubator that it won as runner-up in the New Enterprise Competition. We have developed greatly as a business over that time and continue to refine our technology and market focus. We recently received a place on the Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) InnovateUK program which is providing us with funding and the ability to further explore market opportunities.  (more…)

How might the Bristol PLUS and Outstanding Awards support your career journey?

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Update: The Outstanding Award process closed after the 2020/21 academic year. Current students who have made an outstanding contribution to their PLUS Award activity may consider engaging with the Outstanding PLUS Award, which launched in the 2021/22 academic year.  

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Postgraduate Researchers: stand out with the Bristol PLUS Award

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Postgraduate Research students; why not challenge yourself this year and develop a range of skills and experiences to enhance your career prospects and opportunities after your research? Last year PGRs from all faculties took part in the Bristol PLUS Award. The feedback was fantastic, as these case studies show:

Hannah Barber: Part-time Medicine PhD

As a part-time PhD student, my schedule can be very busy. The PLUS Award provided me with a great opportunity to enhance my employability skills and CV without consuming too much time. The award encourages you to take part in extra-curricular activities which will help you seek out a career. The experience enhances your reflective skills which I found could also be transferred to my daily research.

Through the PLUS Award I learnt about career opportunities beyond research. It taught me how to lay out my CV in a clear and concise manner which will attract a future employer’s attention. I found the whole experience very useful and would recommend it to anyone who is keen to make their CV stand out from the crowd.

 

Ji Youg Li: PhD: Philosophy

Doing well in postgraduate research is not only about academic success, it is also important to develop transferable skills. In signing up for the Bristol PLUS Award I wanted to engage in activities that would be beneficial for my career. I branched out in the variety of activities for my work experience and had fun as well! I also became more productive in my academic work, as I learnt skills in maximising my time and effort.

Through PLUS I gained insight into how to articulate my skills to others, how to reflect on my experiences and how I can apply transferable skills to career-related opportunities as a PGR student. The employability workshops were especially helpful, breaking down the key points needed to enhance my CV and prepare for interviews. The great thing about the PLUS award is that it encourages you to try new things and go outside of your comfort zone. Bristol PLUS was not simply an ‘award’ but a source of inspiration for me to keep being proactive, and to continue to practice and apply my skills. I really enjoyed my experience; the award offers an invaluable experience for PGRs so I would definitely recommend it.

David Dewar:  MPhil: Music

Though a somewhat mature PGR, the Plus Award seemed a useful and potentially helpful achievement. I started thinking about how I could use the award in my own situation.

The workshops were relevant to my future aims, and were also interesting and not too time consuming. Reflection on what one has achieved was a further rewarding feature. More recently I have learnt from interviewers in academia, industry and music that the record of such an achievement on a CV stands out and demonstrates your abilities, achievements, and self-endeavours; very valuable skills to advertise when backed up by formal recognition from the University of Bristol. I would recommend it to everyone, particularly PGRs; it’s enjoyable and meaningful.

 

 

 

 

Visit the Careers Service website to find out more about the Bristol PLUS Award and book on to an Introductory talk before  9 February 2018. Intro talks are open to all students and PGR tailored Intro talks are offered on  19 October  and 19 January.

Why PGRs should do the Bristol PLUS Award

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This year we’ve been running new tailored PGR Introductory talks for the Bristol PLUS Award and suggested work experience and intensive skills activities that are relevant to PGRs thinking about academic and non-academic careers. This has seen up-take of the Award amongst PGRs increase by 667%! Below Miquel and Oli talk about what benefits they got from doing Bristol PLUS.

Miquel Perello-Nieto: Computer Science PhD

The Bristol PLUS Award encourages you to be more proactive during postgraduate study. To complete it you must accomplish a set of requirements, involving different skillsets. By participating in the PLUS Award you increase your chances of getting a job by attending workshops on, for example, job hunting, networking, or interview skills.

The workshops

I attended a workshop about creative job searching that offered a set of useful tools to find jobs, and emphasised the importance of networking in this process. I also learnt about assessment centres and what to expect in the selection process, and attended a very useful workshop about enterprise, innovation, and communication for researchers. These helped develop my skills in giving effective presentations of my research, and a clearer mindset for tackling common problems faced by researchers. I am now more confident when presenting my research, and am also more organised when preparing for meetings, taking notes, and summarising afterwards.

The benefits

The Bristol PLUS Award has improved my skills, and is really useful in encouraging a proactive habit for learning and appreciating a set of skills not acquired during a postgraduate degree. I am now more prepared to find a job and make a good impression – the next step is to find a job!

Oli Bell: Medicine PhD

The Bristol PLUS Award allowed me to gain accreditation for work I was already performing, and helped strengthen my applications. It will demonstrate to potential employers that I take career development seriously, and that I am taking strides towards enhancing my employability skills.

I first read about the Bristol PLUS Award whilst browsing the Bristol Doctoral College’s course system. When I attended the introductory talk I had already completed the vast majority of tasks required to complete the award. The mainstay of tasks I completed were in relation to my intended future career path in teaching and research, so it was easy to fit in around my study.

