10 reasons to exhibit your work at ‘Research without Borders’

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RwB croppedNot sure why you might want to showcase your research at ‘Research without Borders’? Here’s 10 good reasons why you might want to get involved:

1. Get out of the lab / library

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http://blog.lib.umn.edu/

We spend so much of our time focusing on doing our research that we sometimes forget that there is a whole world of exciting opportunities for us to take advantage of! Take a break for a few hours and come down to @Bristol to tell others about what you’ve been working on. You’ll be much more relaxed and refreshed when you return to your work – and you might even have a few new ideas to try out!

2. Meet other researchers and connect with the wider Bristol community

UoB instagram account
UoB instagram account

Postgraduate research is so specialised and individual that sometimes you forget that you are part of a community of more than three thousand research students. Come and meet one another, share ideas – you might even make some new friends!

3. Potential employers

This year you won’t just be showcasing your research to other PGRs and the Bristol academic community – we’ll also be inviting key external partners, including academics from other institutions, industrial partners, local community groups and organisations, the Bristol City Council – the list goes on and on. Let us know if there is anyone in particular that you would like us to invite. This is an ideal opportunity for you to network with these high-profile guests. You never know, this could be a foot in the door for your post-PhD career!

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4. Meet the people funding your research

We’ll also be extending an invitation to the charities and research councils who fund your research. This is your opportunity to show them what you have been doing with the money they have invested in you. It’s also a great opportunity for you to speak with funders about any ideas you might have for future research projects. It never hurts to make friends with the people who hold the purse strings!

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Jorge Cham, PhD Comics

5. Talk to interested people about your research

Your supervisors, parents, partner, and friends are probably all getting a bit tired of hearing about your work. This is an ideal opportunity to talk to others who haven’t yet heard all about it. Plus, it’s always a good challenge to try to explain your research in a way that others can understand it. Take advantage of the fact that you’ll have a captive audience on hand.

6. Explore interconnections between your work and others’

You won’t be the only one doing all of the talking – this is a great opportunity for you to find out what other people are working on. You might just realise that there are connections between your work and others. Breaking out of your research bubble is never a bad idea!

7. Generate new ideas and collaborationsBCCS4

Be an academic in action! Meet new people, develop new ideas, learn from one another – that’s what being an academic is all about! This is your opportunity to spark new ideas with people you might not encounter in your day-to-day work.

8. Apply your expertise to real-world problems

Not sure what kind of impact your research could have on global challenges? How about problems affecting the city of Bristol itself? In addition to the research showcase there will also be opportunities for you to contribute your expertise to addressing real-world problems. A series of ‘Grand Challenges’ will be running throughout the day, enabling you to see how your knowledge and experience can help to solve some of world’s biggest problems.

9. Win prestigious prizes 

In the past, we’ve given away iPads, ferry boat rides, restaurant vouchers, Amazon vouchers… you never know what you might win! This year is no exception! We’ll be offering prizes for the 3MT, best poster display and best interactive research display.

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*we’d like to confirm that, sadly, not everyone can win a prize www.quickmeme.com

10. It’ll be fun! 

With interactive maps, graffiti walls and quick-fire talks, this event is going to be jam-packed with fun activities for everyone! Free drinks and food are just the icing on the cake.

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Even the minions are excited for Research without Borders

So what are you waiting for? Sign up and reserve your place now!

What is the NSPPS and why should you get involved?

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Alan Kennedy, a postgraduate researcher from the School of Geographical Sciences, writes about why he enjoys attending the Natural Systems and Processes Poster Session (NSPPS) year after year, and why current students should consider signing up. Already know you want to take part? Apply here!

The NSPPS is, it appears, now quite an establishment in Bristol: 2016 will be the event’s ninth year. What is it, and what has secured its place in the University of Bristol calendar for all these years?

Well, as the name suggests, it is an academic poster session welcoming pretty much anything relating to the science of the natural world. It turns out this description covers a lot of science, with representatives from Earth Sciences, Geographical Sciences, Physics, Life Sciences, Engineering, Chemistry and Mathematics. It’s a fascinating melting pot of ideas with some quirky and abstract topics on show, but each being a tiny, crucial cogwheel in the Earth’s system. The range of topics can show off the University’s diverse scientific community, spark collaborations and simply baffle all at the same time.

