Practice makes perfect: a 3MT journey

This time last year, Katrina Jan, a PGR in the Department of English Literature, took part in the UoB 3MT competition and she shares her experience here. There’s still time to sign up if you’re interested in participating in 2024 – sign up here before 28 March.

Last year, I decided to challenge myself and throw myself to the lions by participating in 3MT. I went through many emotions whilst participating in the competition. From, “What am I doing?!” to “I can’t do this”, and then “Okay, maybe I can sort of do this”, “Oh no, definitely shouldn’t have signed up for this” and “Right, I’m doing this and I’m going to give it my best shot” and I’m so very glad I did.

The 3MT contest was a journey and a challenging one for me, especially with all my other commitments. I had just started a new research project on top of my current job at the University and alongside my role as a University Graduate School scholar, as well as the PhD itself and all my other extracurriculars, to say I was busy would be an understatement. To top it off I was battling a cold and a mouth ulcer by the time the 3MT practice heats had started, I was not feeling my best and barely had time to prepare.

Katrina’s 3MT performance in the finals

My first practice was not great, and I would probably go as far as to say that was probably one of the worst presentations I’ve given. A painful mouth ulcer and a stuttering performance with a judging panel staring at me, were not what I envisioned when I first signed up. However, the feedback I received from the judges was encouraging yet critical and helped spur me on for my next heat.

By the time my next practice heat came, I was cured, and had a little more rehearsal but by no means had I put enough time into it as I would have liked. Except I realised the night before, that this was in fact NOT A PRACTICE. It was the elimination stage. I wasn’t even off-script and although I was not ill this time, I was ill-prepared.

How I managed to get off-script for the next day is beyond me. I’m dyslexic and therefore my short-term memory is not great, so forgetting words is my speciality. However, my BA is in Drama and English, and my background prior was in Theatre and Performance, and whilst it had been nearly a decade since I had done a show, I tried to think of this as a performance.

I wrote my 3MT speech like a script and took out any jargon.

1. So, it would be easy to remember
2. A non-specialist audience could grasp what I was saying
3. See first point

This time I would be presenting at the 3MT Heats mouth-ulcer-free but sleep deprived. Nervous? Most definitely! The nice part? So is everyone else. The other contestants (although far less clumsy and more prepared than I) were so lovely and encouraging, that not for a second did I feel like we were competing against each other. Everyone gave genuinely positive feedback and the advice I was given from another contestant was:

• Practise
• Practise
• Practise

Once I had (by some miracle) got through to the Final, that’s exactly what I did.

I practised with the other contestants, PhD colleagues, to random undergraduates who wouldn’t leave the lecture hall and to the security guard who tried to kick me out of the lecture hall, and this made a huge difference to the way I presented. I didn’t expect to be runner-up against such brilliant contestants (some even became close friends), but if I somehow managed to pull this off, so can you.

Exploring Knowledge Horizons: A Researcher’s Insta-Journey

In our last post of 2023, Fatemah Dashti, a PGR in Civil Engineering, shares her experience of initiating research collaborations via social media.

In recent years, the role of social media has become an integral part of the academic journey. If you were to ask any researcher across the world about their use of social media in recent times, the resounding answer would be yes. The use of social media platforms has revolutionized the means by which researchers disseminate their work and establish connections within their academic communities. Imagine a life without social media, it’s a scenario that prompts reflection. Personally, as a PhD student, I’ve witnessed the profound impact of social media on both my personal and academic spheres. It goes beyond a mere tool for communication; it has become a lifeline connecting me with family, especially when they are miles away.

Platforms like Instagram have become spaces where I can share the joy of my paper publications and celebrations, reaching friends across the world. Social media serves as a complementary tool to conferences and journals, rather than a replacement. In recent times, a significant scientific conferences have transitioned to live online platforms, utilizing platforms such as YouTube or Instagram.

In the years 2017 and 2018, my experiment into environmental volunteering took root through Instagram. It all began with a post from the Date Palm Friends Society account, extending an invitation to join their environmental volunteer community. Motivated by this post, I took the plunge and joined several environmental events organized by the Date Palm Friends Society. These events were considered to increase environmental awareness. One of the standout features of these events was the inclusion of environmental lectures conducted by researchers from different countries. In May 2018, during an environmental projects event, I presented on the conversion of tidal seawater energy into electricity. The event was hosted by the Kuwait Environment Public Authority. This journey, ignited by a simple Instagram post, unfolded into a rich of experiences. From actively participating in environmental events to absorbing the insights shared by environmental researchers, each step contributed to my growing understanding of environmental sciences.

