In our new (occasional) series, we’ll be getting to know more about research students and Bristol Doctoral College (BDC) staff by asking them five quick questions.
Our first interviewee is the Bristol Doctoral College’s Dr Conny Lippert.
Interested in being featured in a future post? Email the Doctoral College today.
So, what’s your role?
I’m the BDC’s “GTA Scholars Scheme Coordinator”, which means that I have two main tasks.
On the one hand, I’m working to develop a scholarship programme for Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) at Bristol, which is slightly different from subsidising your income while studying with some hourly-paid teaching in that GTAs get a stipend, i.e. funding.
The other part of my role consists of figuring out how the BDC can best support all PGRs who teach at the University of Bristol, whether they are GTAs or hourly-paid teachers.
What are you working on at the moment?
A few months into this job, I’m working on getting to know all I can about the University’s PGRs who teach, in order to figure out in which ways the BDC can offer support, and also to be able to build a great scholarship programme for GTAs.
At the moment, I’m organising the Bristol Doctoral Teacher Symposium, a special event for PGRs who teach at the University of Bristol, which will take place on Tuesday 3 July in the M Shed down at the Harbourside.
If you’re a PGR who teaches, why is it worth signing up for the symposium?
There are quite a few reasons!
Fundamentally, it’s a chance to find out about support and opportunities, and to become part of a wider community of peers who can provide guidance and advice. We want all doctoral teachers — whether they feel experience or inexperienced, confident of their skills or unsure where to turn — to be able to share experiences, questions, victories and difficulties in a constructive and supportive environment.
In terms of the format of the day, there will be discussions and panels about a wide range of topics, including career pathways (both inside and outside of academia), development opportunities and how to balance teaching and research.
And there will be free refreshments and a wine reception!
What do you do outside of the BDC?
I did my own PhD at Bristol’s Department of English some years back, studying American Gothic literature — an area in which I still occasionally publish. I’m a big fan of all sorts of horror fiction and can’t resist a good intertextual reference.
I taught as an hourly-paid teacher for several years and have also held a number of professional services jobs at the University, both during and after my PhD. In the beginning of 2018 I joined the Bristol Doctoral College.
I’m a German expat who has lived in the UK for just over a decade now and still regularly visits her native Bavaria.
What are you reading at the moment?
I’ve just finished Stephen King’s new book “The Outsider” and am just starting Christopher Buehlman’s “Those Across the River”.