Besides the ‘boring’ scientific part of the event, NSPPS is a great occasion. Set in the Wills Memorial Building Great Hall, there is a plentiful stock of free food and drink and the social side of the event is great. Often the people carrying out the research are even more colourful than the science itself (especially after some free drinks). The social side also ensures the whole event is very relaxed, making it a great opportunity to get some practice and early feedback on your poster and presentation skills before taking on external conferences. Maybe you’re thinking of going to EGU in April? Then this is the perfect warm up. Added to that, there is healthy competition with entrants battling it out for a series of prizes from staff and student votes for the best posters. They’re proper prizes too (I can verify, last year I won an Acer tablet for the staff vote), so it’s definitely worth entering!

So here’s why NSPPS is still live and kicking after 9 years: diverse science, diverse people, laid back atmosphere, prizes and (of course) free food and drink.

Where? Great Hall, Wills Memorial Building.

When? 2-5pm, Monday 7th March.

Deadlines: Abstract submissions by midnight, Friday 29th February. Apply now! https://tiny.cc/nspps

The Bristol PLUS Award: Awal Fuseini

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The Bristol PLUS Award recognises and rewards University of Bristol students who have gained significant professional and life skills through work experience, volunteering and other activities outside of their studies. The award is designed to help you enhance your CV, develop a variety of employability skills and be more prepared for the interview process. 

Awal Fuseini, a doctoral student in the School of Veterinary Sciences, shared his experience with completing the Bristol PLUS Award last year.

As a postgraduate research student, I am always on the lookout for any extracurricular activity that can improve my confidence, networking skills, presentation skills and add some weight to my CV, because I am well aware that recruiters/ employers are now looking beyond degree certificates. The activities leading to the award of the Bristol Plus Award certainly tick most of the boxes, hence why I decided to complete it.

The interactive nature of the workshops means all participants are encouraged to actively take part, this builds confidence and improves on team working skills. Some of the workshops eg the interview skills workshop gives participants useful information on what employers look for during interviews including body language skills, dress code and general interview skills. One of the most important workshops I attended was: The power of relationships in the work place.  After the workshop, I learnt very important skills that will enable me to work successfully with any difficult person in my future career no matter how complex the person’s life is. Other useful workshops included: Developing leadership skills and Clueless about your careers?

During the work experience aspect of the award, I was able to gain valuable work experience whilst getting paid and more importantly use it towards the award. My work experience was with a food certification company in London. My role involved visiting food processing companies and slaughterhouses to ensure that all procedures were consistent with the standards of the certification body. I did also do some administrative duties at the Head Office as well.

I have already encouraged some of my peers to complete the Bristol Plus Award and I will not hesitate in recommending it to the wider University of Bristol postgraduate research student community, it is a worthwhile award!

Curious? Think you can stand out from the crowd? Attend one of the Introductory talks hosted by the University’s Careers Service. For an overview of the award structure, see the below graphic:

New PLUS structure 

Help is at hand

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To close out our day of discussing the silver linings of our Postgraduate Researcher’s work, and how they keep their heads up and stay motivated, we thought we’d offer a note about help.

PhD students are more likely to suffer from neglect, isolation, feelings of fraudulence and performance anxiety under pressure. They face an insecure economic future, and an increasingly unstable job market. It’s no wonder that mental health issues are on the rise amongst this demographic – and it’s time that we opened up the door to the fact that Higher Education has problems. We have to confront these painful truths and reach out to help. Institutions owe their students and their staff the appropriate resources and services to help them deal with mental health & wellbeing.

The University of Bristol offers a comprehensive counselling service complete with a list of group therapy sessions and personal wellbeing workshops. It  also has its own physical library and virtual resource centre. We also subscribe to the Big White Wall campaign, and recommend this online resource for anyone struggling to express themselves or reach out about a pressing issue that has been weighing them down.

The city of Bristol also has a host of services, mindfulness groups, helplines and charities available for all manner of support issues. Below is a brief, collated list of free helplines that are available (mostly) 24/7 that deal with some of the most prevalent issues PGRs tend to face in terms of mental illness and emotional support. This is by no means comprehensive, and it certainly doesn’t cover the entire range of issues that any individual may face. See National Mind’s tips for everday support, and this list of Local Mental Health Charities for further information.