In my journey at the Water Research Centre within Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, I had unforgettable experience as a team member in the “Assessment of the Potential of Dibdibba Shared Aquifer (WM066C)” project. Our challenge was to develop a conceptual numerical model for the shared Dibdibba aquifer which demanded groundwater well data from Iraq and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As a team member, in conversation with the project leader, the solution came unexpectedly, by Instagram. I suggested to the project leader, about connecting with hydrology researchers I follow them on the Instagram platform. Engaging with researchers through Instagram proved to be a game-changer. The collaboration with experts unfolded seamlessly, and the missing pieces of our aquifer puzzle fell into place. In conclusion, our journey through the assessment of the Dibdibba shared aquifer project became not just a scientific exploration but a testament to collaboration through the lens of one of the social media platforms which is Instagram.

for (you in PhD): “self-taught code” to “professional code”

In this post, Seb Gilbert, a PGR in Mathematics, introduces us to the “We Don’t Byte” PGR coding club and talks about the value he has found in setting up and contributing to the club.

More and more often, coding is becoming an essential skill in academic research. Whether you are in a subject closely related to the language of logic (such as me in Mathematics) or having to analyse large datasets in the humanities; being able to code can enable you to process, compute and visualise data in a matter of minutes which previously would have taken months.

The problem is that, for many, coding is often a lonely self-taught experience. Even for the few subjects which touch upon coding during their undergraduate degrees, you only skim the surface of the vast technicalities. Teaching yourself how to code is a valuable experience in itself, yet, it can only take you so far.

Before beginning your endeavour with code, you might have had an image of multiple black monitor screens, running lines of luminescent green text and progress bars showing how long you have until you’ve hacked into the nation’s secret database… okay maybe not the last bit but that’s what you see on TV or in films. However, the reality for many involves writing line after line of carefully typed code to only be rewarded with the dreaded “Error” message. I know in the office I share with other PhD students, the comparison between expectation and reality is more like this…

With this in mind, and inspiration taken from BlueBEAR’s Coding Club, we thought to start a PGR coding club, calling it “We Don’t Byte”. The idea was to understand how as PGRs we could a) share solutions that help reduce our frustration, and b) bridge the gap between writing self-taught code and professional code. Specifically, how can PGRs early on in their coding journey pick up the essential tools needed to write reliable and reusable code.

We first invited our friends and soon their friends would come along too. Starting within one School and then expanding across the College, we now have members spanning all across the University.

The sessions so far have included talks presented by PGRs (in topics such as “Code Structure” and “Version control with Git”), peer feedback sessions (such as our “Advent of Code code review”) and an interactive workshop on data visualisation, with invited lecturer Dr. Ilija Rašović. The sessions are all decided and organised by the club’s members, so if you had something in mind, then please let us know!

This is now a rare way that PGRs can gather, irrespective of academic subject, to share their enthusiasm and share their ideas. Setting this up has truly been gratifying and not only through the improvement in my own coding but how the club has found a way for PGRs to help one another. Finally, as I am coming to the end of my PhD, I have the confidence to search for jobs that involve coding in their description, with the knowledge that my skills are to professional expectations.

At the very least, I know that my coding experience now includes less expletives than it did before.

Promoting STEM for Britain

Paris Pasqualin, a PGR in the Department of Civil Engineering, was recently selected to be a finalist in a prestigious national competition designed to connect early-stage researchers with Members of the Houses of Parliament. In this post, he shares his experience.

As a finalist of the STEM for Britain 2023 poster competition, I had the opportunity to showcase part of my PhD project at the House of Commons on Monday 6 March 2023. My poster’s title was “ADDRESSING WATER AND FOOD SCARCITY THROUGH A NOVEL SYSTEM FOR GREENHOUSES, EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION AND MODEL PREDICTIONS” and focused on a technology that can recover almost 100% of the freshwater required by greenhouses, thus representing a solution to water scarcity. This is important because globally, agriculture accounts for around 70% of annual freshwater utilisation.

Paris standing with his poster in the House of Commons.

This was my first poster presentation, so I did not know what to expect. After putting up my poster, I was struck by the chaos and noise created by people trying to overcome other people’s conversations.

I had some visitors from the industry who were interested in sustainable agriculture and found my work impressive, especially considering the UK’s tomato shortage after the high energy cost of greenhouses in Spain due to the colder weather and inflation. I also had the honour of being visited by the MP for Bristol West, Thangam Debbonaire, who found my research could benefit England since, excluding public water supply, East of England is estimated to require more than 60% of their freshwater for agriculture.

Once the judging session started, the chaos intensified even more. During the judging session, we were required to stand in front of our posters for an hour and a half and wait for the judges to come. The rules stated that we would be visited by at least two judges, but I received none until five minutes before the end of the judging session. The judges then rushed me to finish as quickly as possible. Considering that this was a competition, I believe that I was not treated fairly compared to other participants. For example, I noticed that one participant next to me discussed their research with one of the judges for 15 minutes.

I really hope that future participants will have only good memories from the event, and I sent an email to the organisers suggesting some rules to be considered, such as allowing the same time for every participant to present their work. They replied, saying that they will ensure that what happened to me will not happen again.

