Managing my PhD or MPhil research degree

1. Managing my PhD or MPhil research degree Alison Tyson-Capper Faculty Postgraduate Tutor, Associate Dean Graduate School Faculty of Medical Sciences

2. Welcome! • Settling in • Learning agreements • Project approvals (within 3 months) • E-portfolio (log meetings)

3. Why do Equality & Diversity • Why do we need to address Equality & Diversity in the workplace? • Mainstreaming E & D : How Far have we travelled? • Unconscious bias- does it still affect Equality • Grant-awarding bodies: Research Council Perspective (RCUK) • What can we do?: Athena SWAN, training, mentoring • Developing good practice to advance Equality in research careers • Raising Aspirations : Choices with your career decisions

4. Equality Strategy and Action Plan 2014-2016 “Inequality is a risk that arises with increased diversity. Arguably, if there were no diversity there would be no need to pursue an equality agenda. Conversely, if we value diversity, we must be on our guard against inequality. We must do so on moral grounds, because inequality may signal a denial of natural rights or social justice, and on pragmatic grounds, because inequality may signal a failure to turn diversity to advantage as a driver of learning and a source of innovation”. Essentially, therefore, the aim of the equality agenda is to decouple circumstance from destiny. Where you were born, what culture or religion you belong to, how old you are, how rich or poor you or your parents are, what your sexual orientation is, whether or not you have a disability –manifestations of diversity should not deny any educational opportunity, not impede your levels of attainment. Whether for staff or for students, we believe that ability should be able to access opportunity regardless of circumstance. Professor Chris Brink Our

5. What do you think is important in managing your PhD/Mphil?

6. Managing my PhD, MD or MPhil research degree Managing my supervisor(s)! Alison Tyson-Capper Graduate School Faculty of Medical Sciences

7. You and your supervisor? You now …..You later on

8. Managing your supervisor • Be organised • He honest if you have made some errors/experiments fail! • Discuss any difficulties • If you don’t know ask! • Don’t be surprised when you start to know more than your supervisor • Meet deadlines • Listen to advice

9. Planning your work • Long-term plans • To complete my higher degree and earn some money! • Medium-term • By the end of the year I will have done … • Short-term • Before the next formal meeting I will ….. • Immediate plan • By the end of the week I will … • Today I will ...

10. What shall I do first? • First meeting with your supervisor(s) • Discuss the completion of an on-line process for project approval. This details: • Your proposed project with a timeline and objectives • Any requirements for ethics committee approval • The name of all supervisors • The 2 members of your progress review panel • The learning agreement

11. The learning agreement/Intellectual Property (Laura) The University requires confirmation that you have received, understood, and accepted the expectations of your research degree programme by signing a formal Learning Agreement with your supervisors • Complete within one month of registration • This document defines • What you can expect of us • What we can expect of you

12. You are required to maintain regular contact with your supervisors. • See your supervisors on a weekly, if not daily basis, especially if you are undertaking laboratory research. • Have at least ten structured meetings with your academic supervisor per year and at least three of these meetings will be with all members of your supervisory team. *Must be logged onto e-portfolio*

13. How many supervisors do I need? • You have a supervisory team • 1 lead supervisor • 1 or more co-supervisors

14. Formal meetings • What is a ‘formal’ meeting? • You pass your supervisor in the corridor and (s)he says ‘is everything OK?’ • You politely answer ‘Yes’ • Nice, but NOT a formal meeting

15. Formal meetings • What is a ‘formal’ meeting? • You are working in the lab/office/field next to one of your supervisors • He or she asks how the work you are doing today is progressing and offers advice • Should happen, but NOT a formal meeting

16. Formal meetings - 1 • Formal meetings are the most vital part of your project • Frequency • Often more common at the start than at the end of your project • In this Faculty should not be more than six weeks apart (or less than 10 per year) • You can initiate meetings • make an appointment (perhaps even book a quiet room – no phone) • Invite all appropriate members of supervisory team

