Marginal gains are small improvements that have the opportunity to compound. They were made famous by the British Cycling Team that competed (and won lots of gold medals) at the 2008 Olympics. But the idea has been around for much longer than that. In some respects it’s the automation and mechanisation of repetitive processes. And, […]
Twenty-One Questions to Ask and Answer Before You Do a PhD
It is a long list… 1. Why (go back to) study? 2. How should I study? 3. How do I prefer to learn? 4. What do I want to do after I complete my study? 5. Am I ready for other peoples’ reaction? 6. What will I need to change […]
How to Read More Articles
A key part of academic life is reading – reading all of the necessary research literature. Now, you could never hope to read it all. But you could improve your reading through marginal gains. Making changes that result in small improvements that compound. Read daily. Queue your reading. Read on devices, not just computer or […]
Six Tips to Become a Better PhD Supervisor
Six tips to being a better PhD supervisor: 1. Do the training. 2. Know your students. 3. Respect their time. 4. Refer to others. 5. Model good behaviour. 6. Make progress visible. Transcript: There’s been a lot of talk, and a lot of information lately about how to be a better student but I don’t […]
Four PhD Derailers and Their Solutions
There are 4 PhD derailers. Avoid them where you can. But if you cannot avoid them, here are some ways through or around them. Transcript: There are 4 things that slow down a PhD. The first is the demographics, and sometimes we can’t do anything about that. That is perhaps our age, our gender, where […]
When You’re a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail
Being an academic and/or training to be one (e.g. PhD student) means that you view a lot of your skills and experiences in that light. However, if you ask others’ for their ideas you’ll find your skills are transferable. So, if you’re an academic (hammer) you’ll see everything as an academic skill (a nail). So, […]
Will It Zoom?
So much of what we do is up for review at the moment. And one of the biggest changes is an increased use of videoconferencing. It’s been used across society from game shows, to press conferences to meetings. Now all of these are relatively “normal” uses of video. But, my challenge to you is to […]
Building High-Performing Research Team
What’s a high-performing research team I hear you ask? I’d like to know too! But, until then we can look to examples like performing art or motorsport. In this workshop, We’ll look at how those teams operate and some of the lessons we can take into our research teams.
Managing Research Projects
Do you manage research projects or do they manage you? If you’d like to have more clarity about what is happening when; who is responsible; reporting and milestone timing then this workshop is for you. Bring your questions, as I’m guaranteed to have answers. And you never know, some of my answers might even be […]
What Does It Take to Become a Researcher
Being a researcher does not need to involve working at a university. Or even having a PhD. Many companies and organisations undertake research and their researchers come from all manner of backgrounds. Transcript: It takes a lot to become a researcher, but one of the things that it certainly doesn’t take or doesn’t certainly require […]