Work experience and workshops 

Throughout the Bristol PLUS award there were several workshops and opportunities available through the Careers Service, as well as the possibility to use external workshops. To develop my teaching skills, I worked as a tutor with the company MyTutor, who offer online tuition for GCSE and A-level pupils in an interactive online classroom. I attended education workshops and undertook the ‘starting to teach’ course offered by the Bristol Doctoral College, which constituted my intensive skills activity. During this time, I gained insight into the challenges of teaching in university, and began to work on techniques in teaching. I also gained skills in lab demonstration, and this will undoubtedly strengthen any future applications I make in this area.

The benefits

The booking and submission process were easy, and fully-integrated online, allowing you to submit from anywhere, and to complete the Award at your own pace. This was very convenient for me as I needed to fit work toward it around my busy schedule.

In summary, I feel the Bristol PLUS award can only strengthen a CV, as it helps you develop core skills that serve to enhance future job applications.

 

Further information:

For more information and to find out how to sign-up for Bristol PLUS next year, read our Bristol PLUS Award webpages.

The Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Researchers

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Being a productive and successful PhD student is not easy.  There are a multitude of distractions and procrastination activities to fill up any long day in the office.  As I am now in the final 12 months of my PhD, attending a seminar that promised to provide practical tips on how to finish my PhD on time and still enjoy the process sounded highly appealing.

The event, organised by the Bristol Doctoral College and the University of Bristol Careers Service, was run by Hugh Kearns and focused on being a successful research student.  He presented hints and tips to help PhD students work more effectively and gave a lot of practical advice on how to get through the PhD process.  Overall, I found the event really useful and I would highly recommend the event to other PhD students.  Since the event, I have been putting some of Hugh’s tips into practice and found myself to be more productive in the office.

For students that were unable to attend the event, here is my overview of Hugh’s seven secrets:

  1. Meet regularly with your supervisor.
  2. Write and show as you go.
  3. Have realistic research goals – try not to be a perfectionist.
  4. Say no to distractions – checking your email first thing in the morning decreases daily productivity.
  5. Set regular hours and take holidays – reward yourself with a break.
  6. Make full use of the available help – you’re not on your own!
  7. Persevere – you can do it!!

For more information, take a look at the informative careers columns from Hugh Kearns in the journal Nature, with topics on ‘The Motivation Fairy’, ‘The Care and Maintenance of your supervisor’ and ‘Turbocharge your writing’.

Gemma Coxon, PhD student

Further information and support of how to manage the PhD process can be found on the Vitae website.  The Balanced Researcher offers some useful strategies and techniques to keep your work and the rest of your life in balance.

The University of Bristol Careers Service offers specific events, workshops and careers adviser support for PhD students.

How to write a winning statement for postgraduate study

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This post is intended to help you get that all-important personal statement right when applying for Masters programmes and other postgraduate courses.  To make sure you get the appropriate tone and content, you need to think about your application from the perspective of the admissions tutor.  I see a lot of statements written in the style of academic essays, offering lengthy thoughts on key concepts in the field, but this isn’t what is required.  The tone and points you make should resemble a job application more than academic arguments.  Here are my tips for keeping your statement in the ‘yes’ pile.

  • First, I’m assuming that you have done your homework and thoroughly researched the course.  Does the teaching style suit you?  What jobs do graduates of the programme go on to do? Have you talked to potential future employers to find out if you need to do the course, or are you satisfied that you want to do it for your own development? Can you fund the course and your maintenance costs throughout?  If you haven’t thought these questions through, then visit our Postgraduate Study pages for advice.  It is also a good idea to telephone or email the course admissions tutor if you have any questions before applying.
  • Now, structure your statement around the following points to make sure you’re including what the admissions tutor wants to see:
  • An introduction that gets straight to the point

Be clear and direct at the beginning of the statement, and don’t waste time discussing the ins and outs of academic debates within the subject of the course.  Go straight in with why you are applying for the programme and get their attention.  It’s ok to personalise this as genuine motivations will really stand out over those applications where people are applying for courses without having thought it through, or just can’t think of what else to do.  Mentioning an inspirational person you met or a life experience that got you interested in this area can grab the reader’s attention straight away.  For graduate medicine, for example, many students have experienced life-changing events that led them to choose to become a doctor.

  • Do you have the academic capability to complete the course successfully?

You need to provide specific evidence here of the skills and knowledge you have gained during your undergraduate studies that will provide a good foundation for a postgraduate programme.  Provide clear examples of when you developed specific skills, such as managing your dissertation, learning about team work in a group project, or improving your problem solving abilities, using the STAR framework to capture what you learned.  Highlight units that you studied that are relevant to this new programme and how they will provide you with useful foundations.  If you are applying for a programme that is quite different from your undergraduate subject, then you will need to spell out how your skills and learning are transferable to this new discipline.  Don’t assume that the tutor knows what you have to offer; they need to see that you can articulate this clearly to them, rather like making a sales pitch.

  • Why have you chosen this particular programme at this particular place?