17. Formal meetings - 2 • What happens at the meeting? • You take all your results and interesting papers and discuss these in detail • Set the Agenda: Make plans • Discuss problems • Ensure the project is more than a series of small experiments • Your thesis will ultimately tell a story

18. Formal meetings - 3 • During the meeting • You take notes • Arrange a date for the next meeting • After the meeting • You write notes of the meeting with what was agreed – add this to e-portfolio

19. It is now mandatory to record supervisory meetings • Meeting records in ePortfolio, and any associated notes and documents, are shared and easily accessible to you and your supervisor(s). • Adding notes and/or uploading minutes provide the team with a useful record of progress, a record of agreed actions for both students and supervisors • Can act as an aide-mémoire to guide future action • Helps prepare for future professional practice (recording meetings, and reviewing written reports are normal practice in most professions and organisations).

21. Work-life balance • Research degrees in the UK are completed more quickly than almost anywhere else in the world (but have equivalent global status) • You must work pretty hard! • Try to adopt a basic 9 to 5 day (minimum) • Be prepared to work late and during weekends • But, when out of hours you must adopt appropriate safety procedures • Discuss with your safety officer/supervisor (covered in your Institute inductions)

22. Holidays • You are no longer an undergraduate so don’t go away for the summer! • The Graduate School states: • Entitled to 35 days including annual shutdown over the Christmas period/Easter & bank holidays • Discuss holidays with your supervisors • Don’t go AWOL (absent without leave)!

23. Your data recording/lab books • Hard back with numbered pages • Always enter the date • Complete as you are working • Do not need to be spotless or neat • Enter raw data, observations and calculations • Detail all problems and errors (be honest – we’re all human!) • Your review panel may ask to see these • Your examiner might also ask to see them!

24. Research governance • You may have read of ‘scientific fraud’ • We must manage our raw data to provide evidence in the case of disputed findings • Do not erase text of cut pages from your lab book • Use pen (rather than pencil) • Remember lab books also protect us (you) if you discover anything that can be patented!

25. Use of computers • Backup regularly • Backup regularly • Backup regularly • Loss of results due to theft, disk failure, virus infection etc is not considered a viable excuse for delayed completion of your project

26. Literature references • Read around your subject (don’t simply print copies of papers) • Not all journals are equal (impact factor) • Your examiners will test your knowledge of current “related science” • Use a reliable reference database • Training will be given (Endnote) • Useful to have an ideas book • Make notes of good ideas as you have them

27. Write up as you go • Not always possible, but: • Always prepare high quality graphics output when you derive the data • this takes time when you are writing your thesis – good if you can simply cut and paste figures into your thesis • If a figure isn’t good enough for presentation have another go – don’t assume you will return to the problem later • Write up methods as you develop them • Make notes when you read good papers • don’t assume you will remember everything

28. Keeping everyone on track is complex! A full-time PhD (regulation a) must be submitted within 4 YEARS A full/part time PhD (regulation b) must be submitted within 5 YEARS A part-time PhD (regulation c) must be submitted within 7 YEARS A full-time MPHIL (regulation a) must be submitted within 2 YEARS A part-time MPHIL (regulation b) must be submitted within 4 YEARS

29. Progress review • You will be examined by 2 reviewers • Not part of your supervisory team • Complementary and independent • You will submit appropriate written work before the review (electronically) • You and your supervisor(s) will receive formal feedback after the review • It’s good to gain experience of oral examination before the ‘big one’!

