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 […]
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 […]
Impact of COVID-19 on Universities
It is hard to know what impact COVID-19 will have on universities, and academic teaching. Of course you could read what others think, or watch video (like this one). But you could also do your own war-gaming or scenario planning. That’s what I did. And that is what I run through quickly here. Transcript: We’re […]
The Legend File
Academic work is often a sea of rejection, revision, and re-write. Thus, it can be hard to keep upbeat when it seems like everything and everyone is a critic. The solution – The Legend File – a file or folder full of all of the nice things people have said about you or your work. […]
Nine Steps to Having Difficult Conversations with Your Supervisor
If tough conversations were easy, we’d all be having them, and they wouldn’t be called tough. They are tough for a reason or sometimes several reasons. However, there are things you can do to make them less tough. For example: • Agree on a framework for discussion before you need to have the tough conversation. […]
Eight Things to Do to Leverage Your Next Conference Presentation
I think researchers do not do enough to make the most of their invited, and peer reviewed presentations. Both oral, and posters. So, in this podcast, I give you 8 tips to help you get more engagement from your conference presentations. Transcript: Hi there! This week’s vlog is all about making the most of your […]
Career First Aid
With COVID causing chaos it can be hard to actually “develop” your career during this time. But, that does not mean you should stop thinking about it. So, instead of development I suggest “first aid” doing small things that will keep you “alive” so you can take advantage of opportunities that arise when we start […]