Lastly, if you feel that your needs are not being met, please speak up. Never hesitate to get in touch if you don’t know where to turn, because there is always help at hand.

Sabrina Fairchield: “Why I Love My PhD”

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Sabrina Fairchild is a PhD candidate in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Bristol.

What has been the highlight of your PhD so far?

The variety of places I have been able to visit. I have conducted archival research in England, the United States, Canada, France, China and Hong Kong. I even got to present my research in Japan. This is one of the unique benefits of being a researcher – and even though travelling can be quite tiring, the experiences you gain are incomparable.

Do you have any funny stories to share from your research and travels?

Once, when I was working at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., I was working with documents no one had touched since the early 1990s. I didn’t know this at the time — all I knew was that all my documents arrived wrapped in really annoying cellophane that I had to rip off before I could open the volumes. As there were no rubbish bins in the document reading area (for obvious reasons) I had to take all the wrapping to one of the floor attendants so they could get rid of it themselves. One day, after my umpteenth trip, the attendant approached me and informed me that the volumes had been shrink-wrapped in 1991 or 1992 to preserve the documents. The fact that the cellophane remained meant that no one had looked at them in the last twenty-years! This was either, he teased me, a very good thing or a very bad thing for my PhD. Since paying attention to the American presence in China has become one of my driving interests, I’ve chosen to believe it was a very good thing indeed.

When you’re stuck, or feeling frustrated, what helps you stay motivated?

I like to do something completely unrelated to my research. I’ve had the best breakthroughs when I leave my desk and gone for a run or a body balance class. I’ll either put the pieces together in the middle of the exercise or while I’m walking back. Often, that feeling of finally understanding something makes the original frustration seem worthwhile.

“Why I Love My PhD” is an ongoing series inspired by The Guardian’s series of the same name, about how our Postgraduate Researchers stay enthused about their work and what keeps them going on the harder days. If you would like to share your story or contribute, please get in touch.

Thomas Farrugia: “Why I Love My PhD”

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Thomas Farrugia is a PhD candidate within the School of Chemistry, and was a contestant in our 3MT contest last year. In three words, he describes his research as “Biocatalysis”, “Materials”, and “Proteins”. 

Tell us about a time you have felt a distinct sense of pride in your work.

Finding a way around, or solving, a problem in systems I am working with is always a great kick – one case being where I found that I could produce the films I work with directly in cuvettes, meaning I could easily sample their chemical activity and run more samples in the same amount of time.

Are there any particular funny moments that keep you going in boring or tedious moments?

I remember having one colleague who was working with a pink dye whilst making a molecule – we could always work out where we had been or what he had used and touched because it simply got everywhere!

When you feel frustrated or at your wit’s end with your research, what would you say keeps you going?

When this happens I remind myself that persistence and pacing always pay off. I look back at what I have achieved, and then focus on things that have to be done.

“Why I Love My PhD” is an ongoing series inspired by The Guardian’s series of the same name, about how our Postgraduate Researchers stay enthused about their work and what keeps them going on the harder days. If you would like to share your story or contribute, please get in touch. 

Tessa Coombes: “Why I Love My PhD”

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Tessa Coombes is a PhD candidate in Social Policy at the University of Bristol.

What has been the highlight of your PhD so far?

The highlights for me have been the positive interest and support from people within the School for Policy Studies and from people I have spoken to outside the University. To know that others think what I am doing is interesting and worthwhile is always motivating. The fact that some of them even think it is exciting never ceases to amaze me.

When have you felt most proud of yourself during your PhD?

My proudest moment so far was undoubtedly that moment when I decided I wanted to do a PhD and subsequently received such phenomenal support from friends, family and lecturers to actually do it! Applying, getting accepted and starting out on my PhD journey made me feel incredibly proud.

When you feel at your wit’s end with your research, what would you say keeps you going?