This experience taught me that we cannot always expect everything to go smoothly, and that when things don’t go as planned, it’s important to keep doing our best. Despite the turndowns, I found encouragement from the visitors who were interested in my research, showing me that my PhD is headed in the right direction.

Your online profile: the options explained

There are a lot of options out there for you to curate your online profile as a researcher. Judith Hegenbarth, Head of the Research Skills Team in Library Services, sets out the options.

As a researcher who wants to contribute to the sum of human knowledge and ultimately make the world a better place, it helps if people can find you and your work online. Curating your online profiles allows you to control your own narrative, but there are a few options to consider.

An example of a profile on the University’s Research Portal

3 lessons we can all take from 3MT

It’s nearly my favourite time of year! The University of Birmingham 3 Minute Thesis competition is coming up, and I really, really love it. It’s the point in the year where some of UoB’s brilliant PGRs share their research and their enthusiasm for it in three-minute presentations, and it always gets me how interesting and impactful all the research is and how engaging our PGRs are.

The UoB 3MT 2021 winner

If you want to participate in this year’s 3MT competition, there’s still time to sign up – the deadline for expressions of interest is Sunday 10 April. However, there are three key lessons I think all researchers can learn from 3MT, whether or not they participate.

Anything but daunting (once the viva started)

Diana Oliveira, a PGR from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, passed her viva before Christmas, and shares her experience and advice with us here. Congratulations to Diana!

Throughout my PhD, I have always been intrigued about the viva experience. Questions such as “Will I be able to remember all the details of my thesis to answer the examiners’ questions? What if what I have done is not to the examiners’ satisfaction?” did linger in my head, especially during the months prior to the viva. Regardless, the day where you finally defend your research is something to look forward, and such an experience stays with you forever.

Diana celebrating her viva success with her family.

My viva happened during the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, in December 2021. The prospect of doing it online had never occurred to me before, but after almost two years of this pandemic, remote working and virtual meetings were the “new normal”. During my thesis submission, I was not sure if an online viva would be better or worse than an in-person experience; in fact, I had heard pros and cons of doing an online viva, so I was determined to not let myself be biased and approach it with an open mindset.

Survive & Thrive: Persuading, Negotiating & Influencing

Continuing her occasional series, “survive and thrive”, Katie Hoare from Careers Network explores a key skill sought after by employers in the post-COVID-19 world.  It’s likely that you are already developing and using these highly transferable skills in your research.

What

During a March 2021 PG Skills workshop, UoB PGR alum Rob Pilbrow provided a useful definition of each of these three inter-connected skills. Persuading is the ability to convince others to take a desired viewpoint or action; negotiating is the ability to discuss and reach a mutually satisfactory agreement; and influencing is the ability to effectively persuade and negotiate.

The peacock “persuades” the peahen he is a good mate

It is also important to emphasize what these skills are not. Proper use of persuading, negotiating and influencing should NOT be confrontational or antagonistic. It is not about arguing, forcing your will, harassing, pestering or using a power imbalance. Applying these skills should result in a positive, supportive, beneficial and evidence-based discussion, underpinned by an understanding of the person or people being addressed.

Online groups for international networking and collaboration

In this post, Joanne McCuaig, a distance learning PGR in the College of Arts and Law, explains how and why she set up online discussion groups using Twitter.

I’m a part-time, distance student in my 2nd year, in the department of English Language and Applied Linguistics. I’m a Canadian, living in South Korea, studying with a UK institution; I wanted to take advantage of any networking opportunities. First, I set up my Academic Twitter account – regular Twitter but used as a research profile to share about your skills and work.

I then decided to start two different student groups. I got the idea after attending an online conference that had breakout sessions for PhD students. It was energising to be able to share about our research, ask questions to others, and offer suggestions for literature, methods, or approaches.  A few months after the conference I contacted, via Twitter, a few of the students I’d “met” at the conference to ask if they wanted to continue the conversation. 

Developing Consultancy Skills in Practice

Ahead of running the Virtual Consultancy Challenge in 2021, Katie Hoare from Careers Network spoke to some of the previous participants to find out what they learnt and whether they enjoyed it.

In spring 2020, as lockdown hit, postgraduate researchers from across the University and the globe were gaining valuable professional skills as well as work experience as consultants, and they were doing so completely online via the Virtual Consultancy Challenge. The Virtual Consultancy Challenge is an online self-access training programme and competition where inter-disciplinary teams of postgraduate researchers work together in virtual teams to solve their “client’s” real-life challenge.

The 2020 Virtual Consultancy challenge winning team (clockwise from top): Francesca Lewns, PhD Dentistry; Taiwo Hassan Akere, PhD Earth & Environmental Sciences; Paris Lalousis, PhD Psychology.