A massive thank you to the 200+ new Postgraduate Researchers who attended our first ever Researcher Inauguration event on Monday, 6 February. Held in the Reception Rooms of the iconic Wills Memorial Building, our new students were officially welcomed into the University’s research community by the Vice-Chancellor and the Bristol Doctoral College. Check out the full story on our storify for highlights of the night, which included free scarves, a prize draw and excellent speeches from Dr. Samantha Matthews and current 4th year PhD student Leanne Melbourne.
Newly registered PGRs were given a free scarf on arrival, and tasked with completing our ‘Inaugural challenge’
Around 200 PGRs attended Monday’s event
Free food and wine is always a draw for new students….
The event gave PGRs an opportunity to meet with other new students from different disciplines
Our Research Tree asked new students to describe their research in 3 words, and what they were most excited about
Students filled in small leaves to hang on the tree and display their contributions
We challenged students to meet others from different departments and faculties
Leanne Melbourne, a 4th year PGR in the School of Earth Sciences, shared her views of life as a researcher at Bristol
Many thanks to our Jazz Trio from the University’s own music department!
Dr. Sam Matthews, who won a Teaching Excellence Award for best research supervision, shared pearls of wisdom for both students and supervisors
Professor Hugh Brady, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University, welcomed all new students
Students donned their scarves during a toast from the Vice-Chancellor to commemorate their belonging to a wider research community
Everyone looked very fetching in their new scarves!
Postgraduate researchers and their supervisors were invited to the event
Students were able to recognise fellow newbies by spotting their scarves
After the speeches, everyone broke off into small groups and completed the remainder of their challenge
A prize draw for £25 Bristol pounds went to students who completed our ‘Inaugural challenge’
Our PGRs were delighted to receive their UoB scarves!
Leanne Melbourne is a postgraduate researcher in the School of Earth Sciences. She took part in Research without Borders 2016, both in the showcase exhibition and the 3MT finals. We asked her to share her highlights and why students should get involved this year.
Last year I was lucky enough to participate in the Research without Borders showcase event at At-Bristol. The event was an amazing experience which allowed me to present my research in a fun, friendly format to not only members of the university but also the wider community of Bristol who were just as fascinated and interested in my work as I am.
I also sat in on really informative discussions themed on “digital living”, and took part in the 3MT finals. The latter was a fun but nerve-wracking experience. Standing in front of an audience and condensing three years’ work into three minutes is a daunting task, but definitely enjoyable. One thing it did was help me to really think and distil the main points of my PhD, which is definitely going to help me in my final stages of thesis writing. The whole event was busy, and I didn’t get to see everything. It was quite hard to leave my display as I was too engrossed in talking to lots of different people about my research, but I was able to hear lots of different thoughts and opinions that I wouldn’t normally hear. The discussion on ‘what will cities look like, and how will we, as citizens, live together?’, led by the University Research Institutes, really opened my eyes to the diverse views out there.
For me the training sessions were one of the highlights about taking part. They started with a special session using Lego. Who doesn’t love Lego? We had to use the Lego to explain our research and then try and create links with the other researchers around us. So while my research focuses on climate change in the ocean and its impact on seaweeds, I had to find a link with someone who researches CF4 emissions and explain this link using Lego. As researchers we are all used to writing our research in 300 word abstracts using a whole load of jargon to be able to get in as much detail as possible. Try writing your research in 140 characters that anyone would be able to understand! Yes indeed — we had to sum up our research in a tweet. 140 characters isn’t much, but it really helped me think about the highlights of my research and its important questions. These activities also helped us to find links with each other that we wouldn’t normally see whilst trying to look past research groups, departments, faculties and research institutes; essentially, getting us to think across borders(the main aim of this event).
What I also really liked was that we had the final say of where we were on the day and how we were positioned, and that this wasn’t distinguished by our research groups or departments. I ended up next to a researcher who looks at camouflage; it just so happens that he was at the time looking at camouflage on reef fishes so we had the link of ‘water’. I would never have known about his fascinating research without this event.