The main thing that keeps me going when things don’t quite work out, or I’m having to spend hours on quite tedious tasks, is thinking about where I was a couple of years ago and where I am now. Back then I was working in a difficult and challenging environment, and not particularly enjoying life and rarely looked forward to going to work. Now I’m doing something I have chosen to do, something that I love and enjoy, for all the challenges it throws at me. I now enjoy the process of ‘going to work’, even Monday mornings are good. When at a low ebb I think about the end goal, finishing the PhD and what a sense of achievement that will bring. I would also say having a decent playlist to listen to is critical, as the right music will always lift your spirits and get you through the tough times.

Can you share something that makes you smile about your PhD?

My funniest moments tend to be when working at home and my cat decides it’s time to play or that she needs attention. She’s very good at sitting in front of the computer screen or on whatever I am trying to read, or just deciding to lie across my books and desk.

Tessa's cat keeps her looking on the lighter side of her reading.
Tessa’s cat ensures she takes regular breaks from her work…

 

“Why I Love My PhD” is an ongoing series inspired by The Guardian’s series of the same name, about how our Postgraduate Researchers stay enthused about their work and what keeps them going on the harder days. If you would like to share your story or contribute, please get in touch. 

Jonathan Godbehere: “Why I Love My PhD”

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Jonathan Godbehere is a PhD candidate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol. He works on Electric Machine Design for ‘Sensorless’ control.

Tell us about a moment when you felt really proud of your research.

That would probably be my first conference paper submission, and then acceptance.  It marked the first time I saw my work peer-reviewed, and I felt like my work was actually ‘good’ to some extent. It helped that it was also a big, significant conference in Montreal. I got to travel and see somewhere out of the ordinary for free, which was a bonus! It was a great payoff for all the hours put into the paper (and the work itself) in the first place.

What are you looking forward to in the upcoming portion of your PhD work?
The first time I turn on my electric motor – and it hopefully works!

Is there a moment in your PhD experience that always brings a smile to your face?

Once, we had literally kilograms of scrap copper left over from a lab refurbishment. The whole research group rallied to help strip the outer plastic coatings off so we could recycle it. The proceeds went to our group’s Xmas dinner that year, because we managed to raise so much money!  Quite a nice group activity.

“Why I Love My PhD” is an ongoing series inspired by The Guardian’s series of the same name, about how our Postgraduate Researchers stay enthused about their work and what keeps them going on the harder days. If you would like to share your story or contribute, please get in touch. 

Blue Monday? Blue Any Day.

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Blue Monday, popularly known as the “most depressing day of the year” and held on the third Monday of January, receives a fair amount of bashing in the press these days. Rightly so – after all, it was the pseudoscientific brainchild of a travel campaign for an airline that has since gone bust, all in the name of selling more holidays to people who are feeling vulnerable and in need of a pick-me-up.

Let’s be clear. That the world collectively feels more “depressed” on a single day of the year is clearly a misnomer. As many media folk have been quick to point out, this logical fallacy undermines our collective understanding of “depression” in its entirety. Clinical depression is a severe, chronic condition, one that doesn’t exactly take days off nor suffer from what most would call a “bad day”. People battle depression day in and day out, sometimes for months but often as long as decades. For many, it’s a lifelong illness that needs to be managed and maintained as many chronic physical illnesses need to be managed. Neuro-normative brains typically don’t become “depressed” because it’s cold outside, Christmas feels like a distant memory, and we’re all disheartened at the first high winter bill of the season with no festive break to look forward to –  save Valentine’s Day, which, please.

In this sense, Blue Monday’s dubious origins ought to be questioned and critically analysed.

In another sense, any day is an appropriate day to discuss issues surrounding mental health and wellbeing – whether you suffer from a specific, diagnosed condition or not. At the Bristol Doctoral College, we thought we’d take this opportunity to bring into discussion an issue that academia tends to brush under the carpet, but which has recently come knocking at institutional front doors with brute force due to its urgency: the chronic ill mental health of students in higher education, particularly in research students.

I’m not defending #bluemonday, and I’m especially not defending its source; I am reclaiming it in attempt to destigmatize issues around mental health and to encourage critical reflection on our own wellbeing. For many, every Monday is a Blue Monday; indeed, everyday is Blue Monday. Maybe our concern with what the day stands for is a microcosm of the larger problem:  maybe we ought to stop worrying about where ‘Blue Monday’ comes from, and use it as an opportunity to discuss how what most of us take for granted (our own wellbeing) will become a serious crisis for 1 in 4 people in the UK this year. Blue Monday, coming so close to the start of the year, can help us turn the lens on what is ‘blue’ in our own society, and what we can do this year to change it.