30. Cross institute – supervision Panel member Talks (internal & external) Collaboration

31. Time plan summary for PhD students Start Finish 1 Learning agreement 3 Project Approval at 8 months 1st annual assessment at 20 months 2nd annual assessment at 30 months 3rd annual assessment So much more than just these few milestones

32. Annual Progress Reviews: E-portfolio 2 3 4 School progress panel (assessors) Student report Supervisors report • Supervisors • Lab members • Mentors • Guidelines (online) 1 DPGT’s/PGRC (Institute nominee) • Evidence of student progress; • interview • Presentation • Research training portfolio- courses attended • conferences • Publications 5 Progression decision by PG Dean/PgR Tutor

33. First review We recommend the following structure for your report: • Table of contents • A literature review • A clear statement of the aims of your project • A summary of the methods developed and results obtained to date • A discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of your work to date • An outline of your future work In order to stop students from submitting over-long mini-theses, the Graduate School suggests a maximum word limit for this report (excluding references and figures) of 7,500 words (or 3,000 for MPhil) 2017- Writing your 1st year report*

34. Oral presentations (PowerPoint slides) included at each annual review • Plenty of opportunities to develop your presentation skills • Viva Seminars: Each student will present a seminar on the day of their PhD viva examination, ahead of the viva.

35. Types of presentation • Scientific conference • Invited talk (2, 3, 5, 15 - 45 minutes) • Talk selected from abstracts (10 minutes) • Presentation of poster (2-3 minutes) • Teaching • UG & MRes

36. Types of presentation • Fund raising • Lay audience • 3 minute Thesis • FameLab

37. 2014 – peoples Prize winner 2013 – Regional Prize winner Rachel Williams Rhys Anderson 2015 – Regional Prize winner Leo Gurney

38. “ A most venomous thing in the making of sciences: for whoever has fixed on his Cause, before he has experimented, can hardly avoid fitting his Experiment to his own Cause….rather than the Cause to the truth of the Experiment itself” Thomas Sprat (1667) Historian Founder of the Royal Society Don’t fall in love with your hypothesis

39. If you have a(any) problem • Seek help as soon as you can • Supervisors want your project to succeed as much as you do! • Postgraduate co-ordinators • Reviewers (progress panel) • Me through the Graduate School or directly (alison.tyson-capper@ncl.ac.uk; telephone x87156) • The Dean, Prof John Kirby (through the Graduate School)

40. Personal Safety - Smart Cards: • Important for gaining access to facilities within the University • Wear it at all times on premises • Keys for office and desk space • Mail: delivered daily, placed in pigeon holes • Computer/e-mails: campus log-in, University e-mail address • Out of hours – login and logout

42. Lots of support available within the Faculty and University Our Support Wheel Graduate School/me/Dean Secretary/ administrators Supervisory team You Student groups/ reps Fellow students/buddy Progress panel PgR Tutors/Coordinators

43. Safety and Security Personal/family problems Accommodation You Financial problems Illness Stress Disability issues

44. Student advice service • Within the Union building

47. The bottom line • Don’t keep a problem to yourself! • The university has dealt with thousands of students – it is unlikely your problem is unique! • Don’t be afraid to talk to someone • You can talk to male and/or female staff • We respect discretion and confidentiality • If the Graduate School can’t help you directly, it will almost certainly be able to direct you to someone who can

48. What am I doing here? • Preparing a thesis! • Candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy are expected to conduct original investigations, to test ideas, whether their own or others, and to understand the relationship of their work and its themes to a wider field of knowledge. A doctoral thesis should be a piece of work which a capable, well qualified and diligent student who is properly supported and supervised can produce in 3-years of full-time study. It should exhibit substantial evidence of original scholarship and contain material worthy of publication.

49. Enhancing your experience and CV • Collaborate if appropriate/if it adds value • Research Seminars • External speakers (opportunity to meet/interact) • Present at seminars • Research Days, NEPG Conference • Conferences - promote yourself in the scientific community Teaching/Supervision Opportunities • Demonstrating • Seminars • Supporting BSc/MSci and MRes students

50. What we want to achieve: To encourage you to see your PhD/Mphil studies as a series of training steps rather than as a single final culminating project. This approach puts more emphasis on the process of training (transferable skills) and on potential personal and career development along the way. To help you maximise what you achieve during your research training and experience in FMS