That’s what is truly great about taking part in Research without Borders: it gives you the chance to think about your research in a different light. As researchers, we can get bogged down in the nitty-gritty of our topic, but participating in the festival – especially the showcase exhibition – reminds you of the bigger picture of why you got involved in the first place. It’s also an opportunity to meet lots of different students from diverse fields all at various stages and hear about the amazing research going across the university. This event is all about breaking barriers, crossing borders, meeting and talking to people you may never have even thought would have some link to your research.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I’ll be in the final stages of writing my thesis, I would definitely apply again.
Sign up for this year’s Research without Borders by February 28.
In case you hadn’t heard yet, sign ups are open for Research without Borders 2017, our flagship festival of postgraduate research where we put your work front and centre. This year’s festival is bigger and better than ever, including an evening discussion series, a showcase exhibition at Colston Hall, and the finals of the 3MT competition. Why should you get involved? We spoke to Keri McNamara, who took part in last year’s festival and presented in the 3MT finals (catch her video on our YouTube channel!), to offer you an insider’s perspective on what’s great, what’s challenging and why it’s important to take part.
Which faculty are you in? Can you tell me a bit about your research? Maybe, instead of three minutes, you could tell us in three words…?
I’m in the school of Earth Sciences in the Faculty of Science. To describe my research in three words: Volcanoes, Ash, Ethiopia.
Why did you decided to sign up last year – what persuaded you, or what were you hoping to get from taking part?
I had heard about it from a friend in the year above and it thought it would be a good opportunity to practise my public speaking. I’ve always found presenting rather daunting but felt that the more I pushed myself to do it the easier it got. This just seemed like a fun opportunity. I also enjoy outreach so seemed like a good way to combine both.
What was the hardest, or scariest part of the 3MT? Is it what you expected it to be before you went onstage, or did that change?
I think the scariest bit is sitting waiting for your turn. Once I opened my mouth to speak I felt much calmer and more confident. Towards the end I even started to enjoy myself (something I never thought I’d be able to say about public speaking!)
How did you prepare?
I love writing so I found the easiest thing was to write it out first like I was writing an article and perfect it on paper. I then basically learnt it like a script and then made minor tweaks so it flowed better. I know a lot of people prefer to improvise but I felt much more confident learning what I was going to say.
What is your funnest memory from taking part last year?
I think during the first heat- everyone taking part was so friendly and it was fun to get to know people from completely different parts of the university studying a huge range of topics. It made it a very relaxed environment- not threatening or intimidating at all.
And what made you get involved with Research without Borders?
I liked the fact it was multidisciplinary with opportunities to meet people from other research areas as well as people from industry.
What was the funnest bit?
Making a display to go along with my poster- it was a bit more interesting than preparing for a traditional conference.
Any pearls of wisdom to share for people considering taking part in this year’s 3MT?
I would recommend spending more time at the beginning sketching out the ‘story’ of what you’re going to say to make sure the content flows well in a strong framework. Also practise as much as you can be bothered to right before; being prepared was the only thing that saved me from being too nervous. Also definitely take part– even if (or especially if!) public speaking scares you. It’s a great way to improve!
Has the 3MT been helpful to you in anyway? Why should students to get involved?
It has helped no end with my confidence in public speaking. In my PhD I have to give quite a lot of talks and I think it was a real turning point for me. I went from just rushing to get to the end of a presentation to actually thinking about what I was saying and being conscious of how I was presenting. I also put it on my CV as an example of public speaking and outreach skills.
What about Research without Borders? Did it change how you think or view your research/PhD?
I’m not sure it helped me in one particular way but it was really great to talk to people working in other areas to challenge me to get ‘outside the bubble’ of my research areas and think about the bigger picture.
Fancy showcasing or presenting in this year’s Research without Borders? Sign up by 28 February! Want to take part in the 3MT competition? It’s as simple as this application form.
This could be you, if you signed up to take part in this year’s Research without Borders!