At the BDC, we’re taking this opportunity to remind our Postgraduate Researchers that we aren’t scared of talking about mental health. We’re not going to question you when you say you are having a blue day, a blue month, or a blue year. We’re going to point you to the services that are available to you. We’re going to champion the everyday actions that make a difference in everyone’s wellbeing. A part of that involves making sure our own wellbeing is healthy; another, much larger part, is about listening to your stories. Instead of discussing the cynicism of Blue Monday’s origins, we’re going to turn our view to the silver lining, and we invite you to join us.

25 tips, links and distractions to take you into 2016

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  1. With the nation’s mental health crisis taking front-and-centre in 2015, make 2016’s New Year Resolutions all about taking care of yourself. Take inspiration from these 5 steps to wellbeing, instead of the usual self-berating goals we usually set ourselves.
  2. Check out Student Counselling’s Swagota Basak Memorial Library for some inspiration to help with your rest & relaxation.mental-health-reading
  3. Put the fun back into writing by taking the edge off with the 750-words intiative – a great way to complement being more mindful, to warm up for a long day of serious academic writing, or just as a cobweb-clearing process to enter 2016.
  4. Writer’s block? Check out the Academic Phrasebank for inspiration.
  5. If 3 and 4 aren’t enough, watch this ThinkWrite recommended 30-minute video to brush up your paper-writing skills.
  6. Read some PhD student blogs to keep yourself motivated through the break – and to collect helpful ideas and tips!
  7. Eat some lunch! Apparently academics are the least likely profession to take a lunch break – so use the holiday downtime to enjoy a regular, leisurely meal between breakfast and dinner for once.men-eating-pasta-in-speed-eating-competition
  8. Find a space in the library with their Christmas guide. With all the undergraduates flocked home for three weeks, there’s suddenly so much more room to spare!libraries
  9. Do some last-minute Christmas shopping, but with a uniquely academic touch, following these helpful suggestions.
  10. Get more into the festive spirit with an alternative to the typical Christmas pantomime at new theatre space The Wardrobe with Goldilock, Stock & Three Smoking Bears.
  11. Take part in PhD Comics’ Christmas Poll – and while away some hours by reading through their archive.phd120215s
  12. Catch up with the #BristolFaces campaign and read about the students, URI directors, academics and professional services staff and other figures in the university who shape our vibrant community for what it is.
  13. Book some trips in 2016 with the Bristol International Student Centre – perfect for international students looking to explore around Bristol and the UK.
  14. International, British, or Southwestern local, learn more about Bristol by booking onto a free walking tour, or visiting the M-Shed – great ways to see the city without spending any money!walking-tour
  15. Planning on research travel in 2016? Check out our essential guide for info on funding, collaboration opporunities, and researcher blogs from across the world.
  16. Make 2016 your most productive year yet with Academic Staff Development’s Seven Suggestions guide for Managing Your Time.
  17. Reflect on the skills training you completed in 2015 and update your STaR records in time for 2016.
  18. Revamp your CV with Vitae resources. Simply register your Bristol University email address and you can access content such as CV examples, advice on job applications, funding sources, raising your profile, and academic cover letters – to help you stand out for the right reasons, not the wrong ones.
  19. Most major research funders require some form of documentation at the application stage to explain how research data will be managed. Take the Bootcamp interactive tutorial to learn the fundamentals of research data management.
  20. Confused about all the systems available to you, and which ones you should or could be using? Check out ‘Essential Guide for Current Researchers‘ for a general overview.
  21. Write on the Cabot Institute’s online #uncertainworld grafitti wall and share your views on environmental uncertainty across disciplines.

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  22. Check out these 9 Highly Useful Tools for Academics via Academia Obscura.
  23. Get ready for the 3-minute thesis competition by watching last year’s participant videos. 3MT
  24. Got your Viva next year? Read these top tips to prepare.
  25. Most importantly, make sure you stay at home on Monday January 4th, as the university isn’t open until January 5th – despite what our misinformed bulletin email might have said!