Just as if you were applying for a job, you must show that you have researched both the institution and the department offering the course and be clear about why you have chosen them.  Are there particular specialists you are looking forward to working with?  Why does the teaching style appeal to you?  Are there individual units that attract you?  If you are applying for a course at your current undergraduate institution, you still have to do this!  Be clear about why you want to stay, as it is by no means given that you will get a place on a Masters just because you’re already studying in the same place, especially if it’s a popular programme.

  • What are your future plans? What will this course lead to?

The admissions tutor will want to see clear evidence that this course is going to help you get further towards the career you have in mind, as this means you are more likely to be motivated during your studies and complete the course.  It’s ok to have more than one job option in mind when you apply and it’s also perfectly fine to change your mind later, but it helps if you can demonstrate a goal towards which you will be working by completing this programme of study.

  • What else do you do that could have given you relevant skills?

It’s important to leave space for a paragraph that talks about your co-curricular interests and activities, as many of these can provide valuable skills and experience you can bring to a postgraduate programme.  Any client-facing experience from shop, café or event work can provide the essential people skills needed for teaching, social work or legal training, for example, so it’s important that you explain specific occasions when you enhanced these skills, again using the STAR framework.

So, when completing a postgraduate statement, it’s important to keep in mind the perspective of the admissions tutor and their requirements.  That way, you’ll hit the right target and stand a better chance of getting that place.  If you need some more inspiration, you can:

Good luck!

Dr Tracy Johnson, Careers Adviser

(Image: http://www.postgrad.com)

PGCE or PGDip? A quick guide to postgraduate qualifications

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diploma-certificate

If you’re thinking about postgraduate study, then you won’t be the only person having trouble distinguishing your MPhil from your DPhil, or a PGCE from a PGCert.  Here are a few of the main postgraduate qualifications explained, as well as some tips for choosing which one is right for you.

Masters degrees

Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MSc), Master of Education (MEd), to name just a few!

Often referred to as a taught masters, these degrees usually take one year full-time (or two years part-time) after the completion of an undergraduate programme.  You will attend lectures and seminars for about nine months, leaving another three to research and write up your thesis.  You may need one in a specialist area to advance careers in sectors such an international development or in actuarial work, but many people also choose to complete one to enhance their knowledge of their undergraduate subject.

(Master of Research) MRes

If you are considering a career in research, either in industry or academia, then a research-led masters may be a more relevant route for you than a taught one.  There is a greater emphasis on the thesis, which can be up to 40,000 words in length, compared to around 20,000 for a taught masters.  An MRes can also be awarded to students who have worked towards a doctorate but have not achieved the required standard.

Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

This is a more advanced, research-based masters degree, and can sometimes be completed as preparation for a doctorate.

Doctorates

A doctorate demonstrates that you have made an original contribution to your academic discipline, engaging in three to four years of committed research and producing a thesis.  The traditional model of a doctorate that people have in mind is usually that of the lone student working closely with their supervisor.  However, there are now many different kinds of doctorates available and which are delivered in a variety of ways.

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) can still be undertaken alone but you could also be part of a research team and may be supervised by several academics or even industry professionals to address different aspects of your project.  A DPhil is simply what Oxford University calls a PhD. A DEng is a doctorate in engineering, and this can involve considerable time spent in industry on placements, as is also now the case with some science doctorates.

Other options include practice-led doctorates, which require something like an exhibition alongside a thesis in art and design or performance-based areas, or a doctorates by publication, where publishing a certain number of articles or a book can be taken as evidence of your expertise.  The latter is more common when you have already been working in an area for some years.  This is also the case for professional doctorates, such as the Doctor of Education or EdD, where experienced practitioners will present a portfolio of evidence as well as a thesis to achieve this qualification.

Postgraduate Certificates & Diplomas

Postgraduate certificates and diplomas fall between undergraduate and masters degrees, offering training in both vocational and academic areas, with qualifications taking months rather than years to complete.  For example, careers advisers can complete a postgraduate certificate in careers guidance (PGCert), followed by a postgraduate diploma (PGDip) and, if they are really keen, go on to an MA in Careers Guidance, where they would take on a research element in an area that interests them.

Entry into areas such as law and teaching also require study at this level, with aspiring solicitor and barristers completing the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), if they do not already have a law degree, and would-be teachers studying for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).

Key points to consider

If you are currently thinking about whether or not further study is right for you, and what kind of qualification to take, then do come in and talk to us at the Careers Service.  Many students think about taking a masters degree because they can’t think of what else to do after graduation, and this could be a very expensive year out of the labour market without enhancing your prospects if you don’t choose wisely.

We always recommend speaking to potential employers or  contacts in the areas of work that interest you to find out if you need to take a postgraduate qualification and, if you do, which ones would  be most relevant.  Our web site contains more information about postgraduate study, as well as information about how to fund it.

Finally, watch out for workshops at the Careers Service this autumn on choosing postgraduate study as well as on specific options such as the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and teacher training via the PGCE.

Dr Tracy Johnson, Careers Adviser

(Image: http://ipdraughts.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/postgraduate-diploma-in-ip-transactions-an-update/)